登入EMILY'S POVI don't know where I'm going. I just drove out.The penthouse disappears in my rearview mirror and I press the gas harder. Tears blur my vision but I don't wipe them away, I can't cause my hands are shaking too much to take them off the wheel.I drive until the fuel gauge dips dangerously low and I pull into the first parking lot I see. It's a small twenty-four-hour café on the outskirts of the city, I sit in the dark car and stare at nothing.The words keep replaying in my head.I hate you, Dad.I meant it. I meant every word.If I hadn't been so angry at her. If I hadn't pushed her away maybe she wouldn't have gone to that house alone. Maybe she would have stayed with me, she would be safe right now.I grab my phone from the passenger seat... I scroll through my contacts and stop at Jeremy's name. I don't want to be alone right now but I can't go back to the penthouse and I can't face anyone else.I pressed the call button He answers on the first ring. "Emily?""Hey"
DAMIEN'S POV The walk of shame back into the Cross Tower is a hollow blur. The media already updated the television monitors in the executive lobby. Bold red banners flash across the bottom of the screens: CROSS EMPIRE CRUMBLES: MOGUL DAMIEN CROSS SUFFERS PSYCHOLOGICAL BREAKDOWN AFTER ASSET FREEZE. They think I'm losing my mind because the feds locked my accounts. They have no idea what real loss feels like. I stood at the podium for the second time today. The flashlights are an unrelenting white strobe that makes my head ache as they keep taking pictures. The reporters are screaming, shoving microphones toward my face. "Mr. Cross! Is it true your corporate assets are officially frozen?" "Are you stepping down as CEO Damien?" I grip the sides of the dark wood until my knuckles go white. I look directly into the center of the primary news camera knowing he is watching every detail. Knowing Leah might see it. "I am here to correct my earlier emotional statements" I say in a f
DAMIEN'S POVI slam my foot down on the accelerator and weave the sports car through morning traffic. The engine purrs as I push it past its limits and the speedometer climbs higher. I don't slow down for red lights. I don't slow down for anything. Every second is a second she's still in that nightmare.The digital dashboard glows against the dimming morning sky and the coordinates Marcus sent are still lit up on the screen.I'm coming, Leah. Just hold on.Suddenly the central screen flashes a bright red notification. A high-priority encrypted email alert from Marcus. Right beneath it a series of urgent text messages pop up.My phone buzzes violently in the cup holder. I glance down and my heart freezes as I read the words scrolling across the screen.ASSET FREEZE CONFIRMED. LEGAL PROXIES EXECUTED BY REYES LAWYERS. BOARD VOTED. ALL CORPORATE AND PERSONAL ACCOUNTS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE ARE ZEROED."Fuck!" I roar and slam my palm against the steering wheel hard enough to leave a dent.
DAMIEN'S POV The days that follow are hell. I don't sleep. I barely eat. Every time I close my eyes, I see Leah's face on that video. Every time I open them, I'm surrounded by lawyers, board members, and reporters who all want a piece of me. The pressure is suffocating. The board is still demanding answers. The federal investigators are still digging. The media is still tearing my reputation apart piece by piece and somewhere out there, Leah is waiting for me to save her. I'm sitting in my office at Cross Tower, the sun barely rising over the city, when I make the decision. I pick up my phone and call Marcus. "Release a statement," I say. "I'm holding a press conference. Noon. At the tower." "Sir, are you sure? The media is going to tear you apart." "Let them. I need to control the narrative. I need to buy us time." "Understood. I'll make the calls." I end the call and stare at the city below. The glass towers glitter in the morning light, but all I can see is her face. All
LEAH'S POV The static from the television screen outside our door hums through the concrete wall. It is the only sound in the dark room. There are no windows here, just gray bricks, cold air, and the smell of wet dust. I don't know how many hours have passed since they threw us into the back of that van and brought us to this warehouse. It feels like days. My stomach is hollow and my throat is dry. I've not had anything since we came here The cold seeped into my bones, and no matter how much I curled into myself, I couldn't get warm. Sophie is asleep on a dirty mattress in the corner, her head resting on Mom's lap. She's shivering even in her sleep and she looks pale. Mom hasn't moved for hours, she sits against the wall, staring blankly ahead. Ever since Elric turned his back on her at the house, she hasn't spoken a single word. His betrayal broke something deep inside her. I sit on the floor by the heavy metal door, my hands still tied behind my back. My wrists are raw a
UNKNOWN POV I lean back in my leather chair and watch the news footage unfold on the massive screen mounted on the wall. The headline scrolls across the bottom in bold red letters. "CROSS EMPIRE CRUMBLES: STOCK PLUMMETS AS FEDERAL PROBE WIDENS." I smile. The footage cuts to a shot of Cross Tower, the building looking smaller somehow, less imposing. Then to a photo of Damien walking out of the boardroom looking like a man who just realized he's losing control. He is. On my secondary monitor, the live shipping logs from the northern port are scrolling by while Damien is panicking over federal investigators, and the Deluca containers are slipping past his security completely unchecked. I take a slow sip of whiskey and let the satisfaction settle in my chest. Several months of planning, months of hiding, waiting, and watching. And now it's all finally paying off. My phone buzzes on the desk. I glance at the screen. Isabella is calling again. I let it ring twice before picking u
UNKNOWN POV I stand in front of the mirror in the private bathroom attached to my office and unbutton my shirt slowly. Looking at my reflection in the mirror I trace the scars that stretch across my chest up to my shoulders. Every one a reminder of what he did to me, the twisted and discolored s
DAMIEN'S POVI pull up to Morrison Avenue and find Arcus is already there, standing near the back door of the abandoned house. Emily is beside him pacing back and forth her arms wrapped tightly around herself.I'm out of the car before anyone can say a word, slamming the door behind me."Where is s
DAMIEN'S POV The hot-headed officer snatches the desk phone from my hand and slams it back onto the receiver. The line goes dead instantly. "I told you no calls until you are processed!" he yells, shoving me back into the chair. "I was talking to my daughter," I say, my voice low slamming my cuf
LEAH'S POVThe Uber pulls up to the address and I am out of the car before it fully stops. The house is dark and abandoned with broken windows all around and overgrown grass. My heart is pounding so loud I can hear it in my ears. I reach the front door and find it unlocked. I push it open and st







