REVENGE AND DESIRE

CHAPTER 1:

Damien's P.O.V

The private jet touched down at JFK Airport with a smooth glide, the hum of its powerful engines fading into the noise of the bustling runway.

Inside the cabin, Damien Lancaster sat with an air of quiet dominance, fingers loosely clasped around a crystal glass of whiskey.

The golden liquid barely swayed, reflecting the control he had over every aspect of his life. Every aspect,except the past.

He stared outside the window, his sharp gaze locking onto the city skyline in the distance. New York. The city where he had built everything and lost it all in the span of a single night. The city where she had betrayed him.

A slow, humorless smirk pulled at his lips as the memories threatened to resurface. He crushed them down like he always did. This time, he wasn’t returning as a lovesick fool. He was coming back as the man the world now feared,the ruthless billionaire who could turn dreams into nightmares with a single command.

The media had been buzzing for weeks about his return.

“Damien Lancaster Set to Close the Biggest Deal of the Year.” “The Prodigal Heir Returns.”

Everyone thought he was back for business. And he was. But business wasn’t his only priority.

But, he was here for revenge.

"Mr. Lancaster, we’ve landed," a crisp voice interrupted his thoughts.

Damien turned to his assistant, Logan Pierce, a man as efficient as he was discreet. Logan had been with him since the start of his empire, one of the few people Damien trusted.

Without a word, Damien stood and adjusted the cuffs of his charcoal-gray suit, the Italian fabric molding perfectly to his frame. As he stepped off the jet, cameras flashed in the distance, a few reporters desperate for a word. He ignored them, entering into the black Rolls-Royce waiting on the tarmac.

The moment the door shut, the air inside thickened with tension.

"Do you have it?" Damien asked, his voice smooth but edged with venom.

Logan nodded and handed him a thick manila file. "Everything you asked for. Selene Carter’s full financial records, employment history, and legal troubles."

Damien took the file and flipped it open, his piercing blue eyes scanning the pages. Each line was a victory.

Bankrupt.

Drowning in debt.

Eviction notices.

Lawsuits piling up.

Barely scraping by.

He let out a low chuckle. “Poetic justice.”

Once, Selene Carter had been everything. The woman he had wanted to build a future with. The woman he had trusted with his heart, his secrets, his life. And she had ruined him.

She wasn't there when he needed her the most.

Now, she was nothing but a struggling, desperate woman with nowhere to run.

"What’s her current job?" Damien asked, still flipping through the documents.

Logan hesitated. "She’s working at a small diner in Brooklyn. Minimum wage, Long shifts,She’s barely making enough to survive."

Damien’s smirk widened. "Perfect.”

This was exactly how he wanted to find her to be weak, desperate, and at his mercy. The way he had once been when she ripped his world apart.

"And her personal life?" he pressed.

Logan cleared his throat. "No serious relationships. No family support. She’s completely alone."

A satisfied hum left Damien’s lips. He closed the file with a snap and leaned back against the leather seat, the city lights flickering across his face as the car sped down the highway.

For years, he had imagined this moment. The moment he would return, powerful and untouchable, to watch Selene Carter pay for what she did.

He would own her,And he would make her suffer.

“Perfect,” Damien murmured, eyes darkening. “Let the games begin.” He let out a hysterical laugh.

The Rolls-Royce moved through the streets of New York, the city’s lights reflecting on the tinted windows.

Damien sat in silence, his fingers drumming against the leather seat as he processed the information in the file.

Every word, every detail about Selene’s downfall felt like a carefully crafted symphony…a song of justice.

She had vanished without a trace after ruining him. Leaving him in the wreckage of his own empire, drowning in betrayal. He had spent years searching for her, years wondering why she did it,why the woman he had loved, the woman he had planned a future with, had stabbed him in the back and disappeared.

Now, he had his answer. She ran because she was guilty.

But now? Now she had nothing. And that's part of the price she had to pay.

He exhaled, his grip tightening on the file. He should have felt satisfied. He should have felt victorious. Instead, there was something else, something different,a slow burn in his chest that felt dangerously close to anticipation.

"Where is she now?" he asked.

Logan glanced at his phone. "Finishing a late shift at the diner. If we head there now, we’ll catch her before she leaves."

Damien smirked. "Then take me there."

The driver smoothly change route, the car turning down a quieter road leading into Brooklyn. The further they drove from the glass towers of Manhattan, the more the city shifted,the city shown less luxury, more struggle.

When the car finally pulled up in front of the diner, Damien barely recognized the place.

It was small, outdated, and looked like it hadn’t been renovated in decades. Through the large front window, he could see her.

“Selene Carter.”

The woman who had haunted his thoughts, his dreams, his nightmares.

She stood behind the counter, her once-elegant figure now hidden beneath a plain waitress uniform.

Her long brown hair was tied in a loose ponytail, stray strands falling around her tired face. She looked exhausted,dark circles shown beneath her eyes, her shoulders slightly curved from fatigue.

For a moment, Damien just watched.

This was the same woman who had once walked through the halls of power beside him, who had sat in on meetings with him, who had whispered promises to him late at night.

The same woman who had disappeared the moment his world crumbled.And now she was nothing.

The thought should have made him feel triumphant. But It didn’t.

"Stay here," Damien ordered, pushing the file back into Logan’s hands.

Without another word, he stepped out of the car and crossed the street, his expensive leather shoes tapping against the pavement.

The moment he opened the diner door, the small bell above it jingled, drawing Selene’s attention.

She turned toward him, a polite customer-service smile already on her lips.

"Welcome to…" Her voice trail off,She froze seeing it was long,old lover.

Damien watched as blood drained from her face, her eyes widening in pure shock. Her lips parted slightly, as if struggling to form words.

He didn’t give her the chance.

"Hello, Selene," he said smoothly, his voice a dangerous purr. "It’s been a long time."

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. "Damien…?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Surprised to see me?" He tilted his head, studying her reaction.