Page 58 of The Tower (Billionaire Brothers Grimm #1)

Thirty-Nine

Return

R eed Tower looms before me, a gleaming monument to my father’s ego—and, I now know, my mother’s vision.

The familiar facade, once a prison, now represents something more complicated.

A past I can’t escape, a legacy I’m not sure I want, and yet still the only place that has ever truly been mine, however tarnished it might be from years under my father’s control.

“Welcome back, Ms. Reed,” the doorman says, genuine warmth in his greeting. Ruby had told me that news of my father’s abuse had spread throughout the staff. She was right, and I’m grateful for the sympathy and support.

The private elevator whisks me upward, my stomach dropping in a way that has nothing to do with the rapid ascent. What am I doing here? This is the last place I should seek refuge, the physical manifestation of everything I’ve been fighting to escape.

And yet, as the doors slide open to reveal my suite, a delicious sense of familiarity washes over me. This space, at least, was mine. Whatever my father did, however he controlled me, this sanctuary was where I created Elysium, where I dreamed of freedom.

Where I was secretly watched by the man I thought had saved me.

The bitterness of the irony is enough to choke on. Escaping one captor only to fall into the arms of another.

I drop my bag by the door and move through the rooms, seeing them with new eyes.

The elegant furnishings, the tasteful art—all carefully selected to create the illusion of autonomy while maintaining my father’s aesthetic control.

Like Liam’s Connecticut house, beautiful but ultimately designed for someone else’s purposes.

I scoff. I could choke on the irony. I’ve gone from one controlling man to another. From being my father’s puppet to Liam’s weapon. Both men making decisions for me.

Had I really once told Liam that he’s nothing like my father? I’d believed it then. Now, I’m not so sure. Hadn’t they both made decisions for me without even asking what I thought? Hadn’t they both lied to me? My father about who killed my mother, and Liam about Elysium?

My father may have kept me tethered with drugs and manipulation, but wasn’t Liam manipulating me every moment he failed to mention that he’d been watching me—hell, fucking me—in Elysium?

My sanctuary that wasn’t a sanctuary at all. My private world that had been invaded without my knowledge or consent.

The violation cuts deeper than I could have imagined. It’s not just about privacy—it’s about trust, about believing that for once in my life, someone saw the real me, not the image they wanted to see.

That Liam Grimm, of all people, did this to me …

But why should I be surprised? I knew his reputation going in. I’d just let myself forget it.

The tears finally come, hot and fierce, pouring down my face in a torrent I can’t control. I sob until my throat is raw, until my eyes burn, until there’s nothing left but a hollow ache where my heart should be.

When the storm passes, I’m left exhausted but clearer. I won’t stay here—not in Reed Tower, not in my father’s shadow. But I needed this moment, this return, to understand that I can’t go backward. Whatever comes next, it has to be something new, something built on my own terms.

Sleep claims me eventually, curled on the studio couch where I’d spent so many nights before, lost in the creation of a world that was never as private as I believed.

A soft knock pulls me from restless dreams. I blink awake, disoriented. For a moment, I expect to see the Connecticut house ceiling and feel Liam’s arm draped across my waist.

Then reality crashes back.

Reed Tower. My old prison. My current refuge.

“Sasha?” There’s a light tap at the door. “You in there?”

I sit up, rubbing my eyes. “Come in,” I call, my voice rough from crying.

The door opens and Ruby stands there in her uniform—the practical black pants and white button-down shirt of Reed Tower’s hospitality staff, the part-time job she recently took so that she could stay on site with her grandmother once I’d escaped the building.

Her eyes widen when she sees me, concern washing over her face.

“Holy shit,” she breathes, hurrying inside and closing the door behind her. “What happened?”

I almost laugh at the question. What happened? My entire world imploded. The man I loved betrayed me in the most intimate way possible. I discovered everything I thought was real was just another form of surveillance.

“Liam,” is all I manage to say, my voice cracking on his name.

Ruby doesn’t hesitate, just hurries to the sofa and wraps her arms around me. I collapse against her, fresh tears spilling down my cheeks.

“What did that bastard do?” she asks, leaning back and fingering my now-short hair. “I swear, I’ll kill the fucker.”

I pull back, wiping my eyes. “How did you know I was here?”

“Mrs. Keller in housekeeping texted me the minute you arrived. She said you were in bad shape, but she didn’t mention your hair.” She squeezes my shoulder. “Sasha, seriously.Tell me what happened.”

“You think Leo’s a giant prick? Well, his big brother is giving him a run for his money.”

Ruby’s forehead creases as she frowns, then sits on the sofa next to me. “What are you talking about?”

I draw a breath, then scrub my hands over my face before taking a deep breath and facing her. “Grimm hacked into Elysium. He’s been monitoring everything I did there for years. Everything.” My voice breaks on the last word, the violation still too raw to process fully.

Ruby’s expression shifts from confusion to horror. “That’s not possible. You locked that down like Fort Knox.”

“It’s possible if you’re Liam fucking Grimm,” I say, a harsh laugh escaping me. “Computer genius, security expert. He’s been watching me all along.”

Her hand goes to her mouth, and she shakes her head slowly. “That’s—oh, god, Sasha. How did you find out?”

I grit my teeth then grind out the words. “Maya Lane told me.”

Ruby’s eyebrows shoot up. “The one you told me about? His ex from the Tribeca loft? Why would she?—”

“To hurt him, I guess. To hurt me.” I sink back onto the sofa. “Does it matter?”

“What did he say?”

I shake my head. “I didn’t stick around. What can he say?”

She just shakes her head and whispers, “Wow.” Then she frowns as she takes my hand. “Is there any way you could be wrong? Maybe you should ask him. I mean, I used to think he was the biggest a-hole of all, but all this time with you, the way he’s helped you, and …”

She trails off with a shrug.

“It’s true,” I tell her. “I should have seen it when I told him about Elysium. I thought he just got it, you know, because he works in cybersecurity. But it was because he’d been in that code for years.

” I almost tell her the rest—that he’d hijacked Prince Killiam. But I’m not ready to go there yet.

Ruby takes my hand, her fingers warm against mine. “I’m sorry. I know how much you cared about him.”

“Loved,” I correct, the admission like glass in my throat. “I loved him. What a fucking joke.”

“It’s not a joke to feel something real,” she says quietly. “Even if it was based on a lie.” And, she adds, with a somewhat wary look, “I think he loves you, too.”

“The bastard doesn’t even know what love is.”

I glance around the studio at my paintings, so many cityscapes, so many wide-open spaces. Grimm had given me that. Helped me cope with my fear, got me off those damn drugs. But he hadn’t done it for me. Not really.

“I thought I was finally free,” I whisper. “That night at Alexander’s party, when Liam took me away, I thought I was truly escaping. But I was just trading one captor for another.”

“You’re not captive now,” Ruby points out. “You came back here on your own. That’s a choice you made.”

She’s right, of course. Whatever else has happened, I’m no longer under my father’s direct control. Or Liam’s. The guardianship was denied. Reed Cosmetics is mine now, not to mention the rest of Reed Industries.

I’m free.

I should be jumping for joy. Instead, I’m mourning the loss of a man I should never have let myself trust.

“What will you do?” she asks after a moment of silence.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I can’t stay here forever. This place still feels like …” I trail off, gesturing at the walls that have contained me for so long.

“A prison,” she finishes for me.

“A cage,” I correct. “A beautiful, comfortable cage, but still a cage.”

“You could get your own place,” she suggests. “Something that’s just yours. No Reed influence, no Grimm control.”

The idea is both terrifying and exhilarating. A space that’s truly mine, designed to my specifications, controlled by no one but me.

“Maybe,” I say. Then, changing the subject, “How have things been here? Since my father … left.”

Ruby’s expression shifts, becoming more guarded. “From what I hear, the business is running fine. It’s not like your dad was day-to-day management. But I know they’re wanting you to step in officially. I guess everything feels too open-ended until you do.”

I nod. “I know. I will. I just need more time.”

“I get that.” She squeezes my hand. “It’s your mom’s legacy. You want to get it right.”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“Just be careful. Everyone thinks Victor fled the country, but I don’t know. I’m worried he’s going to pop up like some scary Jack-in-the-Box and take it all out on you.”

I meet her eyes. “Yeah. I’m kind of worried about that, too.”

Because I don’t want to think about it, I move on. “And the Tower staff?”

“Universal relief. You may be shocked to learn that your father was not well-loved.”

I feign surprise. “No!”

She nods. “Oh. Yes. Apparently, many staff members thought he was a prick, a bastard, and poor excuse for a human.” She shrugs. “Among other things.”

I snort. “It’s almost sweet how well they know him.”

We share another grin, then Ruby leans closer.

“Listen, whatever you decide to do next, you know I’m with you.

If you want to move out of here and get an apartment, we could move in together.

Or if you just want to fly to Bali and never look back?

I’ll totally help you pack. Just … don’t shut me out, okay? ”

The sincerity in her voice brings fresh tears to my eyes. This is friendship—real, unguarded, without ulterior motives. Nothing like what I had with Grimm, where every interaction I’d thought so real was colored by deception.

“Thank you,” I whisper, squeezing her hand. “For everything. For being the one person in my life who’s always been straight with me.”

She pulls me in for a hug. “And I always will be.”

We sit in comfortable silence for a moment, the weight of the day settling around us like a heavy blanket. Then she gives me a hug and tells me she needs to go cover for the fifteenth floor receptionist.

She pauses at the door. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re the strongest person I know. Whatever happens next, you’ll be okay.”

As the door closes behind her, I let her words sink in. Strong. It’s not how I feel right now.

Now, I’m more in the broken, betrayed, and lost zone. Still, maybe she’s right. I survived my father’s manipulation. I’ll survive Liam’s betrayal, too.

I move to the window, then look out at the city spread below me. It takes a moment, but then I realize that my skin isn’t crawling. My stomach isn’t twisting, and vertigo isn’t threatening to send me tumbling through this window and out into the cold, dark void.

For now, at least, I’m not scared.