Chapter 10 Lines That Blur

Damien's POV

I wasn't supposed to care.

She was just a staff member. A mistake was brought into this house because of a clerical error-or so I had convinced myself in the beginning. But that lie was unraveling fast, thread by thread.

When I opened the sealed bank records last night, I didn't expect to find her name buried in the paper trail. Celeste Sinclair. A woman who had been little more than a shadow in my father's past-until Ayla walked through the estate doors and made her mother's silence scream louder than any spoken word.

What bothered me more than the payments themselves was how calculated they were. Monthly transfers, private routing numbers, no official documentation attached. My father had covered his tracks with precision.

Which begged the question: Why?

If she'd been just a fling, why keep sending money after she left? And why make sure no one ever mentions her name again?

My father didn't operate in emotion. He made decisions like a machine-logical, ruthless, final. But something about Celeste had lingered. And now, her daughter was here, standing in front of me, turning everything I thought I knew into a ticking clock.

I stood at the window of my office, staring down at the gardens where Ayla now moved with quiet purpose. She didn't know I watched her. That she'd captivated the very man who was supposed to send her packing.

I should've let her go.

But I hadn't.

Instead, I'd told her about the bank transfers. Why? I wasn't sure. Part of me needed her to understand that her mother hadn't been discarded. That maybe, just maybe, there had been care hidden under the cold surface of Dominic Blackwood.

But the bigger part of me... wanted her to stay.

That truth was dangerous. And if my father ever found out I was feeding her breadcrumbs from the past, he'd shut it down before it ever turned into something real.

A knock pulled me from my thoughts.

I turned to see Ethan, my personal assistant, enter with his usual brisk efficiency. "Mr. Blackwood, the legal team is ready for your review of the merger contract. Also, your father will be arriving from Switzerland three days earlier than expected."

Of course, he would.

Dominic Blackwood had perfect timing-especially when it came to disrupting everything.

"Noted," I said. "Have them hold the contract review. And schedule a dinner for my father's return. Private. No press."

Ethan blinked. "Would you like to include any guests?"

I paused. My mind immediately jumped to Ayla-but I dismissed the thought as quickly as it came.

"No. Just family."

Ethan nodded and turned to leave, but hesitated. "There's also... the matter of the staff files you requested. The background check on Ayla Sinclair?"

My jaw tightened. "Destroy it."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "Sir?"

"You heard me. Shred it. All of it."

Ethan nodded, though he didn't hide his curiosity. He'd never seen me go soft on anyone before-and certainly not a temporary staff girl.

When the door closed, I sat down heavily in my leather chair. My fingers tapped against the desk.

Ayla Sinclair.

A woman who shouldn't matter, and yet did.

She had the eyes of someone who had been hurt, yet refused to break. That kind of strength was rare. It unsettled me-because I knew what happened to strong people in this family.

They were either silenced or sacrificed.

If she kept digging, she would find more than a few sealed files. She'd uncover a legacy built on power, secrets, and manipulation. And once you peel back that kind of truth, it stains you forever.

But something told me she wasn't afraid of being stained.

That's what terrified me.

Because neither was I.

And we both knew where that kind of defiance led.

I glanced down at my phone, thumb hovering over her number. I hadn't saved it under her name-just an initial. A.

One text.

One message could change everything.

But I didn't press send.

Instead, I leaned back, stared at the ceiling, and told myself the same lie I had since she arrived:

You're in control.

Even as the lie grew thinner by the day.