CHAPTER 2 — “THE HOUSE THAT FINALLY SPOKE”
The moment Dominic Kane stepped through the shattered library door, the entire Ravenshore estate seemed to lose its confidence.
Not because he was loud.
He wasn’t.
He barely made a sound at all.
But silence followed him like a law being enforced.
Grayson Langford didn’t step back. Men like him never did—not in front of witnesses, not in front of legacy.
“This is private property,” Grayson said coldly. “You have no authority here.”
Dominic’s eyes moved past him.
Not acknowledging him.
Not reacting to him.
Like Grayson was furniture that had started talking.
Harper was still on the floor.
Blood at her temple had dried into a dark line. Her fingers twitched slightly near the broken phone receiver.
Dominic walked straight to her.
No hesitation.
No permission asked.
He crouched, adjusting his suit cuff once, then placed two fingers gently near her wrist.
Still alive.
That was enough.
Behind him, Grayson’s voice sharpened.
“You touch her again and I’ll—”
Dominic finally looked up.
And the temperature in the room dropped.
“You’ll what?” Dominic asked quietly.
No threat in his tone.
That was the dangerous part.
Grayson hesitated for half a second.
That half second was noticed by everyone.
Even Paige, frozen near the bookshelf, suddenly looked like she understood something she didn’t want to understand.
Dominic lifted the broken landline receiver from the floor.
Cracked plastic.
Blood on the cord.
He studied it for a moment, then spoke without looking away.
“Do you know what this line is?”
No one answered.
“It’s not a phone,” he said softly. “It’s a signal. And she used it correctly.”
A distant sound rolled through the estate.
Engines.
Too many to count.
Grayson’s jaw tightened.
“…What did you do?”
For the first time, Dominic stood.
Slowly.
Fully.
May you like
Now Grayson had to look up at him.
“I answered,” Dominic said.
