Ivy’s POV
The Thorne family’s private interrogation room felt suffocating after hours under the harsh fluorescent lights. Brodie sat across from us, his weathered hands shaking as he unraveled years of deception under the watchful eyes of our family’s enforcers. His mother wept openly beside him, her frail fingers clutching mine as she begged her son to confess everything to the Don.
"Please forgive him," she whispered through her tears. "I tried to raise him right in this neighborhood. I failed him, but maybe he can still make things right with your family."
Caleb surprised by placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Despite his reputation for ruthless violence, he showed unexpected compassion to this broken woman. "We’ll make sure you get the dical care you need," he promised quietly. In that mont, watching my husband show rcy to the mother of a traitor, I fell in love with him all over again.
Once Brodie started talking, the words poured out like a confession at his own funeral. His voice was steady, almost relieved, as he detailed the web of betrayal that had entangled our cri family. Roman had recruited him through a mutual connection, Derek Cooper, who had fled from our territory to the rival family’s protection the mont he turned eighteen.
"Roman approached during the helicopter maintenance so ti before the crash," Brodie said, staring at his cuffed hands. "He paid handsoly to sabotage the aircraft that killed your parents. He even funded my helicopter chanic certification so I’d know exactly how to make it look like chanical failure."
My blood turned to ice. Caleb’s parents had died because of this man I had once trusted, once shared a bed with, once allowed near my son. The thought made bile rise in my throat.
But Brodie wasn’t finished destroying what remained of my faith in him. He continued detailing years of dirty work for Roman’s shadow network, laundering money through shell corporations, recruiting desperate people from the slums to do the underboss’s bidding, creating false paper trails that led investigators in circles. Each revelation was another nail in Roman’s coffin.
Then ca the confession that shattered my remaining composure.
"Ivy, you deserve to know the truth," Brodie said, finally eting my eyes. "I always knew Caleb Thorne was Max’s father."
The room spun around . "What did you say?"
"Right after that underground auction years ago, a private investigator ca asking questions. Caleb had sent him to find the woman in the red dress from that night. When the detective described the case, I knew imdiately it was you. Your cousin had seen you leave for that gathering and wouldn’t stop talking about that red dress." Brodie’s voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Roman paid to send the investigator on wild chases. Then more ca over the years, and I did the sa thing. I kept quiet for money."
Rage burned through my veins like molten steel. "You knew who my son’s father was and said nothing?"
"Yeah, but look how it worked out," Brodie shrugged with infuriating casualness. "Fate brought you together anyway."
I shot up from my chair so violently it scraped against the concrete floor. "I hope I never have to see your pathetic face again!"
I stord out of the interrogation room, my heart pounding with fury and disgust. How had I been so blind? How had I let this man touch , kiss , enter my ho where my son slept peacefully?
Caleb followed into the corridor, his powerful arms wrapping around before I could completely lose control. "Let’s go ho, tesoro," he murmured against my hair.
"How could I have been so wrong about him?" I asked, my voice breaking. "How did I let him into my life?"
"You were young and alone in a dangerous world. We all make mistakes when we’re vulnerable." Caleb’s confident smile cut through my panic. "What matters is that you chose the right man to marry and have children with."
Despite everything, I laughed. He always knew how to pull back from the edge of despair.
"That’s what I want to see," he said, kissing softly. "Do you mind if we stop by the office before going ho? I need to discuss sothing with Scott."
"Of course. It’ll be good to see the girls."
At Thorne Group’s headquarters, I decided to check on Gemma, who had been miserable for weeks since her breakup with Dominic, one of Caleb’s lieutenants. I found her at her desk, staring blankly at financial reports.
"Gemma, don’t you think it’s ti to forgive him? You’ve been heartbroken lately."
She sighed heavily. "Ivy, I don’t trust him anymore after what happened. I’m not sure his apologies are genuine."
My phone buzzed with a ssage from Caleb asking to join his eting. I hugged Gemma goodbye and headed for the executive elevator.
The doors opened to reveal soone already inside, and my stomach dropped.
"Ivy! What a pleasant surprise," Baxter from IT said, his smile not reaching his eyes.
"Baxter, right?" I forced politeness into my voice.
"You rember . I’m flattered." His tone shifted, becoming more aggressive. "Too bad you didn’t ntion you were looking for a relationship when we first t. But I guess you went straight to the top, didn’t you?"
"I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you an."
"You told you weren’t interested in dating anyone," he said, stepping closer in the confined space. "But apparently you just weren’t interested in dating anyone below executive level."
"Life doesn’t always go as planned," I said carefully, wishing the elevator would move faster.
"Of course not. The boss is quite the catch. He’d make a saint break her vows." His words dripped with venom. "Well, if you ever get tired of playing queen of the castle, you know where to find . I’d be happy to show you how the other half lives."
The sexual innuendo in his voice made my skin crawl. When the doors finally opened and he stepped out, I felt like I could breathe again.
In Caleb’s office, I found Xavier, Jude, Scott, and Heidi already assembled. Caleb quickly briefed them on Brodie’s confession.
"Cooper?" Scott raised his eyebrows. "That’s not a common surna. And it sounds familiar."
"Familiar how?" Heidi asked.
"I’ve seen it sowhere recently in background checks, but I can’t place where."
"Earth to Ivy," Jude said, waving his hand in front of my face. "What’s got you so distracted?"
"I had a strange encounter in the elevator," I said. "That IT guy, Baxter, who set up my systems on my first day. He was inappropriate then, and he was worse today."
Caleb’s expression darkened dangerously. "What kind of inappropriate?"
"Nothing serious, just pushy and crude. But given our suspicions about IT security being compromised..."
"That’s it!" Scott slamd his hand on the desk. "Baxter Cooper! I reviewed his personnel file recently. His father relocated from our territory, but he’s lived here his whole life. He has to be our security leak."
"Finally," Xavier breathed with satisfaction.
"Ti to close this trap," Caleb decided, reaching for his phone. "I’m calling Inspector Adler. Xavier, bring Baxter up here. Tell IT his workstation needs ergency maintenance."
Within minutes, Baxter sat across from Caleb, who wasted no ti establishing dominance.
"So you hit on my wife," Caleb said, his voice deadly calm.
"No, Mr. Thorne, she misunderstood," Baxter stamred.
"Let be crystal clear," Caleb’s voice rose with controlled nace. "She belongs to . You had nerve even looking at her."
"Mr. Thorne, I swear I never ant—"
"Don’t swear, you traitorous piece of garbage. We’ve been hunting you for months, but you made one fatal mistake. You got smart with my wife."
Baxter’s face drained of all color. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."
The phone rang, and Caleb simply said, "Send them in."
Inspector Adler entered with Detective Daniel and uniford officers, grinning like a predator who had cornered her prey.
"Another rat in the trap, Caleb."
"All yours, Adler," Caleb said, moving to sit beside . "He’s small and pathetic, but he’s yours now."
"Mr. Bastien Cooper," Adler said, settling into Caleb’s chair. "I arrested your cousin Derek a short while ago. He’s very eager to cooperate to avoid federal racketeering charges."
"Shit," Baxter whispered, sinking deeper into his chair.
"Start talking. I’m patient, but Detective Daniel here gets impatient quickly," Adler said, gesturing to his stone-faced partner.
The confession that followed was comprehensive and damning. Roman had approached Baxter during a routine computer repair years ago, grooming him slowly with money and promises until he agreed to spy on our family operations. Small information leaks at first, then larger security breaches, until finally he was helping hide Roman’s movents and installing surveillance malware throughout our entire network.
Later, Baxter was led away in handcuffs, charged with conspiracy, racketeering, and participation in organized cri. We finally had Roman’s exact location.
The endga was approaching.
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