I take a bite of toast and watch the show. She pours coffee, says good morning to all of us, sits in her usual spot. Except Dad’s looking at her the way he looks at acquisition targets he’s already decided to pursue.
Interesting.
Donovan’s oblivious, focused on his tablet. But I know my father and I know he wants Samantha.
I don’t know if he’s already had her or if he’s still in the planning phase.
After breakfast, I head to the security room on the lower level. It’s technically Donovan’s domain since he handles most of the surveillance for our operations, but I have full access. We all do.
The room is small, lined with monitors showing feeds from cameras throughout the estate. Main house. Guest wings. Common areas. Even some exterior shots of the grounds and perimeter.
Our private wing has cameras too. Fewer than the rest of the house, and only in hallways and common spaces. But they’re there.
I settle into the chair and pull up the archives from the past week.
The system is organized by location and timestamp. I start with the private wing, scrolling through footage at double speed. Nothing unusual. Staff coming and going. Me heading to my room after late nights. Donovan walking to his office.
Then I see Dad leaving his office. Late. Past midnight.
I slow the footage and watch him head toward the sitting room where we were with Veronica. The three of us were already there, getting started without him.
I fast-forward through the next few hours. The four of us eventually leaving separately. Veronica slipping out through the staff corridor like always.
Nothing I haven’t seen before.
I keep scrolling. More mundane footage. Staff. Family. Daily routines.
Then, I catch movement in Dad’s office at an unusual hour. Mid-afternoon.
And Samantha’s with him.
I lean closer to the monitor, adjusting the playback speed to normal.
They’re talking. She’s sitting in the chair across from his desk. He’s leaning against the desk edge, arms crossed. The body language shifts gradually. He moves closer. She doesn’t back away.
Then he touches her face.
The camera angle isn’t great. It captures the desk and part of the sitting area but not the full room. But I can see enough.
I watch her kiss him. Watch him kiss her back. Watch them move toward the couch that’s just barely in frame.
The footage doesn’t show everything. The camera positioning means I lose them once they’re fully on the couch. But I don’t need to see everything to know what’s happening.
Dad fucked Logan’s ex-girlfriend in his office.
And Samantha let him.
I lean back in the chair, processing.
I should probably feel weird about this. Watching my father with a woman I’m increasingly attracted to myself. But mostly I’m impressed.
Dad doesn’t do impulsive. Every move he makes is calculated. If he pursued Samantha, it’s because he decided she’s worth the complication. Which makes her even more interesting.
I watch the rest of the footage.
When she finally leaves his office, her hair is messy. Dad stays on the couch for another ten minutes, staring at the ceiling.
Yeah. He’s in deep.
