The night was thick with tension, the air suffocating in its stillness. Killian stood in front of the massive screen in his private office, his jaw clenched as the video played.Dante was on his knees, his face swollen and bloodied, his hands bound behind his back. The dim lighting of the warehouse cast eerie shadows over his features, making him look almost unrecognizable.Then, a familiar voice—deep, cold, and full of malice—cut through the silence."If you want him alive, come alone. No security. No tricks."The message ended, leaving only darkness on the screen.Elena’s heart pounded as she turned to Killian, her throat dry. His face remained unreadable, but she could feel the storm raging beneath the surface."Victor isn’t stupid," she murmured, breaking the silence. "He knows you’ll come for Dante, and he’ll use it to take you down."Killian exhaled sharply, tilting his head as he studied the frozen frame of Dante’s battered face."Of cours
The soft glow of city lights flickered through the penthouse windows, casting elongated shadows across the polished marble floors. The scent of expensive whiskey and lingering gunpowder still clung to the air, remnants of the war they had fought mere hours ago. Elena sat stiffly on the edge of the leather couch, her hands clasped tightly together as she watched Dante’s unconscious form resting in the guest suite.Killian leaned against the doorframe, his shirt slightly unbuttoned, revealing the hard lines of his chest. He watched her in silence, his stormy gray eyes calculating, unreadable.“You’re reckless,” Elena finally muttered, breaking the heavy silence.Killian’s lips curled into a smirk. “I saved your brother’s life. You’re welcome.”Elena’s jaw tightened. “That’s not the point. You went in there like a damn lunatic! If Victor had planned this as a trap—”“But he didn’t.” Killian pushed off the wall and stalked toward her, his every movement oozing c
The city lights flickered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Killian’s penthouse, casting long shadows over the luxurious suite. The silence was thick, heavy with the weight of secrets. Elena Romano, or rather, Raven Black, stood frozen in the dimly lit hallway, her heart hammering against her ribs.She had been careful—silent as a ghost, slipping through the penthouse to uncover what Killian Graves was hiding. But she hadn’t been careful enough.A deep voice cut through the darkness.“You shouldn’t be here.”Elena turned sharply, her pulse spiking. A man emerged from the shadows—Damian Cross, Killian’s right-hand man. His piercing eyes locked onto hers, unreadable yet sharp enough to slice through any excuse she could conjure.She straightened, masking her nerves with a smirk. "I got lost on my way to the kitchen. This place is a damn maze."Damian didn’t buy it. He stepped closer, the weight of his authority pressing down on her like an unspoken t
The war had begun.Elena sat in her office at Graves Enterprises, staring at the encrypted message on her phone."Watch your back. The next hit is yours."Her fingers tightened around the device, the weight of the threat settling in her chest like a slow-burning fire. She didn't need to guess who it was from. Victor DeLuca was making his move, and he was making sure she knew it.She exhaled slowly, her mind racing. The attack was coming. The only question was—when?A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. Killian strode in, his towering presence instantly filling the room. He looked like he hadn’t slept, his dark suit slightly undone, his usual control slipping beneath the surface."You’re thinking too much," he said, closing the door behind him."And you’re underestimating the situation," Elena shot back, lifting her phone. "DeLuca just made it clear—I’m next."Killian’s jaw tightened as he took the phone from her hand, scanning the mes
The tempest outside was a reflection of the chaos in Elena's mind. The lights in the penthouse cast shadows as she paced back and forth, arms crossed fiercely over her chest. The city lay before her, glittering with power and deception—much like Killian Graves. For years, she had clung to one absolute truth: Killian was the man who destroyed her family. It was the foundation of her revenge, the reason she had crawled her way back up from hell.But Dante's surprise return had shattered that perception.Killian was never blameless… but had she misjudged thinking he was the mastermind? Her hand trembled as she felt for the glass of whiskey on the table. She didn't drink much, but tonight she needed something to still her mind. The burn of the alcohol did not desensitize the rage bubbling beneath her flesh.Far away, she heard the unmistakable sound of the penthouse door sliding open.Killian had returned. Elena turned around as Killian walked in. He still had on his black, tailored sui
The silence was stifling.Elena stood in the dark office, her fingers tightening around the paper she had just extracted from Killian's locked drawer. The paper in her hand was heavier than any weight she had ever borne. Her heart thudded fiercely against her ribcage, and her breathing came in tiny, jagged gasps.She read the words once more, incredulity blending with the agony of seeing what was before her.Killian Graves. The man she adored. The man she loathed. The man who had destroyed her family.Her sight wavered in fury at anger that was spreading through her veins like fire. She was an idiot—playing his game, allowing him to touch her, dominate her. She had let him reach through her armor, and what did it signify? For him to betray her again?A sharp, contemptuous laugh spilled out of her."Elena," Killian's voice caught behind her. Low, deep, but filled with velvet warning.She spun around, holding the contract in her fist. His mask was impassive, but the dark flash in his ey
Elena's heels tapped angrily on the marble floor as she burst out of the Romano mansion, her heart racing with a combination of confusion and anger.Dante's words kept echoing in her head."Killian isn't the man you believe him to be. He's dangerous, Elena. He will shatter you."But wasn't Dante dangerous as well?She clenched her fists, inhaling deeply, trying to sort through the chaos in her head. The past few weeks had turned her world upside down, and now she was left questioning everything. The lines between enemy and ally, love and hate—they were all blurred.She had barely reached her car when she felt his presence behind her.Killian."You’re making a mistake," his deep voice rumbled behind her.Elena whirled fast, sparks of temper jumping into her eyes. "And stalking me again now?"His rough regard held her steady, his tone forceful and stern. "Don't trust Dante. You shouldn't either."Laughing, folding arms at her chest. "You should take my place and trust you?"In an abrupt
Killian's penthouse walls were still when Elena entered, heels tapping softly on the marble floor. The sun's gold poured through the floor-high windows and dropped dark shadows that mirrored the heaviness in her own chest. She couldn't find the strength to struggle anymore. After all that had happened at the company today—the choreographed humiliation, the chill whisper in her ear, "I told you not to disobey me"—her heart was battered beyond repair. Killian stood near the liquor cabinet, pouring himself a drink with calm precision. His black shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled up, forearms tense. He didn’t look at her as he spoke. “Take a seat, Elena.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not your pet to be summoned.” Then act like you're not a bad one," he snapped, turning to her at last. His eyes flashed with that all-too-familiar spark—possessiveness tangled with something much worse. She clutched her fists. "What do you want, Killian? You humiliate me in front of the board,
The skyline gave way to the glass windows of Elena's apartment, lights blinking like danger signals on the horizon. But within, the world held its breath. Too still. Elena sat on the edge of the sofa, phone tightly gripped in her hand, the black words scrawled on the screen:"You should be careful who you trust. Secrets leak faster than blood these days. – D"Dante.It shouldn't have hurt her so. She should have been desensitized once she learned from Killian that her brother was alive and in league with Victor. But she wasn't. She was sensitive. As if the skin had been flayed from her soul, and she was left with nerve endings that registered every shock of betrayal.Standing before her, Killian was quiet, jaw set, eyes icy. He hadn't uttered a word since she'd brought the message. That scared her more than anything. Killian never remained quiet for nothing."Something," she whispered.He ran his hand through his hair, tension in his frame so intense it seeped out around him. "He's ma
The click of heels on marble floors in Graves Enterprises rang down the hallway as Elena walked with cold determination, on purpose. Her blood still seethed from sparring with Sophia, and her body hummed with tension she had yet to release. The humiliation that preceded this seared her mind—Sophia standing up to her in public, laughing at her, trying to break her. And worse than that was Killian's silence.He'd said nothing. Not during the confrontation. Not since.She burst into the executive suite, ready to shove past his secretary and demand answers. But the suite was empty—except for him.Killian leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, fingers buried in his pockets, eyes gazing down into the city below."You're late," he murmured, as if the world wasn't on fire."You're not telling me anything," Elena snapped, the door slapping shut with a bitter click behind her. "Too quiet for a man who let his fiancée play with his… whatever the devil I am to you now."Slower, he turned, hi
The penthouse was too silent.Elena propped against the window, gazing out at city lights blurring behind raindrops that streamed down the glass. Each drop hit like a reminder of how shattered everything really was. Her own face glared back at her—tough on the outside, but in the midst of all of it, her own heart was disintegrating at the seams.Killian still had not come back.Since the battle with Graves Enterprises.She could still remember the tone of his voice—cold and detached as he addressed the board, but something had broken within his eyes when he looked back at the board and saw himself looking at her. As if all the walls he had carefully built up in him had started to break down.Elena composed herself, silk against waist from Killian close and restrictive. Collar still clung to it—a whisper of him in here—spice, danger, and some very attractive presence.It was difficult. It hurt to love him.The chime rang out. She was rigid. She did not inhale.Heavy foot. Turn of the k
The penthouse was darkened, city lights pouring through the wide windows like ghosts across the shining marble floor. Elena leaned in the doorway of the living room, arms wrapped around her torso as she gazed down at the city. There was unspoken tension between her and Killian, brimming with everything left unsaid.He stood behind her, icy and unyielding."You ran from me," he breathed, his voice low and controlled—too controlled."I needed room," she replied without turning around. "You know, I was having a lot of difficulty breathing after all that drama with Sophia."Killian took a slow step forward."So you ran. Again."Elena finally whirled, their eyes locking."And what would you have done?" she snarled. "Stayed? Slept with someone who had lied to you? Lied to herself?" Her voice trembled with the passion radiating from her."I would have made you say the truth," Killian growled. "I would have made you face it—to face me. But you fled, like you always do."She winced at the accu
Elena sat cross-legged on her apartment floor, lights out, the city glow casting long shadows on the glass windows. The flash drive nestled in her palm like a hot wire—unobtrusive, small, and quiet, but heavy with her history. The questions she'd been searching for for years. The answers she never thought Killian would provide.Her computer sat with the lid up on the small coffee table, the cursor flashing in time with the beat of her heart.She wasn't ready.She never could be.Her eyes shut. She inserted the flash drive. The screen sprang to life, folders standing at precise attention, titles in Killian's neat, painstaking script: Bank Transfers. Contracts. Victor. My Father. Yours.Elena opened the last one.They came out slowly, one at a time: letters, bank statements, deeds to property. And in the center—a scanned letter that had been sent almost twelve years earlier. Her father's handwriting, so recognizable in all the years.She moved closer."Killian—If you are reading this,
Elena rode alone in the rear of the black sedan, city lights streaking past her face like ghosts from the other side of the world. Her fist was locked around the waistband of her dress, gathering the satin into her hand as if she could shake the fear out of her body. Killian's words from weeks ago still rang through her mind, hungry and on repeat:"You still think you can handle me, Elena? The fact is, I won already."She loathed the way it made her feel—how his voice alone could make her loosen her grip on her knees and muffle her heart in a stutter. Loathed the way his mere presence in the same room left her responding with shaking nerves and ragged breath.The car skidded rabidly before her penthouse. Her driver opened the door and got out, and she remained seated, disregarding the banding across her chest. She needed to concentrate. Killian's last move hadn't been a move of control—it had been a move of intimidation. He'd wanted her to feel trapped.And God have mercy on her, it w
The enmity between them had boiled over, but their final encounter had solidified into strained peace. Elena had never been sundered so completely. Dangling over an abyss, she had teetered between past and future, love and obligation, the man who had ruined her and the one who could restore her—or destroy her completely.She paced the hotel suite in agitated circles, unable not to tear apart each sentence, each touch they shared. On the streets, the city churned gray beneath the streetlights, its body still intact and oblivious to the storm brewing just below her skin.Sophia's, Dante's, all colliding into one another made her ill. How was she ever going to pull it off? How was she ever going to be able to trust another human being in her life?Her coffee table phone called, breaking up her dizzily spinning thoughts. She didn't stir, lost a beat. She answered, not that she cared what the caller was. It showed private number on the screen.She breathed, her chest expanding."Hello?" Sh
The door hinge creaked as loudly as a rifle in the stillness. Elena sat inside, knotted with tension that forbade her from breathing. Her fingers trembled weakly as she loosened her jacket, draping it over a chair. She was still conscious of Killian's warmth on her wrist, the way his eyes had darkened in ferocity as she'd moved away from him.But she had to go. Didn't she?Elena by the window, city lights casting a sickly glow on her face. Down below, Manhattan thudding to its beat, a town never pausing to consider what people hid. And her own was more substantial than the skyline.The last forty-eight hours had reduced her to a whirlpool she wasn't ready for. Dante's ominous reappearance, Killian's jealousy tantrums in front of the boardroom building—it was all coming unraveled.Her control over all.She tensed at a knock on the door.Her heart ceased to beat. She had wished him not to be him, for one solitary beat.He was."Open up, Elena," deep, gravelly, quietly lethal Killian's v
Elena gazed at the pictures on her phone, shaking her hand in frustration as she scrolled through them one by one. Each picture an open wound afresh—Killian and her father together at that charity event so many years ago, a second one where Killian would show up at the Romano compound days before the attack which had altered everything. And the final picture. Her brother Dante is very much alive. With Victor DeLuca.It didn't add up. Any of it.The penthouse air felt thick, thick upon her chest like a weight she couldn't put down. She paced the living room, Killian's words ringing in her ears from that evening: "You don't know everything, Elena." No. She hadn't. And yet now, slowly, she was discovering.And the truth cut through like a knife cutting through well-made resolve.A door slammed behind her. She turned, already tense. Killian came in, his black top unbuttoned at the collar, showing the soft welts on his collarbone from the last battle. His dark eyes absorbed the charged atm