Chapter 6 - Confrontation in the MoonlightAs soon as Viktor drifted away into the crowd, Natalie excused herself, slipping past the velvet curtains out onto the deserted balcony overlooking Lake Michigan. The cool night air hit her flushed face like cold water.
Viktor’s words echoed relentlessly in her mind. Nobody has seen her since.
Heavy footsteps echoed on the stone floor behind her. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"You left the room," Dominic’s voice was low, carrying an edge of suppressed tension.
"Viktor Vance was talking to me," Natalie said flatly, turning to face him. "He told me a very interesting story about your last architect. The one who disappeared two years ago."
Dominic went completely still. The air between them instantly dropped ten degrees.
"You listen to gossip from a man like Vance?" Dominic asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
"I listen to warnings from men who want to rattle you," Natalie fired back, stepping toward him, her eyes flashing with anger and fear. "Is it true, Dominic? Did you bury someone in the foundation of your empire because she knew too much?"
In a blur of motion, Dominic closed the distance between them, his hands gripping her shoulders, pinning her gently against the stone railing with a fierce, protective urgency.
"Look at me, Natalie," he commanded, his gray eyes burning into hers with absolute raw intensity. "Do you honestly believe I am a monster?"
"I don't know what you are!" she breathed, her voice trembling slightly. "You're a man shrouded in secrets, surrounded by blood money and enemies who want to use me to get to you!"
Dominic stared down at her, his jaw tight, his chest heaving. Then, slowly, his grip softened, his thumbs brushing the tension from her shoulders.
"Vance is playing a game," Dominic said, his voice dropping to a gravelly whisper. "That architect didn't disappear. She took a multi-million-dollar payout and fled to Zurich because Vance corrupted her designs to smuggle contraband. I protected her identity to keep her alive, even when she betrayed me."
Natalie stared up at him, searching his eyes for any trace of deception. She found only brutal, undeniable truth.
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"Why are you telling me this?" she whispered.
Dominic leaned down, his forehead resting gently against hers. "Because out of every person in this city, you are the only one I refuse to lie to."
