Chapter 40

Drake’s POV

That blurry picture was sitting in my phone like a loaded weapon. One wrong move, one curious eye, and everything I had built would collapse. I poured a glass of whiskey, but even that did not steady my hands. My reflection stared back from the window—tired, older, guilty.

The image of Chloe would not leave my head. The way she looked at me the last time I touched her, soft and trusting, like she believed I could protect her from the world. Now, that same world was about to eat her alive. I knew how vicious the press could be, and I also knew Margaret’s reach. Once she saw that picture, she would not stop until she burned everything connected to me.

My phone buzzed again. Marcus. I answered before the second ring.

“She saw it,” he said.

My throat went dry. “Margaret?”

“Yes. She found the link before we could pull it down. She’s furious. She called the head of the Public Relations department already.”

“Handle it quietly,” I