Page 53 of The Tower (Billionaire Brothers Grimm #1)

As we push through the crowd, a tall dark-haired woman intercepts us, flashing a badge.

“Ms. Reed,” she says, her expression professional but sympathetic. “I’m Detective Ramirez. I wanted to inform you that an arrest warrant has been issued for Victor Reed. We’re actively searching for him now.”

The news hits me with mixed emotions—vindication, yes, but also a hollow sort of grief for what might have been in another life, with another kind of father.

“Do you have any idea where he might be?” she asks. “Any properties he might go to ground in?”

I shake my head, the reality of my father as a fugitive still too strange to fully grasp. “If Victor doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be,” I say. “He’s very good at controlling his environment.”

The detective nods, handing me her card. “If you think of anything, please call. And Ms. Reed? We’re prepared to provide increased security around you until your father is apprehended.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Grimm says. “We’ve got her covered.”

She nods, then moves away.

Grimm turns his focus to me. “You okay?”

“I think so,” I say even though I’m not entirely sure. Everything is happening so fast, the ground shifting beneath my feet almost too quickly to navigate.

We continue pushing through the crowd, but our progress is slow. More supporters have gathered, their signs and chants creating a colorful, noisy backdrop to the chaos.

“Ms. Reed!” A young woman breaks through the press line, her expression earnest. “Now that you’ve learned your mother founded Reed Cosmetics, will you be continuing her vision or taking the company in a new direction?”

I glance at Grimm, amazed that news is already out in the world.

“Is this a merger of America’s two biggest cosmetics dynasties?”

“Are the rumors of your elopement with Liam Grimm true?”

The questions come too fast, from too many directions, and I feel myself starting to shut down.

My breathing becomes shallow, my vision narrowing to pinpricks of light.

I have no idea if this is a panic attack from my phobias or simply fallout from the weight of the day.

It doesn’t matter. All I know is I need to get away.

“That’s enough,” Liam’s voice cuts through the noise, firm and unyielding. “Ms. Reed has no comment at this time.”

He signals to someone in the crowd—security, I realize—and suddenly there’s a path clearing for us, leading to a waiting car with tinted windows. Ruby squeezes my hand once more before melting back into the crowd, promising to call me later.

Inside the car, the silence is abrupt and almost shocking after the chaos outside. I sink into the leather seat, exhaustion washing over me in waves.

“Breathe,” Liam says softly beside me. “It’s over. You won.”

I nod, unable to form words yet. The car pulls away from the curb, leaving the courthouse and its circus behind. I watch the city pass by in a blur of steel and glass, trying to process everything that’s happened today.

Free. I’m legally free from my father’s control, he’s a fugitive, wanted by the police, and somehow, I’m now in charge of my mother’s company—a legacy I never knew existed, a connection to her that had been hidden from me all these years.

“I had no idea,” I say finally, my voice barely above a whisper. “About my mother. The company. Any of it.”

Liam’s hand finds mine, his fingers warm and solid. “Your father is very good at hiding the truth.”

A laugh escapes me, sharp and hollow. “That’s the understatement of the century.”

“What will you do?” he asks. “About the company?”

I shake my head, the question too enormous to contemplate right now. “I don’t know. I never imagined … I mean, it was hers. All this time, I thought it was his creation, his legacy. But it was my mother’s vision. Her dream.”

The realization brings a fresh wave of grief and wonder. He stole her life, her vision, and so much more. What other pieces of her legacy, did he appropriate and distort?

“Where are we going?” I ask, changing the subject before the emotions can overwhelm me again.

Liam’s hand squeezes mine gently. “Somewhere special,” he says. “Someplace I want you to see.”

I want to ask for more details, but I’m too wrung out to care. Besides, I trust Grimm to take care of me. And for now, at least, it’s enough to know that wherever we’re heading, it’s away from the chaos, the cameras, and the questions for which I have no answers.

Away, with Liam Grimm—the man who started as my captor, became my protector, and now …

Well, now I don’t know what he is. Not enemy, not exactly an ally. More than just a lover, more than just a friend. He’s something far more complicated. Something I treasure.

And traveling alongside us, invisible but somehow newly present, is the ghost of my mother, whose legacy has unexpectedly found its way back to me.

As the city gives way to suburbs, and suburbs to the lush green of countryside, I let my head rest against Liam’s shoulder, surrendering to exhaustion and the strange peace of finally, truly being my own person.

Free to choose. Free to decide.

Free to be.