Chapter 113 Compromised
Rowan
I don't wait. I don't calm down. I don't process. I move.
The second I stop moving, I start thinking, and if I start thinking about what just happened, about how someone got through my perimeter... into my house, I will burn everything down before sunrise.
The house feels wrong while I wait for my security team to arrive.
Too quiet. Too exposed. Every shadow looks like a blind spot. Every silence feels like a gap I missed. My office was compromised, and now my home. The one place I built specifically so that nothing could touch me... has failed me.
Theo is watching me. I can feel it. I can feel his eyes on me. Careful, measured. Like he's waiting to see which version of me is going to show up.
Devin stands near the counter, already reviewing something on his phone, calm as ever, but I know he is watching me too. They are both waiting for me to snap.
Violet.... Fuck!
My eyes flick to her. She's standing near the edge of the room again, watching me, not afraid, which she should be. When I get like this, I become something else... someone else that doesn't care who I hurt, but... she's not afraid.
Suddenly, the front door opens, and in walks my security team. Boots against tile, voices low, uncertain looks.
They file in like they always do. Disciplined. Structured. Trained, but I can see the hesitation in their eyes, on their faces.
Good
I don't greet them. I don't acknowledge them. I don't offer context. Not yet, anyway. I let the silence sit, heavy, uncomfortable, deliberate.
Finally, after a few minutes of silence, I step forward, slow and measured.
I look at each of them like I’m deciding who walks out of here tonight.
“Someone explain to me,” I say quietly, “how a secured, electrified perimeter was breached.”
No one answers. Of course they don’t.
I tilt my head slightly. “Let me rephrase.”
A few of them shift. Barely. But I see it.
“You were hired,” I continue, my voice still calm, “to prevent exactly what just happened.”
My eyes move from one face to the next.
“Instead...someone cut through my fence… walked through my property… and entered my home.”
Silence.
“And none of you,” I add softly, “stopped it.”
One of them finally speaks. “Sir, the system didn’t alert us until the breach—”
I move before he finishes. Two steps. Close enough that he stops breathing for a second.
“The system,” I say quietly, “doesn’t fail.”
His throat bobs. “Sir—”
“It doesn’t glitch.” I lean in slightly. “It doesn’t ‘miss’ things.”
Theo steps closer behind me. Not interrupting. Just… there. Watching.
“So we’re left with two possibilities,” I continue. My voice drops lower. Colder. “Either you are all incompetent—”
A pause. Long enough to let that settle.
“Or one of you is lying.”
That lands. No one moves. No one speaks.
Good.
I straighten slowly, taking a step back. “Which is it?” I ask.
Nothing. My patience snaps.
I grab the nearest chair and slam it across the room. It hits the wall with a violent crack, splintering wood and echoing through the house.
Camille flinches behind Theo.
Good. They should all feel this.
“This is not a discussion,” I say, voice sharper now. “This is not a review.” I step forward again. “Someone turned that system off.”
No one responds.
My vision narrows. “Someone,” I repeat, slower now, “allowed an intruder into my home.”
Still nothing.
Devin steps in then. Subtle. Careful.
“Rowan,” he says quietly.
I ignore him. My hand flexes once at my side.
I point at one of them. “You were on perimeter checks last night.”
He stiffens. “Yes, sir.”
“Did you verify the east fence line?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Was it compromised then?”
“No, sir.”
I step closer. “Then explain to me how it ended up cut open tonight.”
He hesitates. Just slightly. I see it.
Theo moves then, placing himself just slightly to the side of me.
“Hey,” he mutters low. “Breathe.”
I don’t.
“Answer the question,” I say.
“I don’t know, sir.”
The words hit something raw.
“I don’t know,” I repeat. A humorless laugh escapes me. “That’s your answer?”
Devin’s voice is firmer now. “Rowan.”
I turn on him. “What?”
“This isn’t helping.”
“It’s helping me determine who I fire,” I snap.
Theo exhales sharply. “Or who you scare into saying the wrong thing,” he adds.
I look back at the line of men. Silent. Rigid. Careful. Too careful.
“You have one opportunity,” I say quietly, “to tell me the truth.” My gaze sharpens. “Before I decide you’re the problem.”
The room holds its breath. Still... No one breaks.
Seconds stretch. Long. Heavy.
My patience is gone.
I step back, dragging a hand down my face, jaw tight enough to crack.
“This is unacceptable,” I mutter.
“No,” Devin agrees calmly. “It’s compromised.”
I let out a slow breath. Doesn’t help. Nothing helps.
Everything is compromised. My office. My house. My team.
Nothing is safe.
My gaze flicks back to them. And then... One of them shifts.
The same one. The one from a few days ago. The one who smiled at Violet. The one who thought he had a chance.
His posture breaks just slightly. His eyes flick... Not to me but to her. And that’s it. That’s all I need.
I step toward him slowly. Dangerously calm again.
“You,” I say.
His throat tightens. “Sir, I—”
“Start talking.”
His eyes dart again. Panic. Real panic.
“I didn’t—” he starts.
Then stops.
Theo goes still beside me. He sees it too.
“Finish that sentence,” I say quietly.
His breathing picks up. Fast. Shallow.
“I didn’t think—” he stammers.
My head tilts slightly. “You didn’t think what?”
Silence and then... He breaks.
“I didn’t think they’d actually come inside,” he blurts.
The room goes dead quiet.