Chapter 282 · My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires

Chapter 282

BRANDON'S POVThe rain was coming down heavy over the glass facade of my temporary office, blurring the city lights into muted streaks of yellow and white.I sat behind the dark oak desk, listening to the soft hum of the encrypted laptop in front of me. On the high-resolution screen was the final legal draft my corporate litigation team had spent the last forty-eight hours putting together.Beside it lay the complete, unredacted surveillance package on Viktor’s wiped servers and Julian’s paper trail—every wire transfer, every encrypted chat log, every desperate middle-of-the-night query.Marcus knocked twice on the heavy wooden door before stepping inside. He didn't say a word. He simply walked across the thick carpet, placed a thin manila folder on the exact center of my desk, and stepped back, his hands clasped behind his back in a disciplined stance."It's done, boss," Marcus said, his voice flat, neutral, and thoroughly professional. "Julian received the physical delivery at his private sports agency twenty minutes ago. Signature confirmed by his talent manager."I didn't open the folder immediately. I already knew every line of text written inside it. I had reviewed the drafts line by line at three o'clock yesterday morning while Aria lay sleeping soundly in our bed down the hall."How did he take it?" I asked, leaning back into the soft black leather of my chair and resting my hands together in front of me."He tried to turn the courier away at the lobby desk," Marcus reported quietly."He claimed he wasn't accepting personal mail at the office. Until he saw the heavy parchment letterhead from your personal legal firm and the attached draft of the criminal affidavit. His manager took one look at the red cover sheet and forced him to take the package into a private conference room immediately."I turned my head, looking out the floor-to-ceiling window at the rain slamming against the glass high above the street.Julian had wanted to play games from the dark. He had wanted to buy leverage on the black market, slide into the shadows with street fixers, and wave old corporate documents in Aria’s face to intimidate her into submission.He thought that as long as his ice hockey career remained pristine, as long as the sports commentators praised his squeaky-clean image on television every night he could sling mud at my reputation without taking a single scratch himself.He had miscalculated. Completely and utterly. The legal package delivered to Julian wasn't a civil lawsuit meant for a public courtroom where news reporters could turn it into a spectacle.It was a formal, ironclad Cease and Desist backed by a sealed criminal dossier. It laid out every single illegal transaction Julian had made to Viktor’s offshore accounts over the past two weeks.It detailed the exact time, date, and IP address of the three-minute call he placed from his car outside my estate gates.And most importantly, it contained an explicit non-disclosure clause. The moment Julian tried to leak a single line of false financial data about my company to the press, my legal team would instantly file full criminal charges for corporate extortion, bribery, and cyber-surveillance.If those charges were filed, his pristine NHL reputation would vanish overnight. His contract would be terminated by the league's moral misconduct board, his multi-million-dollar sponsorships revoked, and his physical freedom placed on the line in a federal courtroom.I hadn't just shut down his leverage; I had constructed a heavy steel cage around him, locked the door, and thrown away the key."What about Viktor?" I asked, turning my attention back to Marcus, my eyes narrowing slightly."Viktor cleared out his local office an hour ago," Marcus replied without hesitation. "He took the non-prosecution settlement package we offered him, signed the absolute non-interference agreement, and left the state on a six o'clock flight. He won't be returning. He knows if he touches another file related to your enterprise, or if he even breathes Julian's name to a reporter, he goes straight to a maximum-security federal facility for ten years.""Good," I said smoothly, the words quiet and cold. "And Julian’s access to Amelia’s school record systems?""Completely revoked as of four o'clock this afternoon," Marcus confirmed, pulling a small printout from his inner suit jacket."The school board reviewed the final custody ruling from the judge alongside our updated security clearance mandate. Only Aria and your named designees have pick-up rights, emergency contact status, or digital access to her profile. He is completely locked out on every front. He cannot see her grades, her medical forms, or her attendance logs.""Thank you, Marcus," I said, offering him a short nod. "That will be all for tonight. Tell the night security detail at the gate to stay sharp, but they can lower the alert status to level two."Marcus gave a short nod of respect. "Understood, Mr. Brandon. Goodnight." He exited the room, the heavy oak door swinging shut with a quiet, satisfying click that sealed the office in absolute peace.I sat alone in the quiet office for a long moment, watching the raindrops trace slow, crooked paths down the dark window.Julian was completely boxed in. His legal avenues were dead in the water. His psychological games with Aria had failed to yield a single crack in her resolve.And his desperate attempt to use dirty financial mud had backfired so hard he was now legally forced to protect my privacy to save his own neck.He had zero moves left on the board, zero allies in his corner, and zero dignity left to salvage. I pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket and tapped Aria’s contact.She answered on the second ring, her soft, warm voice instantly filling the quiet space of the massive office."Hey," she said, the rhythmic, comforting sound of soft rain playing in the background on her end through the open patio doors. "Are you coming home soon?""I'm wrapping up the last file right now," I said softly, my voice loosening as all the cold, tactical tension of the work day drained out of my shoulders. "How is our little girl?""She's fast asleep," Aria said, a gentle, breathless laugh in her voice that warmed my chest. "She wore herself out building another giant fort in the living room with all the sofa cushions and three heavy blankets. She insisted on leaving a special tunnel open on the side just for you so you could fit inside when you get back."A genuine, warm smile touched my lips, reaching all the way to my eyes. "Tell her I'll be there to inspect the structural integrity of her fort in twenty minutes.""Hurry home, Brandon," Aria whispered, her tone dropping into that sweet, intimate warmth that anchored my entire soul to this city. "I love you.""I love you too, Aria," I said quietly, holding the phone close. "More than everything."I hung up the phone, closed the laptop screen with a firm snap, and stood up from the desk. I grabbed my wool coat, stepping out into the hallway and leaving the cold, calculated battleground of my corporate empire behind.Julian Vance was finished. The path ahead was wide open, and it led straight home to the family I had sworn to protect with my life.

Chapter 282