Alexander sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes as he tried to shake off the haze of sleep.
The look on Siena's face sobered him instantly.
He closed the book resting on his chest and set it aside. "What happened?"
She didn't say anything at first. Just handed him the folder.
"What's this?" he asked, brows pinched as he flipped it open.
The first few pages were benign—emails, correspondence with timestamps, internal memos. But as he kept turning, the tension in his body increased. And when he reached the grainy image of Dael, his hands stopped moving.
"That's the night," he said quietly. "The last night anyone saw him."
Siena sat across from him, watching every reaction. "You recognize the man Dael's arguing with?"
Alexander leaned closer, squinting. "It's blurry, but… it looks like—" He stopped himself. "No. That can't be right."
"You know who it is."
"I do." His voice was tight. "That's Dorian. My former chief financial officer."
Siena hadn't heard the name before, but judging from the storm growing in Alexander's expression, it wasn't a good one.
"You're sure?" she asked.
"I'd recognize that posture anywhere. The suit, the hair, even the watch. Dorian always wore that gaudy gold piece like it made him royalty."
Siena leaned forward. "Why would he be meeting with Dael?"
"I don't know." Alexander's mind was already spinning. "I didn't even know they had any contact outside of business. But if this happened the night Dael disappeared…"
He stood abruptly, pacing now. The folder dangled from his hand as his mind raced.
"Dorian left the company a few months after Dael vanished. Said he wanted to 'retire young.' I never questioned it. I just… I let him go."
Siena frowned. "And he never mentioned anything about Dael?"
"Not once. Every time the topic came up, he got uncomfortable. But I thought that was just… the grief or guilt over how the merger played out."
Alexander stopped pacing and looked at her. "Where did you get this?"
She hesitated. "Someone gave it to me."
"Who?"
"He wouldn't say his name. Just said he worked with Dael before the merger and wanted to get the truth to you."
Alexander narrowed his eyes. "And you just… believed him?"
"I didn't trust him blindly," she shot back. "But I trusted that you deserved to know."
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry. That wasn't fair. I just—this is a lot."
"I know."
He sat back down beside her, the fire from earlier cooling into something heavier. "If this is true if Dorian met Dael that night and something went wrong…"
"Then the wrong man has been carrying the blame."
Alexander swallowed. "I need to find him. Dorian. I need answers."
---
The next morning, Alexander was already on the phone before Siena opened her eyes.
"Yes, I know he retired," he said, voice clipped. "I don't care where he is. Just find him."
He paced the living room, half-dressed again, coffee untouched.
"No. I'm not making this official. Not yet. I just want to talk to him."
He ended the call and finally looked at her. "They're tracking his last known address."
Siena nodded. "What are you going to do when you find him?"
"I'm not sure. But I need to hear it from him. I need to know why."
She stood, walking over to him. "Do you want me to come?"
"I do." His voice was softer now. "But only if you're sure."
"I'm not going to sit on the sidelines, Alexander. Not now."
---
By afternoon, they were on a private flight headed to the coastal city of Elvryn, where Dorian had supposedly settled after leaving the company.
The air in the jet was quiet, tense.
Siena looked out the window, watching clouds drift by. "What was he like? Dorian?"
Alexander's jaw tightened. "Smart. Ambitious. Ruthless when he wanted to be. But charming. Everyone liked him."
"But not you?"
"I liked him enough to trust him with my company's finances. That says a lot."
"So what changed?"
"Instinct, I think. Over time, I started to feel like he was hiding things. But nothing ever showed up on paper. No red flags, no obvious fraud. Just… a feeling."
Siena nodded. "Sometimes that's enough."
---
When they arrived, Dorian's estate was as extravagant as expected. High walls, sprawling gardens, and a long driveway guarded by two security posts.
Alexander didn't wait for clearance.
He stepped out of the car, walked straight up to the intercom, and pressed the buzzer.
A crackling voice answered. "Yes?"
"Tell Dorian Gray that Alexander Knight is here. And I'm not leaving."
There was a pause.
Then silence.
Then—"Gate's opening."
The gates creaked open slowly, revealing a path lined with trimmed hedges and rose bushes. Siena stayed close to Alexander as they walked.
At the front door, they were greeted not by a butler, but by Dorian himself.
He hadn't changed much.
Tall, silver-streaked hair, and a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Alexander. To what do I owe this… nostalgic visit?"
"We need to talk."
Dorian gestured inside. "Of course. Come in."
---
They sat in a room that looked more like a museum than a living space—leather armchairs, glass sculptures, an entire wall of vintage liquor bottles.
Dorian poured himself a drink. "You still prefer coffee, don't you?"
"I'm not here for drinks."
"Pity."
Alexander tossed the folder on the table between them. "Recognize anything?"
Dorian glanced at it, unfazed. "Should I?"
Alexander's voice hardened. "You met Dael the night he disappeared. I have a photo. A timestamp. A witness."
Dorian's hand froze around his glass.
But just for a second.
Then he laughed. "And?"
"And you didn't tell me."
"I didn't think it mattered."
"He vanished."
"And you got richer."
Alexander surged to his feet. "You think this is about money?"
Dorian stood too, no longer pretending.
"I think you always needed a villain, Alex. And when Dael vanished, you turned that guilt inward. I let you. Because it was cleaner that way."
"What did you do?"
Dorian looked at Siena for the first time. "Does she know who you are? The man who ran his own company like a battlefield?"
Siena didn't flinch. "He's not that man anymore."
"Maybe not. But I was. I told Dael to back off. I warned him the merger was happening—with or without his approval. He didn't like that."
Alexander's hands clenched. "So you threatened him?"
"I protected your legacy."
"At what cost?"
Dorian sighed, finally dropping the act. "We argued. He stormed off. That's the last time I saw him."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I don't care what you believe. I didn't kill him. But I made him scared enough to run. Maybe that was enough."
Alexander's voice dropped. "You're going to confess. Publicly. You're going to clear my name."
Dorian laughed again. "You think I'd sacrifice everything to make you feel better?"
"I don't think," Alexander said quietly. "I know you're going to do it. Because if you don't… I'll burn everything you own to the ground. I'll re-open every audit, and leak every shady deal you made. I'll make sure the world knows exactly who Dorian Gray is."
Dorian stared at him, and for the first time, there was real fear in his eyes.
"You haven't changed," he said slowly.
"No," Alexander replied. "I just finally chose the right enemy."
---
Back at the hotel, Alexander didn't speak for a long time.
Siena sat beside him, waiting.
Finally, he said, "I spent years thinking I failed Dael. That I didn't do enough. That I pushed too hard, too fast."
"You didn't," she said softly.
"I still lost him."
"But now you know why. And who."
He nodded. "It doesn't bring him back. But it gives me somewhere to start."
"Will you go public?"
"I have to. Not just for me. For Dael's family. For the company. For anyone who was lied to."
Siena took his hand. "And I'll be right beside you when you do."