The Fears Of A Billionaire

Chapter 2: Shadows of the past

The message replayed in Dominic's mind as he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling of his dimly lit bedroom. Next to him, Alyssa, his wife, slept soundly, her breathing rhythmic and peaceful. He had envied her ability to switch off the world as soon as her head hit the pillow. For Dominic, peace was a commodity, more elusive than wealth.

Sleep wouldn't come easily tonight. It hadn't come easily in years.

Dominic rolled onto his side, eyes falling on his phone glowing faintly on the bedside table. "I know what you did." The words were sharp, precise, carrying a weight that seemed to pierce through his carefully curated life.

It had been years since he allowed himself to think about his past, the choices he made. He had always rationalized his decisions — you don't build a billion-dollar empire without crushing a few people along the way, without making sacrifices. But what was it that this man, this message, knew? What had resurfaced?

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, a name buried deep in his memory. Andrew Cole. He hadn't thought about Andrew in years. Not since...

His mind shut the thought down, refusing to finish it. He closed his eyes, hoping to push the past back into the recesses where it belonged. But it was too late.

The next morning, Dominic arrived at the office early, the weight of the night still clinging to him like a dark cloud. His penthouse office overlooked the city as always, but today, the view felt less comforting, more oppressive.

Marcus was already waiting at the desk with the morning's agenda, a tablet in hand. "Good morning, Mr. Hayes," Marcus began, his voice as professional as ever. "You have a 9:00 with the legal team to finalize the Seattle deal, a lunch meeting with Senator Brooks, and—"

"Cancel the Senator," Dominic interrupted, his tone curt. He had no patience for the usual political posturing today.

Marcus looked surprised but quickly recovered. "Of course. Shall I reschedule?"

"No," Dominic said firmly, walking to his desk. "I need you to look into something else today. Quietly."

Marcus nodded, sensing the shift in Dominic's mood. "What do you need, sir?"

"I want everything we have on Andrew Cole," Dominic said, sitting down, his gaze fixed on the screen of his laptop as he pretended to focus on his emails. "From the early days, before the acquisition. I want to know where he is now."

Marcus didn't ask questions. He knew better than to pry into Dominic's requests, especially when it involved the past. "I'll have the files on your desk by noon."

"Good," Dominic muttered, though a part of him wasn't sure if that was true. He didn't even know what he hoped to find—or if he wanted to find anything at all.

As noon approached, Marcus returned with a thick file. "Everything we could gather on Andrew Cole," he said, placing it gently on Dominic's desk.

Dominic stared at the folder for a moment before opening it. Inside were pages of legal documents, emails, contracts—everything related to the acquisition of Andrew's startup, ColeTech. It had been over a decade since ColeTech's rapid rise—and its subsequent, brutal fall at the hands of Hayes Industries.

Dominic flipped through the documents, pausing at a grainy photo of Andrew, standing proudly in front of his once-successful company. He was younger, idealistic. His face was familiar, but there was a hollowness in his eyes, even back then, that Dominic hadn't noticed at the time.

What happened to you, Andrew? Dominic thought, though he already knew the answer.

Andrew Cole had been one of the first casualties in Dominic's climb to power. His technology was too good, too valuable to be left in the hands of an independent operator. So, Dominic had done what he did best—he had leveraged his influence, used every legal and corporate tool at his disposal to make sure ColeTech collapsed, forcing Andrew to sell at a fraction of its worth.

It's just business, Dominic had told himself back then. But it had been more than business for Andrew.

As Dominic scanned the rest of the report, he found what he was looking for. Andrew had disappeared shortly after the acquisition, avoiding media attention and withdrawing from the tech world completely. No one had heard from him in years, and his current whereabouts were unknown.

But then Dominic saw a note—one that Marcus had highlighted. Last known location: Seattle.

The same city as their new deal.

Dominic stared at the page for what felt like an eternity. Seattle. Could it be a coincidence? No, he didn't believe in coincidences. Not in his world. Someone wanted him to know about Andrew, wanted to remind him of what he had done.

He looked up at Marcus. "Do you think he's involved?"

Marcus blinked, unsure of the full context, but he answered carefully. "Andrew Cole? It's possible, sir. People don't forget things like that."

Dominic leaned back in his chair, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. What was it that Cole wanted? Revenge? Redemption?

His phone buzzed again, snapping him back into the moment. He glanced at the screen, half-expecting another message from the unknown number. But this time, it was a new message from a private contact.

"The Seattle deal is facing opposition from an unknown party. Could be trouble."

Dominic exhaled slowly, his mind beginning to connect the dots. Whoever had sent the first message, whoever was working in the shadows, was not only after him—they were trying to destroy everything he had built.

For the first time in years, Dominic felt the familiar twinge of anxiety creeping into his chest. His empire had been built with precision, with unyielding control over every aspect of the business. But now, the control he had so carefully maintained seemed to be slipping.

He rose from his desk, pacing the office, the sound of his shoes on the hardwood floor echoing in the empty space. Seattle. It always came back to Seattle. What had started as a simple acquisition deal was quickly becoming something much darker, something personal.

As he stared out at the city once more, he realized something profound: the higher you build your walls, the harder they fall when someone finally breaches them.

Dominic wasn't sure where this threat was coming from or how deep it ran, but he knew one thing it wasn't going to end with a few cryptic messages.

It was just the beginning.

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