Chapter 4 - The Silent Partner
The counter-strike from the Langford family came sooner than expected.
Two days later, Dominic’s corporate headquarters in Manhattan was served with a massive civil lawsuit filed by Grayson Langford’s legal team. The suit claimed that Dominic Kane had coerced Harper into signing over her share of the Langford trust under duress and physical threat.
To make matters worse, a highly edited audio clip was leaked to the media—a snippet of Harper’s desperate phone call to Dominic, edited to make it sound as if Dominic was threatening her if she didn't cooperate.
"It’s a desperate move, but it’s working with the press," Marcus said during a late-night briefing in Dominic’s study. "The tabloids are calling you a kidnapper, and the board of Kane Industries is getting nervous about the public relations fallout."
Dominic didn't look worried. He sat back in his chair, swirling a glass of neat scotch. "Let them make their noise. A cornered rat always bites wildest before it dies."
"But Dominic," Harper said, sitting across from him, her brow furrowed in worry. "This is hurting your business. Your shareholders are panicking. If your stock drops, my father’s allies will try to initiate a hostile takeover of your shipping divisions."
Dominic set his glass down, looking at her with a calm, reassuring smile. "Harper, do you know why they call me a gentleman in public and a kingpin in private?"
Harper shook her head.
"Because in public, I follow the rules of engagement," Dominic said, his voice dropping to a low, confident register. "But in private, I rewrite the rules. Your father thinks his strength lies in his wealthy allies and his political connections. But those men are loyal only to money. And right now, your father is running out of it."
He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a small, encrypted USB drive, sliding it across the polished wood to Harper.
"What is this?" she asked, picking it up with her uninjured hand.
"That is the master ledger of Carter Montgomery’s private offshore bank in Switzerland," Dominic explained. "Your father has been using Montgomery to hide his liquidated assets. But what Grayson doesn't know is that Montgomery’s bank has been under federal investigation for money laundering for eighteen months. I bought the primary debt of that bank last night."
Harper’s eyes went wide. "You bought a Swiss bank?"
"I bought the debt of the bank," Dominic corrected with a faint smirk. "Which means I now have access to every account, every transaction, and every name on their registry. Your father’s 'safe' haven is now my personal filing cabinet. By tomorrow morning, every single one of his allies will receive a courtesy email from my legal team, suggesting they distance themselves from Grayson Langford if they want their accounts to remain active."
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Harper let out a breathless laugh, a mixture of awe and relief washing over her. "You really are a monster to your enemies, Dominic."
"Only to those who deserve it, Harper," Dominic said, his eyes softening as he looked at her. "To you, I’m just Dominic."
