Chapter 12
The confrontation with Lucian happened at Rebecca’s office.
Not at the atelier.
Not in Dominic’s club.
No bodyguards in the room.
Lucian came with two attorneys.
Valeria sat across from him.
Margaret chose not to attend.
Dominic understood.
She had already been shoved once for knowing too much.
Rebecca walked through the financial timeline.
Lucian listened.
When she finished, he leaned back.
“Valeria approved the contracts.”
Valeria looked at him.
“Here we go.”
“You did.”
“I did.”
She did not flinch.
“I helped you.”
“That makes you part of it.”
“Yes.”
Lucian seemed almost irritated by the answer.
Blame worked better when the other person resisted it.
Dominic asked, “How much did you lose gambling?”
Lucian’s jaw tightened.
“That isn’t relevant.”
“It’s the reason your sister spent two years lying for you.”
“I never asked her to sleep with Luca.”
Valeria turned toward him.
“No. You just called me every time he threatened to expose you.”
“I was trying to stay alive.”
Dominic’s gaze sharpened.
Rebecca intervened before the language went anywhere dangerous.
“Financially and professionally, Mr. Knox.”
Lucian looked away.
Valeria spoke quietly.
“When Dad left, who took care of me?”
Lucian’s face changed.
Their father had disappeared when Valeria was twelve.
Their mother worked nights.
Lucian was eighteen.
He cooked.
Drove her to school.
Fought with landlords.
Paid utility bills when he barely had enough for gasoline.
Valeria had spent adulthood believing she owed him permanently.
“You saved me,” she said.
Lucian nodded.
“You’re welcome.”
Her expression hardened.
“That’s the problem.”
He stared at her.
“You made it a debt.”
Lucian pushed his chair back.
“I didn’t force you to do any of this.”
“No.”
Valeria’s voice remained steady.
“And Dominic didn’t force me to attack Margaret. Luca didn’t force me to cheat. You didn’t force me to grab Ava.”
She looked at Dominic.
“I chose all of it.”
There was the accountability he had wanted.
It arrived too late to save anything.
Dominic turned toward Lucian.
“What were you protecting?”
“My company.”
“No.”
“My employees.”
“No.”
Lucian’s anger rose.
“What answer do you want?”
“The true one.”
Silence.
Finally Lucian said, “I didn’t want everybody to find out I was weak.”
May you like
Dominic understood that answer better than he wanted to.
Pride had cost the family more than theft ever could.
