Dom.
He would easily be able to manipulate this, as he’s done countless times before. It’s child’s play for him.
“What about Helen?”
“We’re leaving Helen out of it.”
Roman’s. Fucking. Daughter.
Anyone but her. Anyone but Roman Horner’s fucking daughter.
Literally, any woman but her.
And worse, they’ve chosen her over me.
If it were a move to gain ground in taking Roman down, they would have told me. But Dom…if I had his loyalty and trust, why would they keep this from me?
Betrayal courses through me as spiked needles begin ripping through my chest. Uncapping a bottle, I pour a drink with shaky hands as my driver eyes me while I rip off my jacket and loosen my tie, feeling my world closing in.
Why? Why would they do this? I’m so close to bringing Roman down. Years of waiting, years of making moves. They know this. They know how close we are. Sean left the garage to go back to the plant to try and dig a little deeper to see if we missed anything before we make our move.
We’re months away, at most, after fucking years of waiting.
It doesn’t make sense.
Resisting the urge to call either of them only to be fed more lies, I palm the burn in my chest, my back trickling with sweat.
“Tout va bien, boss? Avez-vous besoin d’aller à l’h?pital?” Are you okay, boss? Do you need a hospital?”
I shake my head in reply before I toss back more gin, my head spinning with only one question—why?
There’s only one way to find out. And I’m fucking dreading it because somehow, I know, it’s already over. I shoot a text to Palo to let Antoine know I’m leaving.
I’m going stateside.
His reply is almost immediate.
Tell him yourself.
Though our relationship dynamic has changed for the better over the years, Palo is a moody fucker, but a bit unpredictable. But he’s had my back more times at this point than he hasn’t. And I can’t blame him for being the hateful bastard he is, with the company he keeps. His growing hate and resentment toward Antoine—I’m already using to my advantage. He’s closing in after years of pining for his wife, which I know will be the final step in securing an alliance. I just have to bide my time.
With my father just out of reach, and my brothers slipping through my hands, anger I’ve never felt builds inside of me. They turned my own tactics against me, making me the outside fucking man, pushing me out of the circle—one I had cemented us all in. From this moment forward, I don’t know if I’ll ever trust my brothers the same, no matter their reasoning. The ache that thought causes has me rubbing my chest.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
After all the sacrifices I’ve made to bring Roman to justice. After all the opportunities I showered them with, all I asked for was loyalty and trust, and they couldn’t even give me that?
My own fucking brother has turned on me, for a woman—the daughter of our enemy.
And I never saw it coming.
“You know, assuming makes you an asshole.” Dom’s words cross my mind, but what else can I believe? They’ve been lying to me, worse than that, purposefully deceiving me, for at least two months.
Does Dom want control? Is he willing to hurt me for it? Is this some sort of lateral move to knock me off the board in an attempt to gain power?
If so, I won’t fight him. He can have it. I live solely for what we’ve built together, for the possibilities of sharing in what we can do in the future. It’s enough for me. As ambitious as I am, it’s enough.