Page 139 of The Tower

I start to ask why Leo would have cop connections, but that’s really not the point. “Does the NYPD have him in custody?”

“Not yet. But he’s been seen in the financial district. And he’s furious about the Reed Cosmetics situation.”

Of course, he is. He never intended to let the company pass to me. And now I legally control my mother’s legacy, the empire he’s spent years claiming as his own.

“He’ll come after me,” I say, the certainty bone deep. “Try to force me to sign over control.”

Liam’s expression hardens, a glimpse of the danger that lives inside this man I’ve fallen for. “Let him try.”

“Grimm—”

“He won’t touch you,” he says, voice low and fierce. “Not again. Not ever.”

The vehemence in his tone should be frightening. Instead, I find it oddly comforting—this absolute certainty that he will stand between me and harm, whatever form it takes.

“We need a plan,” I say, switching from fear to strategy. “There are arrest warrants out for him. If he’s come back without his attorneys, then this isn’t about trying to regain control of the company. It’s about me.”

Liam nods, and from his expression, I can see that he got to that conclusion before I did.

“I’m moving you to Grimm Tower. Ruby, too, if she wants. She can stay with you. I don’t want you here. He knows his way around this tower too well, and a man like him would have escape routes. For all we know, he can get up to your suite from the sewer.”

I look around the apartment, suddenly afraid my father might burst out from under the kitchen sink. But Liam’s not wrong. “Okay,” I say. In part because I’m scared, and in part because he’s right.

Mostly because I know this is about my safety and he won’t take no for an answer.

“What are you going to do?”

“Find him,” he says. “Leo’s already digging, trying to find out what Victor’s planning.”

I nod, strangely calm as a storm builds inside me—rage mingled with an odd anticipation. All my life, I’ve been at my father’s mercy, subject to his control, his manipulation, his vision of who I should be.

Not anymore.

“I want to face him,” I say, the words surprising even me. “Not hide. Not run. When the time comes, I want to look him in the eye and show him exactly who I’ve become. And I want the satisfaction of giving the evidence that puts that prick behind bars.”

Liam studies me, something like pride flickering in his expression. “Are you sure?”

I nod, certainty growing with each passing moment. “More than sure. This ends when I say it ends. On my terms, not his.”

“All right.” He reaches for me, pulling me close, his lips pressing against my forehead in a gesture both tender and fierce. “I’ve got your back.”

I sigh as I wrap my arms around him. Whatever my father is planning, I won’t face it alone. I have Liam beside me, Ruby behind me, and most importantly, a newfound confidence in my own strength.

Let Victor Reed come. The princess is no longer locked in the tower—she’s standing on the battlements, ready for war.

The next few days pass in a strange limbo as we wait for my father’s inevitable move. Liam’s suite at Grimm Tower has become command central, and he spends hours in his study with Leo as they organize the teams that are tracking my father. In my spare time, I work on Elysium, trying to build it out in a commercially viable way.

But most of my attention is on Reed Cosmetics, with Ruby and me working long hours to review operations, solidify my position with the board, and begin laying groundwork for the rebranding I envision.

“I’ve been going through the corporate archives,” Ruby tells me one afternoon, spreading photographs across my desk. “Look at these—early campaigns from when Lydia was still alive.”

The images show a strikingly different aesthetic than the princess-perfect strategy my father later developed. These are vibrant and empowering—women of all colors and ages, portrayed with strength and character rather than porcelain perfection.

“This was her vision,” I say softly, touching one particularly powerful image. “Not the sugary, sanitized version my father created.”

“I can’t believe these were just shoved in a box in the basement archives.”

I shoot her a sideways glance. “Clearly, you haven’t met my father.”