Chapter 30 Chapter 30
Dominic’s Pov
The hotel room was dark. Choking.
I huddled at the bedside, elbows and back bent into knees. The thin wall lamp pulsed and buzzed above me like a dying insect. The folder Langley gave me was heavier than any gun I had ever seen. My thumb ran along the rim of the paper. For the hundredth time in two days, I unfolded it again.
Liana. Serena. That flash drive.
There was a soft photo of Serena snapped in the cafe, catching her passing what looked like data. It wasn't high-definition, but the shape of her face, the tilt of her head, I didn't need crystal clarity. I knew her like I knew my own heartbeat.
A tear slipped down my cheek. I didn't wipe it away. Didn't stand up. Just sat there and let it brew, grinding my teeth until my jaw ached.
I trusted her. She comforted me in the evenings. Cooked meals in my kitchen. Spent time with me when I raged through the war Liana was waging. All the while… she was feeding the devil.
"You idiot," I growled into the silence. The words bounced back off the walls like a curse.
Two days. I had been sitting in this rotting room, looking for sense in the senseless. There was none. Only betrayal.
I leapt to my feet, the floor creaking beneath me. I grabbed my shirt from the chair, yanked it on with shaking hands. The fabric clung to me like a mantle: thin, useless, but better than flesh.
Would I slap her?
No. That would be too merciful.
Would I scream in her face? Regret ever knowing her? No.
I had found my bearings when I saw her. When I looked into those eyes that had ever made me feel safe, eyes now saturated with deception.
She lied to me. I mean, I suspected her but one part of me didn't think she would actually do it.
She had walked through my life as if it was hers to borrow. It was time now to remind her whose life she'd entered.
I left the hotel without speaking. I drove through town like a tempest with no eye. With every red light, my rage seethed. With every green, it boiled. And yet, I still didn't know what I'd do when I finally saw her.
Ten minutes from home, I saw a cafe and pulled over. My stomach was churning with too much rage and not enough rest. I could use something to drive the chill off my bones, something to dull the edge of anger.
"One cappuccino," I growled at the barista, tossing down a crumpled bill and thanked him after he stretched my cup. I stepped back into the cold, cup hot in my hands. I drank slowly, trying to soothe the hurricane that tore through me.
Just as I was about to drive away, my eyes captured something through the rear.
My car.
Serenas Pov
Immediately the screen went dead, I stood looking at the screen for one more second, the silence greater than any goodbye.
No turning back. No more nights of pretending. No more lying in bed and staring at Dominic while the guilt raked at me like a curse.
I moved through the bedroom, a specter. Quiet. Focused. The second suitcase was open on the bed, and each shirt I folded was like a prayer said at a funeral. The last document dropped into the hidden bottom. My heart raced when I slapped the lining shut, hiding the proof Liana craved. The weapon she needed to end him.
I pulled the suitcase behind me to the door, my white-knuckled hands gripping the handle. The driver already stood outside, motor idling, windows fogging with cold.
I climbed into the backseat. Leather stuck to my flesh. As he drove away, the house behind us fell away with every turn, shrinking in the rearview mirror like the illusion it had always been.
Was I making the right choice? Would Liana keep her word?
Would Dominic ever forgive me? No. That one was absurd. I didn't even deserve it.
We drove to the café. Just a regular street, regular morning. But my heart knew. My skin knew this was anything but regular to me.
I stepped out of the car, and made my way inside. Liana sat in the usual seat, sunglasses on her face, face impassive. She dressed power as patience. Cold and unmoving.
"You're late," she grumbled, voice low and unimpressed.
"Sorry. Dominic's been out of the house for two days. I waited to see if he would return.”
She glanced towards the window, then back at me. "He knows?"
I swallowed. "I don't know. That's the point. He hasn't come home and I can't reach him. I don't feel safe anymore."
I pushed the suitcase in her direction. "It's all in there."
She opened it, flipped over the false bottom, and pulled it out. Her eyes scanned them, her lips compressing into a happy smile.
And then… somewhere behind us, a low, raspily voiced, trembling with anger broke through our moment like a knife.
"So it was you all along."
Ice ran through my veins. My back stiffened.
I turned around slowly and came face to face with his bloodshot eyes.
DOMINIC