LOGINSebastian watched his best friend for a moment. Then, the heavy, suffocating tension in the room broke just a fraction. Sebastian reached out and picked up his glass of whiskey. A small, knowing smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth."Now," Sebastian drawled, his tone shifting entirely. "You have Aria locked up safely in your castle. What is your grand plan next? How are you going to ask for her forgiveness, lover boy?"Damian opened his eyes. He glared at Sebastian, throwing the man a dark, warning look."Do not call me that," Damian grunted, running a hand aggressively through his dark hair. The tension in his chest flared again. "She does not even want to see my face, Bash."Sebastian chuckled softly, taking another sip of his drink."I know," Damian muttered, staring at the floor. "The only reason she is even sitting on that sofa right now is because of the attack. Because she finally realized I was not lying to her." He let out a bitter sound. "She hates me.""Can you blame her
The heavy oak door of the penthouse study clicked shut.Damian walked directly toward the polished mahogany desk in the center of the room. He leaned forward, resting both hands flat against the cool wood, his broad shoulders tight with exhaustion and rage.Sebastian walked over to the vintage crystal decanter resting on a side table, poured two glasses of amber liquid, and carried them over. He set one down near Damian’s hands."Drink," Sebastian ordered quietly, taking a sip from his own glass. "You look like you are going to rip the hinges off the doors."Damian ignored the glass. His dark eyes remained cold and sharp as he looked at his oldest friend. "Did you find something?"Sebastian’s relaxed posture shifted slightly. "We did," Sebastian confirmed, his deep accent thickening slightly. "We traced the hitman's identity. There is no doubt. It was ordered by the Ghost."Damian’s jaw clenched. The invisible enemy hun
The city lights blurred into long streaks of gold and red through the tinted windows of the armored SUV.Aria sat in the back seat, staring blankly outside. The heated interior of the expensive car did nothing to stop the cold settling into her bones. She kept her hand resting firmly over her stomach, her fingers curling slightly into her oversized sweater.When Damian had cornered her in that freezing alley and told her she was in danger, she had not believed a single word. She thought it was just another calculated manipulation. She thought he was just using the word 'danger' as an excuse to rip away her independence and force her back under his control.But it wasn't a trick. It was terrifyingly real.Aria shifted her gaze slightly toward the front of the vehicle. Sebastian Cain Hierro was sitting in the passenger seat.Just looking at the back of the man's head made her stomach knot. She remembered the exact second he had walked into
Aria slowly turned her head. Her dark eyes found Damian standing in the shadows. Her voice was weak and rough from the bruising on her neck."Is Rose okay?" she asked softly.Damian stepped forward into the light. "She is fine. I am going to check on her now. The police need to take her statement."Aria nodded slightly, closing her eyes.Damian looked at Leo, who was standing guard near the foot of the bed. Damian did not need to issue a command. Leo gave a single, firm nod. The cook was not leaving that spot.Damian walked out into the corridor.He found Rose sitting in a wheelchair near the nurses' station. A thick white bandage was taped to the side of her head. Two uniformed police officers were standing in front of her, holding small notebooks.Damian approached them. The officers recognized him and stepped back respectfully."How are you feeling?" Damian asked the teenager.Rose looked up. She loo
The hitman looked at Damian. The man did not try to reach for a weapon. He just reached up, pulling his dark surgical mask down just enough to expose his mouth. He looked at the furious billionaire and gave a slow, sick smile.Then, he threw himself backward out the open window.Aria screamed. The raw, broken sound tore through the room.Damian rushed to the window frame and looked out. He stared down. The man's body lay twisted on the pavement. A small crowd of pedestrians was already gathering around the blood pooling on the asphalt, pointing and shouting.Damian turned his back to the window. He went straight to the bed and pulled Aria into his chest.She did not fight him. The terror was too much. She buried her face in his ruined suit jacket, her small hands grabbing the fabric of his shirt. She cried hard, her entire body shaking against him. Damian wrapped his arms tightly around her, pressing his face into her hair, closing his ey
The plastic bag hit the linoleum floor with a wet thud.Damian was already moving.He sprinted across the cafeteria, his heavy boots skidding against the polished tiles. He shoved his way through the double glass doors, his shoulder violently colliding with a young doctor in the hallway. The man stumbled backward, dropping a stack of clipboards, shouting something in protest. Damian did not stop. He did not even look back. He reached the elevator banks in the main lobby. He slammed the flat of his hand against the call button, hitting it three times in rapid succession.He looked up. The glowing red digital number above the metal doors read 6. It was not moving.He could not wait. The panic clawing at his throat was absolute.Damian abandoned the elevators. He lunged toward the heavy metal fire door of the emergency stairwell, yanked the iron bar, and threw himself into the concrete shaft. He took the stairs three at
“So fucking soft,” he growled, the words rumbling from his chest like thunder felt in her bones, nipping at the swell of her flesh hard enough to leave teeth marks that bloomed sharp and stinging, the pain lancing straight to her clit like a live wire. She arched into it, a desperate whine tearing f
The call came at 10:47 AM.Aria was in the B3 basement archives, her hands gray with dust from organizing a decade-old shipping manifest, when her phone buzzed against the metal desk. The screen glowed in the dim fluorescent light.Executive Office.She stared at it for three rings before answering.
“Wait,” Damian said.The group came to an abrupt halt. They were ten feet from the security desk. Damian didn’t look toward Aria. He didn’t acknowledge her presence with even a flicker of his eyes. He continued to stare at the blueprints the man in the gray suit was holding.“This acquisition in Bro
The air in the sub-basement didn’t move.It sat heavy and stagnant, smelling of silverfish, rotting adhesive, and the dry, alkaline sting of paper that hadn’t been touched in three decades. Aria sat at her desk, her spine curved into a question mark, staring at a stack of ledger books from the mid-s







