Jaxon stood on the terrace of his penthouse, the city lights stretching endlessly beneath him like a glittering, indifferent sea. The cool night air bit at his skin, but the chill in his bones had nothing to do with the weather. It was the weight of what Victor had told him that pressed against his chest, the unbearable truth that shattered everything he had believed about his family.His mother was alive.More than that, she had been the shadow behind the trafficking ring, the architect of the poison spreading through their empire. The woman he had mourned, the woman he had blamed for leaving him alone in the cold world, was still here, pulling strings from the darkness.Victor’s voice echoed behind him, steady and grim. “She’s the one running it all. The trafficking, the arms deals, the corruption in the city, it all leads back to her. Your mother.”Jaxon’s jaw clenched so tightly his teeth ached. “Why the hell would she hide? Why let me believe she was dead?”Victor shook his head
The hum of Club Eden’s after-hours was a low pulse in Raven’s veins yet distant, like a heartbeat slowing to an uneven rhythm as she sat alone in the dim back office, the stale scent of cigarette smoke and leather swirling around her, but her mind was elsewhere, tangled in dark thoughts that refused to loosen their grip. A half-empty glass of whiskey sat untouched on the desk, untouched because the burn of guilt was sharper than any liquor could dull.Victor’s words, 'Talia’s gone again', echoed in her head like a brutal drumbeat that wouldn’t stop. She was missing without a trace.Raven’s fingers curled around the glass, knuckles white, but she didn’t drink, she couldn't, not while the club breathed with secrets she wasn’t ready to face.A soft knock pulled her attention from the shadows inside her mind. The door creaked open, and a thin, cautious, familiar figure slipped inside, she had a flicker of urgency in her eyes. “Raven,” whispered Mia, one of the club’s discreet informants,
The morning sun had barely begun its slow crawl over the city skyline when Victor’s knock came, a sharp, urgent sound slicing through the fragile calm of the penthouse. Raven, still draped across Jaxon’s broad chest, stirred beneath the weight of an unquiet sleep. The room felt too still, too fragile.Jaxon’s hand tightened around her, eyes flickering open, alert in an instant. The darkness in his gaze deepened, shadows gathering like storm clouds.Victor’s face was grim when he stepped inside, closing the door softly behind him. His usual stoic mask cracked by the tight line of his jaw, the set of his shoulders.“She’s gone,” Victor said simply, voice low but heavy. “Talia’s disappeared again.”Raven’s breath hitched. Her body tensed against Jaxon’s like a live wire.Jaxon’s eyes sharpened, every muscle coiling beneath the surface. “Again?” His voice was a hard edge cutting through the room. “How?”Victor paced a slow circle, fingers tapping the envelope in his pocket. “Security came
The city’s early morning hum was a distant murmur behind the thick glass of the penthouse windows, where the first pale light spilled unevenly across the room. Raven sat on the edge of the bed, knees drawn close, hands clenched tight against trembling legs. The ache inside her wasn’t just exhaustion, it was the heavy weight of betrayal, fear, and a raw, gnawing guilt that no amount of control could hide.She breathed shallowly, as if every inhale might shatter the fragile calm she was trying to hold. Her mind replayed the violent confrontation with Dante, the cold betrayal in his eyes, the way Jaxon had come to her rescue like a storm unleashed. She was still trembling, but it wasn’t just the aftershocks of that night. It was something deeper, a fracture in her soul she wasn’t sure would ever heal.Jaxon watched her from the doorway. His usual mask of cold command was softened, shadows under his eyes telling their own story of sleepless nights and battles fought not just outside, but
The first rays of dawn filtered weakly through the slatted blinds of Raven’s bedroom, casting long, pale lines across the cluttered floor. Outside, the city was waking, but inside the penthouse, time felt suspended, thick with tension and aching silence.Raven lay on her side, knees drawn up like a shield. Her skin prickled with the ghosts of last night’s pain and the weight of all she hadn’t said. The memory of Jaxon’s hands, firm, commanding, both a balm and a brand, clung to her like a second skin, but it wasn’t enough to soothe the tempest roiling beneath her ribs.She had always been her own harshest judge, her own most relentless tormentor.Jaxon had fought Dante for her, come crashing through the shadows to pull her back from the edge, but she couldn’t stop seeing the cracks in his eyes, the burden he bore, the betrayals he had to navigate, the wars he fought both outside and inside, and she was tangled in it all.The penthouse was silent except for the soft hum of the city bel
Raven’s pulse slammed against her ribs like a warning drum. Every instinct screamed to run, but her legs felt rooted in the cold tile floor. The stolen USB and ledger pressed heavy in her pocket, the weight of secrets that could shatter worlds. She swallowed hard, every breath shallow.Before she could think twice, the office door shut behind her with a soft click.Dante stepped forward, the smirk playing on his lips like a predator savoring his prey. “Thought you could slip away unnoticed? Zane’s eyes never blink. Neither do mine.”Her throat tightened, but she forced a calm she didn’t feel. “You don’t scare me.”“Maybe not yet,” he said, and his smile darkened. “But that’s about to change.”A distant chime shattered the tension, the elevator’s bell ringing sharply, urgent. The sound echoed down the corridor, sharp as a gunshot in the quiet. Raven’s heart surged with a flicker of hope, and then Jaxon appeared.He stepped into the doorway like a storm incarnate, his presence filling t