Breaking into his heart

The hum of computers echoed through the silent penthouse. It was almost midnight. Manhattan glowed beyond the glass walls, but Zariah Laurent wasn’t looking at the view. She was breaking the law. Her hands trembled as she typed—hacking into Dominic King’s encrypted laptop. The man had firewalls most hackers wouldn’t dream of touching, but Zariah had been planning this for years. Find the file. Get proof. Walk away. And finally—there it was. “Project Aegis – Laurent Acquisition – Encrypted Financial Log (2019)” Her eyes burned with tears. That was her father’s company. His life’s work. His legacy, destroyed in a scandal that left him a shell of himself until the day he died. And Dominic King? He walked away with a billion-dollar asset. “You have ten seconds to explain what the hell you’re doing.” Zariah froze. She hadn’t heard the elevator. Hadn’t seen him come in. But there he was—Dominic King himself, standing in the shadows, tall, broad-shouldered, wearing nothing but black slacks and a shirt unbuttoned at the top. Powerful. Calm. Cold. “Step away from the laptop,” he said quietly. Zariah didn’t move. “Is this about money?” he asked. “Revenge? You think you’re the first?” She swallowed hard, forcing the words out. “I’m not after money.” He took a step forward. “Then what?” Zariah turned to face him. For once, she didn’t hide. “You destroyed my father. I came here to destroy you.” His eyes narrowed. “Name.” “Zariah Laurent.” Silence. Recognition flickered across his face—but not surprise. Not guilt either. Just… something unreadable. “I should call security,” he said. “Then do it.” He stared at her, then slowly walked to the desk, closed the laptop, and looked her dead in the eye. “No. You want revenge? Work for me. Get closer. Get the truth you think you want.”