“I had to destroy them, Nora,” he said.

His voice was quiet, but it held a terrifying depth of anger.

“They were going to take Leo from you before he was even born.”

“They wanted to use him as collateral to force me to step down from Vale Enterprises.”

“So you went to war,” I said.

“I had no choice,” Damon said.

He stood up from his chair, towering over me in the dim light of the study.

“For four years, I systematically cut off their funding.”

“I bought their debt.”

“I exposed their shell companies to the federal authorities.”

“And I hunted down every single person who helped Elaine Brooks hide what she did to you.”

I looked at his hands, clenched into tight fists at his sides.

“And the package?” I asked.

“I sent it,” Damon admitted.

“I needed you to see the truth before I came for you.”

“I needed you to know that the danger was almost gone.”

“Almost,” I repeated, the word tasting like copper in my mouth.

“But the head of the snake is still alive,” I said, recalling his earlier words.