“He’s the reason we’ve been compromised so much lately.”
She shakes her head slowly, disbelief breaking across her features. “I…I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.”
“I know you didn’t.”
The words come out immediately, instinctively.
And I mean them.
I step closer, touch her cheek. “Vivian, look at me. None of this is on you.”
Her breath shudders out.
I kiss her forehead—claiming, reassuring, anchoring. “Stay here. I’ll take care of it.”
There’s no argument in her eyes, only fear…and trust. Real, unflinching trust.
That alone could kill a man.
I turn and leave before I can think too much about it.
The fury returns the moment I’m in the hallway. My strides lengthen. My jaw clenches.
Kyle didn’t just betray me; he betrayed her.
Lived under my roof. Ate at my table. Walked behind Vivian pretending to protect her.
I reach his door and don’t bother knocking.
Because this ends now.
I kick the door open, and Kyle scrambles upright in his bed, eyes wide, a mixture of confusion and irritation twisting his face.
“What the hell—?!” he starts, voice sharp. “What are you doing in my room?!”
“Shut up!” I bark at him.
“This is an invasion of my privacy!” he says crossly.
I step inside, pushing the door wide open, and let a laugh escape. “Ironically,” I say, voice carrying like steel, “you lecture me about invasion of privacy…when you’ve been invading ours for weeks.”
Kyle freezes for a heartbeat, then groans, running a hand through his hair. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
I step closer, and the room feels smaller, tighter, charged. “The jig is up, Kyle. You don’t have to lie. I already know everything. The accounts. The messages. The attacks. The leaks. You’ve been feeding intel. All of it.”
His eyes flicker—panic, disbelief, calculation. Then something snaps. He lunges at me, wild-eyed, trying to catch me off guard.
I pivot instinctively, catching his arm mid-swing. The motion is controlled, precise. My hand tightens around his wrist, and I throw him against the wall like a rag doll.
“Don’t.” My voice is low, a growl that rattles his spine. “One more move like that, and I will break you.”
Kyle swallows hard, eyes darting around, calculating. “I…I—You don’t understand. I was just—I don’t—we—”
“Spare me the excuses,” I cut him off, stepping so close he can feel the heat from my body. “You betrayed my family. You betrayed Vivian. And if anyone,anyone, had touched her, I would’ve torn you apart with my bare hands.”
His face pales. His chest heaves. He doesn’t move. He knows I mean it.
I step back, letting him slump against the wall, but my eyes never leave his. “You’re going to tell me everything. Every detail. Every lie you’ve told. And you’re going to do it now.”
