Chapter 64 Chapter 64
LIANA'S POV
It was too quiet for a friday night. The silence was not the comforting kind. Not the peaceful quiet of victory. No… this quiet was jagged, like the world was suspended, ready for the other shoe to drop.
I sat by the window, bare feet, robe wrapped, blanket draped around my legs. Cam was sleeping upstairs, little body wedged in star-printed sheets and pillows of softness. I had kissed her forehead a few minutes earlier and said that I loved her. She had mumbled about clouds and rolled over. The untouched glass of red wine beside me on the table was warming up, but I couldn't make myself drink. I'd fought a war today and won, but I couldn't keep my body from shaking.
It wasn't euphoria. Surprisingly, it wasn't relief. It was… something more sinister. The boardroom conversations echoed in my head. The faces. The tension. The tremble in Dominic's voice when he realized he had lost. How Nathan stood so calmly, so assertively like he was destined to lead all along.
And Dominic's eyes. God. I would never ever forget the way his eyes were. Or the satisfaction it gave me.
He gazed like a man who had just watched his kingdom burn to the ground, knowing that he'd burned it down himself.
Did I go too far? The thought hung there like a wispy cloud of smoke. Was this justice? Or was it revenge masquerading under the banner of justice?
My hands trembled as I grasped the wine glass, but I didn't take a sip. Just sat there watching the swirl of burgundy liquid catching glimmers of city lights beyond the window.
My phone vibrated. A message from Nathan.
"Can I call? Just finished up the final of the transition notes." I blew softly out and answered on the keyboard.
"Go ahead."
A few seconds later, the phone rang. I answered and settled back into the cushions.
"Nathan."
"You sound dead tired."
I smiled weakly. "I am."
"Well," he said, "you've worked for it."
There was a moment's silence, then he added, "All in motion. IT's taking away Dominic's administrative access, legal is double checking the executive documents you supplied, and HR is handling internal comms tomorrow morning."
"You've done great," I breathed.
"No," Nathan replied. "You began the fight. I'm just seeing it through. Thank you for giving me a better life, Liana."
The words stung more than I expected. I didn't respond. Then he asked the question that had hung between us like a ghost all day: "I do not mean to intrude, but do you regret it?"
I closed my eyes, the face of Dominic rolling behind them like a reel of fast-fading film. "Only that it had to come to this."
He didn't reply right away. Just breathed."You know he won't take this lying down, don't you? You just got a lion cornered. You're going to pay for this."
"I'm ready," I said to him, although my stomach had other plans with its knot.
"I'll have a security detail sweep around your apartment just in case."
I smiled once more. "Always the soldier."
No, Nathan whispered. "Just someone who won't let you go away twice."
That stilled me for a moment. "Goodnight, Nathan," I whispered.
"Goodnight, Ms. Liana."
I hung up the phone. His words made a bit of the feeling of guilt go away. Dominic was definitely going to fight back but thank God I had Serena's evidence and the document to fight back.
Just then, quiet footsteps descended the stairs, disrupting my thoughts. I turned. Cam stood there, wearing her little pink nightie, her hair tousled from sleep.
"Mummy?"
"Hey, baby," I said, opening my arms.
She stood up and encircled my lap quietly. I encircled her, nuzzling my face into her hair. She still had that bubblegum shampoo scent to her.
"Why are you awake?" she whispered.
"I was just thinking."
"Thinking about the big mean man?" she said, sleepily heavy with her words.
I opened my eyes. "Who said he was mean?"
"You did," she yawned, "but not with words.".
That tickled me, even though it hurt in my chest. "He's not the problem anymore."
"Good," Cam whispered, already half asleep in my arms. "He was loud. You're quiet. I like quiet."
I softly kissed the top of her head. "Me too, baby."
Later, I brought her back upstairs and tucked her in again. She didn't even stir.
Downstairs, the silence descended once more.
Only this time… it didn't cut so sharply.
I was leaning at the window, staring out towards the horizon.
Then my phone rang again.
A new number.
No message. No name.
> "You think you've won? You haven't. Be ready."
My body froze.
I scowled at the screen, willing the words to disappear. But they didn't. They burned themselves onto my retinas, one torturous letter at a time.
I knew who it was.
Dominic…
I hissed through my breathing and locked my phone. "So this is the game we're playing now."
I'd known he was going to hit back.
But this?
This was desperation.
My phone buzzed again, and I picked it up with fresh suspicion.
Only this time, it was Stanley.
I answered quickly. "Hey…"
"Hi," he said. His voice sounded subdued. Too subdued. Like he wasn't calling to simply catch up.
"How are you?" he asked.
I hesitated. "Exhausted. But okay."
I began to tell him, to describe it all to him—the boardroom, the vote, the reaction—but half way through I caught something strange.
His voice shifted. He was no longer responding. No little nods. No soft "mm-hm"s. Just silence.
"Stanley?" I said.
He cleared his throat. "Liana… I didn't call to talk about all of that."
I halted mid-sentence. "Okay… why are you calling, then?"
There was a silence that felt like an eternity.
And then: "I'm a few blocks away. If it's not inconvenient, I'd like to drop by. There's something I have to tell you. Something I can't say on the telephone."
My heart went flip.
"Is something wrong?"
"No," he replied. "But it will be all right. I'll tell you everything when I get there."
".Alright," I said quietly. "Come."
I hung up.
And then I just stood there, holding onto my phone.
Outside, the wind started to blow gently, gently touching the windows like a warning.