Chapter 5 Shadows that follow

Ryan's POV

The day my father turned on me did not arrive with noise or warning.

There was no argument. No raised voices. No explosion.

It started quietly.

That was how betrayal always came, slipping in when you were already tired, already wounded, already distracted by someone you cared about too much.

I was at my condo, half dressed, standing near the window, staring at my phone like it might change its mind and light up if I waited long enough.

Juliet hadn't replied.

I hadn't slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face, pale, shaking, trying so hard to be strong while everything inside her was clearly breaking. The way she clutched her bag in that hallway, like it was the only thing keeping her standing, wouldn't leave me.

I wanted to fix it.

I needed to.

I was still staring at the screen when I heard it.

Not a message.

Not a call.

The elevator.

A deep mechanical hum-too smooth, too fast.

Someone had overridden security.

Only one person had that clearance.

My chest tightened.

Before I could move, the doors slid open.

Dominic LaRusso stepped out.

My father.

He wasn't wearing his usual smile. No charm. No casual confidence. No mask.

His face was cold. Flat. Final.

Two men stood behind him, silent and watchful, like shadows that didn't belong to the light.

"Good morning," I said, even though my throat felt tight.

He didn't answer.

He walked past me and dropped a folder onto the glass table with a sharp sound.

Not loud.

Just deliberate.

I stared at it.

I didn't want to open it.

But I did.

My stomach dropped.

Medical records.

Juliet's name was printed at the top.

My hands went cold.

"How did you get these?" I asked. My voice came out rough.

Dominic tilted his head slightly, the way he used to when I disappointed him as a child. "That's the wrong question."

I looked up at him.

"You should be asking what you plan to do now that I have them."

My heart began to pound. "She trusted me."

"And you were careless with that trust," he replied calmly.

That calm scared me more than anger ever could.

"I warned you," he continued, pacing slowly. His hands folded behind his back. "I told you not to get involved. I told you she was a distraction. People like her always are."

"Don't talk about her like that," I snapped.

His eyes flicked to mine, sharp and dangerous. "You have never let emotions control you before. Since she came into your life, you've forgotten the rules."

"Your rules," I corrected.

"Our rules," he said flatly.

I stepped forward. "You don't know her."

A short laugh left him. "I know exactly who she is. We looked deeper."

My pulse stuttered. "What did you do?"

He stopped in front of me. Close enough that I could feel the chill of him.

"I want you to cut ties with her."

"No."

The word came out without thought.

"You will," he said calmly, "or I will destroy her."

The air in the room shifted.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

He leaned in, voice low and precise. "I will leak her records. Her history. Everything that makes her vulnerable. I will strip her dignity piece by piece."

Something violent rose in my chest. "If you touch her..."

"You'll do what?" he interrupted. "You think you scare me? I built you. Everything you are came from me."

"Juliet has done nothing wrong."

"That doesn't matter," he said. "Control does. And you're losing yours."

He turned away like the conversation bored him.

"This is low," I said.

"You forced my hand."

He nodded once to one of his men.

Another folder hit the table.

This one carried the LaRusso Group seal.

I opened it.

My vision blurred.

Account freeze.

Immediate.

Indefinite.

Removal from the board.

Suspension of voting rights.

My throat tightened. "You froze everything?"

"Yes."

"You removed me?"

"You no longer serve a purpose."

Anger exploded through me. "You can't do this!"

"I already have."

I stepped toward him, but his men blocked me instantly.

"I will restore everything," Dominic said calmly, "the moment you walk away from her."

Silence filled the room.

He expected me to obey.

He always had.

But this wasn't business.

This was Juliet.

"No," I said.

His expression hardened.

"Then you walk away from me."

He turned and headed for the elevator.

"Dominic," I called.

He paused.

"If you touch her," I said, my voice steady and dangerous, "I will destroy everything you built."

He didn't turn around.

"Then you'll burn with it."

The doors closed.

And just like that, I was alone.

No accounts.

No power.

No father.

Only silence, and Juliet's file still open on the table.

I sat down slowly, staring at the pages.

She had been hurting.

Quietly. Alone.

And now my father planned to use that pain as a weapon.

My hands clenched.

He thought this would break me.

He was wrong.

He had given me something worth losing everything for.

I picked up my phone.

No message from Juliet.

But there would be.

Because I wasn't walking away.

I was walking toward her.

And whatever storm my father had started, I would stand in front of it.

Even if it destroyed me.