Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 97

Chapter 97

“Fine. Whatever. Just make the call.”

Celeste dialed. She put it on speaker.

The first ring. The second. There was a click.

“Hello.”

It was Dominic’s voice. My heart slammed against my ribs.

“Mr. Ford,” Celeste said. “I’m sorry to call you out of the blue, using our company line for something a bit

personal.”

“Yeah, I’m really busy. Just get to the point.”

“Actually, I’m calling because there’s someone who wants to speak to you. It’s your wife. I’m going to hand the phone over to her.”

“What wife?”

The two words hit me like a slap.

“When did I have a wife?” Dominic asked. “Have I ever told you in person that I am married?”

I snatched the phone from Celeste’s hand.

“Dominic! Dominic, it’s me! It’s Seraphine! What are you saying?”

The call disconnected.

I stared at the screen. Redialed.

A different voice answered. “Hello? Am I speaking to Mrs. Celeste?”

“Give the phone to my husband. I want to speak to Dominic.”

“Excuse me, who is this?”

“This is Mrs. Ford. Give the phone to my husband!”

“Listen to me. I don’t know who you are or what you want. If you’re claiming to be Mrs. Ford, you should have a better way of reaching your husband. Not through my phone.”

The call ended.

I stood there, phone in my hand, my whole body shaking.

“I’m sorry,” Celeste whispered. “I’m worried I might have offended him.”

I dropped the phone on her desk.

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“You know what? I’ll just leave.”

“Sera, wait.” Pat stepped forward. “Is something going on? Whatever it is, you can share it. We can find a way to help.”

“Mind your own business.”

I walked out.

I made it to my car before the shaking really started.

I drove three blocks. Parked on the side of the road. Got out and screamed.

The sound tore out of my throat raw and ugly. People on the sidewalk stared. I didn’t care. I couldn’t care.

When the screaming stopped, I leaned against the car and forced myself to breathe.

He denied me. In front of Celeste. In front of Pat. On the phone. He said he didn’t have a wife. He said I

was no one.

But I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to break.

I needed to see him. Face to face. Let him tell me I wasn’t his wife when I was standing right in front of

him.

But Celeste couldn’t help me. She was too scared, too useless, too busy protecting her precious

partnership.

I needed someone else.

I went home and pulled up the photos from Dominic’s reveal party. The night he stood on that stage and announced he was the chairman of Veil Holdings. I studied every face in the background.

And then I found him.

A man with tattoos. Standing close to Dominic. Leaning in like he was saying something important.

I had seen him before. At my press conference. The one where I got shot. He was in the building

somewhere, watching.

I looked at the photo for a long time. And then I remembered.

The club. I had gone there, ages ago, before any of this happened. I had seen him there, and everyone treated him like royalty. He owned the place.

I just needed to remember the name.

I paced. I thought. I went through every memory of every club night I’d ever had.

And then it hit me.

The Den.

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The club opened at eight PM. I still had hours to kill.

I drove to The Den at exactly eight-fifteen. The place was already filling up, bass thumping through the walls, neon lights flickering in the dark.

I walked up to the bouncer. “I need to see the owner.”

“Yeah? And who’s asking?”

I pulled out my phone and showed him the picture of the tattooed man standing next to Dominic. “Him.

Tell him Seraphine Ford is here. The wife of Dominic Ford.”

The bouncer’s expression shifted. “Wait here.”

I waited.

Twenty minutes later, a man came down the stairs. He was broad-shouldered, clean-shaven, with the kind of face that had seen too much and trusted too little.

“What do you want?”

“To see your boss.”

“Who’s asking?”

“Seraphine Ford. I need your help. I need to reach Dominic Ford.”

He studied me. His eyes moved over my face, my clothes, my posture. Taking me apart and putting me back together.

“That interview he gave. He said he didn’t have a wife.”

“I know.”

“So why should I believe you?”

pulled out my phone again. Showed him the marriage certificate. “Because I have proof. And because if you help me, I’ll make it worth your while.”

He looked at the certificate. Then at me. Then at the certificate again.

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