Page 86 of Falling for the Grump Billionaire

Harper flinches but forces herself to meet my gaze instead of his. “Everything. My bad investments, the loans I defaulted on, the financial mess I was in before I got this job. He knew it all—and he used it.”

I lean forward, keeping my voice steady, though the weight of her words churns unease in my chest. “What did he want, Harper? How did he use it?”

Her gaze drops to her lap, and she exhales shakily. “It was subtle at first. He asked for access to old files he claimed were irrelevant. I thought it wouldn’t matter. Then he started asking for more. Encrypted emails would come with detailed instructions: delete this, move that. I didn’t realize how deep it went until it was too late.”

“And when you did realize,” Dominic interjects, his tone icy, “you didn’t come to me.”

Harper’s face crumples, tears welling in her eyes. “I didn’t know how. He said if I told anyone, he’d destroy me—my career, my family, everything.”

“Destroy you how?” Dominic presses, his jaw visibly tight.

“He threatened to leak my financial history to the press and the board,” she whispers. “He said no one would trust me if they knew how reckless I’d been.”

The weight of her confession settles over us. I glance at Dominic, his posture a storm of tension, his hands clenched into fists. His anger is palpable—not just at Harper but at the betrayal itself.

“He wasn’t just using me,” Harper adds, her voice barely above a whisper. “He mentioned others—people in accounting and IT. He said they were helping him too.”

Adrian straightens, his expression hardening. “If Conrad’s infiltrated IT, he could have access to the entire network. That’s how he’s been covering his tracks.”

Dominic mutters a curse under his breath. “This isn’t just sabotage. It’s a full-scale assault on everything I’ve built.”

“Not everything,” I say firmly, meeting his gaze. “We’re still here. We can fight back.”

His eyes flick to mine, softening briefly before he turns back to the window. “We’ll see.”

As Adrian escorts Harper out to take her formal statement, the tension in the room doesn’t ease. Dominic remains at the window, staring at the city below. His broad shoulders seem weighed down by the betrayal Harper laid bare.

“You’re angry,” I say softly, stepping closer.

He doesn’t turn. “Of course I’m angry. My company is under attack, and the people I trusted are the ones holding the knife.”

I hesitate, choosing my words carefully. “Harper was scared, Dominic. Conrad preyed on her vulnerability. That’s what he does.”

“She still betrayed me,” he snaps, his voice cold. “Fear doesn’t justify betrayal.”

“She came clean,” I counter, holding his gaze when he finally turns. “She could’ve stayed quiet, but she didn’t. That counts for something.”

His blue eyes darken, anger flickering like a storm. “Does it? Because all I see is another person who let me down.”

“Not everyone lets you down,” I say, stepping closer. “Adrian hasn’t. I haven’t.”

His expression shifts, a glimmer of vulnerability breaking through before the walls return. “Every time I let someone in, I give them a weapon to use against me. Harper, Conrad... they’ve proven that time and again.”

I reach for his arm, my voice gentle but firm. “Isolation might feel safe, but it’s not strength. You can’t do this alone, Dominic. You don’t have to.”

For a long moment, he studies me, his shoulders slowly relaxing. “You’re stubborn.”

“And you’re impossible,” I reply, a faint smile softening my tone.

He huffs a quiet laugh, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Maybe that’s why we work.”

Adrian returns, his laptop in hand. The tension in the room sharpens again. “We’ve traced Conrad’s recent communications,” he announces, setting the laptop on the table. “They’re being routed through a secure server near your private estate.”

Dominic’s brows knit together. “My estate?”

Adrian nods. “It’s remote enough to keep him off the radar but close enough to maintain access to the city. We believe it’s one of his primary bases of operation.”

Dominic straightens, his focus narrowing. “How secure is it?”

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