Cohen shakes his head, a bitter smile tugging at his mouth. “It was my mess, Nate. I didn’t want to drag you down with me.”
“I’m your manager and your best friend. The mess is literally my natural habitat.”
Nate gives his shoulder a rough shove—awkwardly macho, but it screamsI’ve got you now.Then he adds, “You don’t have to give in to him anymore. Grace is of age now. He can’t use her as leverage. We’ll take care of her.”
Cohen nods, somewhere between dazed and grateful, watching Nate with a strange new light in his eyes.
Dominic pushes off the wall where he’s been a silent, looming shadow.
His gaze—cold, precise—locks on Cohen.
“The flash drive,” he says.
Two words.
Cohen goes rigid. He understands immediately.
“Dom, if I use that… the media will lose their minds. We’re done. Me and Grace—our name will be trashed forever.”
“Yes,” Dominic says, cutting him off. His tone is flat. Final. “But your father doesn’t know you don’t want to use it. His little game is over.”
He steps forward, presence filling the room.
The silence that follows is crushing.
Cohen looks at his sister. Then at Nate’s steady hand on her shoulder. Finally, back to Dominic.
Resignation drains from his eyes, replaced by something colder. Harder.
He nods once.
“Yeah. If he shows up again, we have something to hit back with now. Grace is here,” Cohen says quietly. “It’s over.”
Dominic tips his chin toward the stairs.
“Upstairs. Guest room.”
Cohen whispers a thank-you to Dom, then stands, scooping Grace into his arms like she weighs nothing. Nate pops up with him, falling into step at his side, ready to block the whole world if he has to.
At the bottom of the staircase, Cohen pauses.
He turns toward me.
I’m still by the fireplace, heart hammering painfully against my ribs.
Our eyes meet.
He looks wrecked—like someone who’s been walking on broken glass for years and has just now realized he can stop.
But there’s no shield there anymore. No sarcasm, no smirk.
He’s justlookingat me. Bare. Real.
I want to run to him. I want to tell him I’m sorry, that I get it now, that I’m here. But this isn’t my moment.
Right now, he has to be a big brother.
So I give him the smallest nod, a wobbly smile.Go.
