Chapter Eight
922 Words
Dominic POV
Control has always been my greatest strength.
That morning, it slipped.
“Elena,” I called.
She looked up instantly from her desk. “Yes, sir?”
Steady. Careful. Composed but somehow trying to stay focused.
“Cancel my noon meeting. Push it to tomorrow.”
She hesitated. “That’s the Zurich investors, sir.”
“I know.”
A pause. Then a nod. “I’ll inform them.”
She didn’t question it. She never did. But her gaze lingered on me a fraction longer than usual.
She noticed.
That was the problem.
---
The office was already humming when my brother walked in like the owner.
“Still running this place like a prison, I see.”
I looked up sharply. “Get out.”
Ethan Hale only grinned, hands shoved casually into his pockets. Same face. Same blood. None of the disciplines.
“Elena,” he said, turning to her desk. “You’re the woman who has survived him this long,” he said with a knowing smile.
She blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“Ethan,” I warned.
He leaned against her desk, entirely too close. “Relax. I’m complimenting you.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “I’m just doing my job, sir.”
“Sir?” He laughed. “God, you really are scared of him.”
“That’s enough,” I snapped.
Ethan straightened, amusement flashing in his eyes. “Board decision. Overseas expansion.” He dropped a file on my desk. “Temporary transfer. I’m back.”
I didn’t open it.
“You planned this,” I said.
“Obviously.”
Elena glanced between us. Uneasy. Alert.
Ethan’s gaze flicked to her again. “We’re celebrating tonight. New club opening downtown.”
“No,” I said flatly.
“You are,” he replied. Then smiled. “And so is she.”
Elena stiffened. “Sir, I…”
“She’s not going,” I cut in.
Ethan’s grin widened. “Still pretending you don’t care?”
“Leave,” I said.
He shrugged. “Tonight, brother. Try not to lose control before then.”
He stopped at Elena's desk and said, “Nice to meet you again,” and walked out with a smile.
The room felt tighter after that.
“Elena,” I said quietly.
“Yes, sir?”
“Have you met before?” I asked.
“Yes sir. Only briefly.”
I sighed, knowing my brother fully well.
“You are not obligated to attend anything outside work hours.”
Relief crossed her face before she masked it. “Thank you.”
I hated how much I noticed that.
---
I should have known Ethan wouldn’t let it go.
The club was chaotic—lights flashing, music pounding, bodies pressed too close. Ethan thrived in places like this.
I didn’t.
“You look like you want to kill someone,” he shouted over the music.
“I told you I didn’t want to be here.”
“And yet,” he said, handing me a drink. I didn’t take it.
That’s when I saw her.
Elena stood near the bar, clutching her bag like an anchor. She wore a simple black dress. No excess. No pretense.
She didn’t belong here.
Our eyes met.
Her breath hitched. “Sir?”
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
Ethan appeared beside us instantly. “I invited her.”
“You had no right.”
“She said no at first,” he said easily. “Then changed her mind.”
I looked at her. “You didn’t have to come.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I just… didn’t want to seem ungrateful.”
That word hit me harder than the music.
“Stay with me,” I said without thinking.
She nodded.
The crowd surged.
Someone shoved past her.
“Elena…”
She missed the step.
The fall was fast. Violent.
The sound of her hitting the floor cut through everything.
I was on my knees beside her instantly. “Don’t move.”
“I’m okay,” she whispered, but her face was pale.
Blood.
My chest locked.
“Call an ambulance,” I barked.
Ethan froze.
“Now.”
---
The hospital was too bright. Too quiet.
“She’s lucky,” the doctor said. “Just a sprain. No fracture. She would be able to go home this night.”
Lucky.
I wasn’t.
“You didn’t have to come,” Elena said softly once we were alone.
“I told you not to.”
“I didn’t want to disappoint anyone.”
That snapped something in me.
“You don’t owe anyone that,” I said.
She looked up slowly. “Then why does it feel like I do?”
I had no answer.
A knock.
“Mr. Hale,” the nurse said. “Someone is asking for you.”
“Who?”
“A woman. Veronica Sloan.”
My jaw tightened.
Elena’s gaze sharpened. She felt it.
“Stay here,” I said.
In the corridor, Veronica smiled like she’d uncovered a secret.
“So,” she said lightly, “this is how far it’s gone.”
“Say what you came to say,” I replied coldly.
“You’re crossing lines,” she murmured. “And when this explodes…”
“I don’t care.”
Her smile vanished.
I turned back towards Elena’s ward.
But I stopped short.
Ethan stood there instead.
Watching.
Calculating.
And then he said quietly, “You’re in trouble, brother.”
- Writer
