Chapter 268
Chapter 268:
Dominic frowned, confused. He walked to the hallway mirror. He saw the stain.
He realized what I’d done. He realized I’d planted it to provoke exactly this reaction.
“It’s not what you think,” Dominic said, but his tone was dismissive.
Seraphina started screaming. She grabbed a vase from the console table and threw it at the wall. It shattered, shards of crystal raining down.
“She’s poisoning you against me! I know she is! You can’t listen to her, Dominic! She’s lying! I had to do it! I had to protect us!” She stopped. Her hand flew to her mouth.
Dominic froze. The air in the room turned to lead.
“You had to do what?” Dominic asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
Seraphina went pale. She realized her slip.
She tried to backtrack, crying hysterically, tears flowing instantly. “I mean… I meant the stress! I handle the stress for you! I protect you from her lies p>
Dominic walked over to her. He grabbed her wrist. His grip was bruising. The brotherly warmth was gone. He was the mafia heir now.
“I checked the DNA test lab today, Seraphina,” he lied. He was bluffing, using the doubt I had planted.
Seraphina’s knees buckled. Her terror confirmed it.
Dominic dragged her to the mirror. He forced her to look at herself.
“Look at you. You look nothing like Eleanor p>
“I did it for us!” Seraphina sobbed, collapsing to the floor. “I love you, Dominic! I wanted to be close to you! That family… they treated me like trash! I deserve to be a Thorne p>
Dominic released her with disgust. He wiped his hand on his pants.
“You aren’t my sister. You’re a fraud p>
Seraphina crawled to his feet, begging. “Please! Don’t send me to jail! I’ll do anything! I’ll be anything you want p>
Dominic stared down at her. A cruel, dark idea formed in his mind.
If he exposed her now, the Thorne family would be the laughingstock of the city. His grandfather’s heart condition couldn’t take the shock. The stock price would plummet if it was revealed they’d been duped by a street rat. And worst of all, he would have to admit Skye was right.
He was trapped. He couldn’t get rid of her. But he didn’t have to treat her like a princess anymore.
𝖨𝘯𝘀𝘵а𝗻𝗍 aс𝗰𝗲ѕ𝗌 𝗈ո 𝗯𝘦𝗹nove𝗅ѕ.cо𝗺
“You want to be a Thorne?” Dominic said, his voice cold as the grave. “Fine. You’ll play the role p>
He reached down and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
“But from now on, you belong to me. You do exactly what I say. You are a liability, Seraphina. And until I decide how to dispose of you without blowing up my family’s legacy, you will be silent. One wrong move, one toe out of line, and I hand you over to Skye Sterling myself p>
Seraphina nodded frantically, tears streaming down her face.
“Yes. Yes, Dominic. Anything p>
Dominic let her go. He walked to the bar and poured a drink.
“Go to your room,” he ordered. “And stop crying. Thornes don’t cry p>
Seraphina scrambled away.
Dominic looked out the window at the city lights. He touched the lipstick stain on his collar.
“Well played, Skye,” he murmured. “Well played p>
The reinforced steel door to the secure conference room on the top floor of the Vance Media training complex didn’t just open; it exploded inward. The heavy wood—usually reserved for high-stakes contract negotiations—groaned against its hinges as a boot struck the center panel with calculated brutality. The sound echoed through the soundproofed room like a gunshot, silencing the low hum of the air conditioning.