Page 37

DOMINIC

S avannah’s phone buzzed from where it sat on the dresser.

She crossed the bedroom and picked it up, thumb hovering for a moment before she turned the screen toward herself.

I watched her from where I stood by the window, rolling my cuff and adjusting the sharp crease in the sleeve.

The change in her posture told me everything I needed to know before she opened her mouth.

“It’s my dad,” she said. “He wants to see me—now.”

Her tone was calm, but her fingers tightened around the phone, betraying the nerves she was trying to hide.

I walked toward her, closing the distance between us until we stood almost toe to toe in front of the mirror.

The conversation we’d just had was intense, and I was looking forward to seeing the boys and meeting them, but I had the rest of my life for that.

“Then we go,” I said, giving her elbow a squeeze. “We shouldn’t let this drag out longer than necessary. Okay?”

“But the boys …”

“Believe me, baby, I want to meet them as soon as possible, but I want this weight off your shoulders now.” I leaned in, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she smiled.

Nodding, she unlocked her phone to fire off a quick message. Her brows furrowed slightly as she typed. “I’m texting Thea,” she said without looking up. “Telling her I have to leave, but we’ll hang out with her and the boys tomorrow.”

I pulled away and watched her finish the message before setting the phone face down on the dresser.

She turned toward the mirror again, slipping in her second earring with a smooth flick of her wrist. Her reflection looked composed, but I saw the way her chest rose on a deeper breath than usual.

The nerves were there, sitting just beneath the surface.

I fastened my second cufflink and straightened my collar. There was tension between us, but not in the same way there had been for weeks. This time, we were each gathering ourselves for the same thing, just coming at it from different angles.

She glanced at the clock. Less than fifteen minutes had passed since the message came through, but her posture said she wished we were already there.

I stepped behind her, letting my gaze settle on her through the mirror. “So tomorrow I get to meet them?” I kissed the top of her shoulder and watched her expression shift.

Her eyes widened a little. She turned slowly but she wasn’t defensive.

“Yes,” she said. “I promise. I’m not going to keep them from you. But please help me get through tonight…”

We exchanged a look in the mirror—one of quiet understanding, and I stepped back, grabbed my jacket from the hook by the door, and held it while she slipped into her heels. The air had a kind of fragile purpose to it, like we were both walking a wire we couldn’t afford to fall from.

On the way down to the car, she stayed quiet. I unlocked the doors, and we both slid in. As we headed to David’s home, Savannah kept her gaze on the window, fingers tapping rhythmically against her thigh.

“Do you want to rehearse what you’re going to say to him?” I asked after a few blocks, keeping my eyes on the road.

“I’ve played it a hundred times in my head,” she said. “But none of them end well.”

That, at least, was something we agreed on.

David would be surprised to see us arrive together.

He probably assumed that sharing the flash drive with her would turn her away from me, not pull her closer.

I didn’t relish the idea of putting him in his place, but someone had to.

Why not a faithful friend who could do it with good news—that his campaign wasn’t at risk in any way?

The sky was darkening fast as we left the city behind. The closer we got to David’s estate, the more that tension set in—thick and hard in the chest. Neither of us said much more. There wasn’t anything left to clarify. We knew what would happen; we just had to walk through it.

The drive took almost forty minutes, and we spoke maybe twice.

Savannah watched the city lights blur past; I drove with both hands on the wheel, my thoughts churning through every possible variation of what this night could turn into.

Every time I imagined it, it ended the same way: a huge argument.

The gate at the estate was open. The lights inside the house were low. No security came to greet us, and no staff opened the door. It was the way you leave your house when family was set to arrive, and he probably would be shocked by seeing me.

Savannah climbed out before I turned off the ignition. I followed her across the drive and up the front steps. Her posture was rigid, spine straight, chin level. If she was afraid, she didn’t show it.

David answered the door himself. He wore a pressed shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows. His tie was missing, and there was a looseness to his expression that I hadn’t seen before—a kind of resignation as soon as he saw me. He knew her choice before she even opened her mouth.

“We need to talk,” Savannah said. Her tone was formal, the words clipped and cool. Whatever fondness she might’ve once shown him had vanished, replaced by controlled distance.

He stepped aside and held the door open without a word.

The foyer was as pristine as ever, but something about the space felt colder than it had in the past. Savannah walked ahead, her heels tapping lightly on the hardwood.

I stayed close to her side as we entered the sitting room.

A single lamp was on by the fireplace, and the rest of the space was dim.

Neither of us sat down, but when she tucked into my side, David glowered at me defensively.

He wasn’t surprised we were here at the same time; he just hadn’t expected us to be united.

His eyes flicked to me the second Savannah spoke.

She didn’t wait for him to take a seat or start in on his usual lectures.

“I’m not going to be bullied by you anymore,” she said. “I love Dominic. And the boys—Dominic’s sons—deserve the truth too. They need their father, and I won’t let you twist things so that I push Dominic away.”

David’s mouth pulled tight. “Savannah?—”

“Don’t,” she snapped. “You had your say. You gave me that flash drive with Dominic’s secret, hoping it would make me walk away, but it changed nothing, Dad.

Dominic didn’t do anything wrong, and I don’t think any less of him.

” She clung to my side fiercely, and my heart had never felt more full hearing her defend me.

David’s eyes narrowed; he pressed his hand to his forehead and paced a few steps with a rigid body. “You don’t know what you’re doing. You don’t see what kind of risk he brings.”

“Actually,” I said, stepping forward and keeping my tone calm, “she knows exactly what she’s doing.

And you’re not protecting her, David. You’re isolating her.

” He opened his mouth, but I cut him off and pulled the folded slip of paper from my coat and held it out to him.

“This came from Graham—notes on his research. He called around, did some digging.

“This proves what I couldn’t be sure of that night. It wasn’t a person we hit in Montauk. It was an animal, most likely already injured. We have everything documented to back it up.”

David looked at the paper but didn’t reach for it.

His shoulders twitched, like he was unsure whether to lean forward or walk away.

He fumed for a second, pressed his fingertips to his temples like he couldn’t believe what I was saying.

I wasn’t sure what incompetent fool was running his campaign, or if maybe he hadn’t even said anything and the fear of being found out kept him from asking anyone to help him out.

But he seemed reluctant to trust my proof.

“Your campaign isn’t in jeopardy,” I added. “Nothing from that night ties back to you or to me. But everything you’ve done since? The leaks, the headlines—Marla twisting coverage to paint me as reckless? That’s what’s going to ruin your legacy.”

Savannah took a step toward her father, leaving the safety of my side. “You used me, Dad. And when I didn’t play along, you used Marla to twist the story and destroy everything we were trying to build.”

“I did what I thought I had to do,” David said, his voice sharp. “You were in over your head. You still are.”

“Then you should have helped me stand,” she said, her voice cracking. “Not tried to cut out the foundation.”

He looked at me, an accusation rising in his eyes. “You think this ends with you? She’s still going to have to pick up the pieces.”

“We’ll do that together,” I said. “And you don’t get to decide what’s good for her anymore.”

David’s shoulders slumped, a flicker of regret passing across his face. “I never wanted it to get this far. I thought I was protecting her.”

“You were protecting yourself,” Savannah said. “Now we’re done with that too.” She sighed, walked over to him, and took his hand, and to my shock he didn’t pull away. His shoulders drooped as she said, “Daddy, I love him, and we’re happy. And you’re best friends. Why can’t we make this work?”

David let out a slow breath and sat down on the edge of the armchair, elbows braced on his knees. His voice, when it came, was quieter than I’d ever heard it. “I’m tired, sweetheart. This was never supposed to get this far.”

He looked at me, then back at her. “I believed it was a man you hit that night. I did. I saw your face afterward. You were scared to death. And I made a call because I thought burying it would be safer than facing it—we both had huge plans for our lives. And now look at us…I didn’t want my daughter tied to scandal. ”

I crossed my arms and kept my stance steady. “But I lived with it. I carried it while you moved on. You didn’t protect her, David. Real protection would’ve been both of us facing up to what happened and accepting the consequences like real men would’ve. Not this.”

David nodded faintly. “I know that now.”

I stepped closer. “It’s too late for damage control. This ends tonight—with full disclosure. No more spin. No more shaping the narrative. No more twisting the truth to serve your campaign. And most of all, no more secrets.”

David glanced down at her hand again, still locked in mine, then back up at her face. “I’m sorry,” he said. The words were low and not as firm as they once might’ve been. And they came way too late in the game to heal anything, but I could see by the look in his eye he meant them.

Savannah’s throat moved as she swallowed. Her hand dropped gently away from his. “I need some time to process all of this. But I’ll call you soon.”

His shoulders were still drooping, but none of us said anything else. There wasn’t much more to offer, and no true resolution coming tonight. Healing would take time. Whatever he chose to do next would be on him, and Savannah needed time to breathe.

Savannah didn’t say anything as we turned to go, though I saw the way her shoulders were slouched and her face was drawn.

Only an hour ago, we were tangled up in each other and ready to embrace a life together.

I was set to meet my boys, find out what they thought of me.

And now all I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and comfort her.

Seeing what David’s antics did to her made me so angry I could punch him, but I knew healing would never come that way.

“Hey,” I said softly as I opened the car door for her. She turned and leaned against the side, standing almost in the open door.

“Yeah,” she said glumly.

“I’m gonna pull the plug on all of this…” I hooked my fingers through hers as she offered a look of confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, no more publicity, no more face of Dominic Knight in the press. If the shareholders aren’t behind me, I don’t want them.

What I want is you, and my boys, and hopefully someday a family we are proud of.

And I want you to feel secure—no more stressful run around.

” I leaned in to kiss her, but she pressed a finger to my lips.

“Dominic, you can’t do that. I won’t let you just give up.” Her earnest expression warmed my heart.

I reached up and wrapped my hand around her wrist, moving her finger from my mouth.

“I can do anything I want, Ms. Bennett, and right now I want to drive you home so you can rest. Tomorrow we will discuss when I can stop by to meet my sons. How does that sound?” Offering her that small choice caused her to blossom under my touch.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too…Now get in my car and let me drive you home.”

She got in without arguing, and as I closed her door, the only thing on my mind was tomorrow. I had waited long enough; it was time to do the right thing without hesitation.