The study

MIA POV

My legs feel like water as I walk down the hallway to Angelo’s study.He knows. He has to know.Why else would he call me thirty seconds after I texted Austin? Why else would his voice through the intercom sound like a judge reading a death sentence?I should run. Grab my bag, leave the penthouse, disappear. But Mom needs the money. The treatment starts Friday. If I run now, she dies.So I keep walking.The study door is open. Angelo sits behind a massive desk made of dark wood, laptop open, glass of amber liquid in his hand. He doesn’t look up when I enter.“Close the door,” he says.I do. The click sounds final.“Sit.”There’s a leather chair across from his desk. I sink into it, hands clasped tight in my lap to hide the shaking.Angelo finally looks at me. Those gray eyes pin me in place like a butterfly to a board.“Are you afraid of me, Mia?”Yes. Terrified.“No,” I lied.His smile is slow and terrifying. “You should be.”My throat closes. This is it. He’s going to expose me, call security, have me arrested for corporate espionage or fraud or whatever crime Austin’s plan qualifies as.Instead, Angelo stands and walks to the window. His back is to me, silhouette dark against the city lights.“Seven years ago,” he says quietly, “I was in a car accident. Terrible night. Rain, thunder, roads slick as ice. The car flipped, caught fire. I was trapped inside, bleeding, certain I was going to die.”I don’t understand where this is going, but I listen.“Someone pulled me out. A woman. Young, scared, soaking wet from the rain. She dragged me away from the wreckage just before it exploded.” He turns to face me. “She stayed with me. Held my hand. Told me I wasn’t allowed to die because the world needed good men.”My heart stutters. Something about this story tugs at my memory, but it’s buried too deep to reach.“At the hospital, she donated blood. I was an O-negative, rare type. She was a match.” Angelo moves closer. “The doctors said without her donation, I would have died on the operating table. But when I woke up, she was gone. Disappeared like smoke.”He’s standing in front of me now. Close enough to touch.“I’ve been searching for her ever since. Every investigator. Every database. Every woman with a heart-shaped birthmark on her left ear.”Oh God.Oh God no.“That was you?” The words come out strangled. “I saved you?”“You don’t remember.” It’s not a question.I shake my head. Seven years ago, I would have been seventeen. I remember… what? Nothing. Blank space where that memory should be.“Trauma,” Angelo says, reading my face. “The mind blocks out terrifying experiences. But I remember everything. Your voice. Your hands. The way you whispered that I was going to be okay even though we both knew you were lying.”He reaches out, fingers brushing the birthmark on my ear.“I’ve been waiting seven years to find you again. To thank you. To repay the debt.” His voice drops. “And then you walk into my office, hired by my brother to destroy me.”The room spins.“How long have you known?” I whisper.“Since before I hired you.” He steps back, and the warmth in his voice evaporates. “I know about Austin’s offer. The five hundred thousand. Your mother’s cancer. The plan to steal my financial records and ruin me.”I can’t breathe. Can’t think. “Are you going to have me arrested?”“No.”“Then what?”“I’m going to let you do it.” Angelo returns to his desk, sits, takes a sip of his drink like we’re discussing the weather. “I’m going to give you access to my office. My files. Everything Austin wants. You’re going to feed it to him piece by piece.”This doesn’t make sense. “Why?”“Because I want to see how far you’ll go. How long you can lie to my face while I fuck you. While you carry my child.” His eyes are chips of ice. “I want to watch you destroy yourself with guilt, Mia. And when you finally break, when you can’t take it anymore, you’re going to come to me and confess everything.”“And then?”“Then I’ll decide if you’re worth saving. Like you saved me.”My hands are shaking so hard I have to sit on them. “What if I don’t break? What if I just take your files and disappear?”Angelo’s smile could cut glass. “Then you’ll have proven you’re exactly like my brother. And I’ll destroy you both without a second thought.”He pulls a keycard from his desk drawer and slides it across to me. “My office. The code is 0317. Austin will want those access codes? There they are. Give them to him.”I stare at the keycard like it’s a snake.“This is insane.”“This is chess.” Angelo finishes his drink. “And you’re a pawn who thinks she’s a queen. Now get out. I have work to do.”I grab the keycard with numb fingers and stumble toward the door.“Mia?”I turn.Angelo’s expression is unreadable. “For what it’s worth, I hoped you’d be different. That the woman who saved me seven years ago would be better than this.”The disappointment in his voice hurts more than anger would have.I flee to my room and lock the door.My phone buzzes. Austin: *Well?*I should tell him Angelo knows. Should warn him this is a trap.Instead, I text: *Got the codes. 0317.*Austin’s response is immediate: *Good girl. First payment incoming. Keep going.*Fifty thousand dollars appears in my account. Blood money.I curl up on the bed and try not to cry._ _ _ _ _ANGELO POVDerek appears in my study doorway the moment Mia’s door closes.“She gave Austin the codes,” he says.“I know. I’m watching the texts.” I gesture to my laptop screen where Mia’s phone messages appear in real time. “She didn’t warn him. Interesting.”“Maybe she’s scared.”“Maybe.” I close the laptop. “Or maybe part of her wants to betray him instead of me.”“You’re playing with fire.”“Fire doesn’t scare me. I’ve already burned once.” I stand, stretch. “How’s the other matter?”Derek’s expression darkens. “Your parents confirmed it. They want to come out of witness protection for the gala.”“Absolutely not. Max doesn’t know they’re alive. That’s our ace.”“They miss you. Especially your mother.”I look out at the city. Somewhere out there, my parents are living under fake names, hiding from the brother who tried to kill them seven years ago. The accident everyone thinks killed them was staged?My father's idea, executed perfectly. They died so Max would stop hunting them.And Austin helped Max plan it. My own brother.“Tell them two more months,” I say. “After the gala. After Max and Austin are in prison. Then they can come home.”“And the girl?”I think about Mia in her room, crying, caught between her dying mother and her conscience.“The girl gets one chance to choose the right side. If she takes it, I’ll save her. If she doesn’t…” I finish my drink. “Then she burns them.”Derek leaves. I’m alone with my screens and my plans and my memories.Seven years ago, Mia Lawrence saved my life.Now I’m going to find out if she’s worth saving in return.My phone buzzes. Unknown number.The message makes my blood run cold: *Your little surrogate is pretty. Be a shame if something happened to her. Or the baby. -M M for Max.He knows about Mia.Which means the game just became lethal.I’m across the penthouse in seconds, slamming open Mia’s door without knocking.She’s on the bed, fully clothed, tear-stained face turning toward me in shock.“Pack a bag,” I say. “Now.”“What?”“Someone just threatened your life. You’re not safe here anymore.”“Where are we going?”I grab her arm, pull her to her feet. “Somewhere my uncle can’t find us. Move. Now.”Her eyes go wide. “Your uncle? Austin didn’t mention”“Austin doesn’t know half of what’s really happening. And if we don’t leave right now, you won’t live long enough to find out.”We’re halfway to the door when the lights go out.All of them.The backup generators should kick in. They don’t.In the darkness, I hear Mia’s breathing turn panicked.Then I hear something worse.Footsteps in the hallway.Multiple sets.Coming closer.