LOGINCHAPTER TWENTY-NINE — THE ULTIMATUMSunrise crept over the city like a silent witness.Dante stood at the edge of his penthouse balcony, the skyline glowing gold beneath him—but there was nothing beautiful about this morning.His jaw was tight. His injured shoulder throbbed beneath the bandage. But pain was irrelevant.Amara was gone.Behind him, the room buzzed with controlled chaos. Screens glowed. Voices murmured into comms. Armed men waited, tense and ready.Marcus, Dante’s head of security, stepped closer.“We traced the signal, sir. It’s an old industrial zone near the docks. Warehouse district.”Dante didn’t turn.“Verena wants me desperate,” he said calmly. “She wants me reckless.”Marcus hesitated. “And is she wrong?”Dante finally faced him.His eyes were lethal.“No,” he said. “She’s dead wrong.”He picked up his phone.A message blinked on the screen.Verena:One hour, Dante. Come alone. Or she pays the
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT — THE PRICE OF LOVEDarkness swallowed everything.Amara woke with a sharp gasp, her head pounding, her body cold against concrete. Her wrists burned.She tried to move.Metal cuffs.Her heart slammed violently against her ribs.“Dante!” she cried.No answer.Only silence… and the slow drip of water somewhere nearby.Her eyes adjusted to the dim light. She was in a large, unfinished room—cement walls, exposed pipes, a single bulb hanging from the ceiling.A warehouse.Panic surged through her chest.Memories crashed back—the gunfire, the door bursting open, Dante bleeding—“Dante…” her voice broke.A slow clap echoed through the room.“Well… you’re awake.”Amara froze.Verena stepped into the light, dressed elegantly as always, heels clicking against the floor like a countdown. Her red lipstick was flawless. Her
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN — BETRAYAL IN BLOOD The explosion rocked the underground facility, throwing Amara off balance. Dante caught her instantly, his arm locking around her waist as debris rattled against the reinforced walls. Emergency lights flickered violently, bathing everything in red. “Down!” someone shouted over the chaos. Dante pulled Amara behind a steel console just as another blast echoed from above. Her ears rang. Her heart pounded. “This is my fault,” she whispered, shaking. “If I wasn’t here—” Dante grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were fierce, unwavering. “Do not say that again.” Another tremor hit. “This ends tonight,” he said. “Verena crossed a line she can’t come back from.” ### **THE TRAITOR’S MOVE** Security feeds flashed wildly across the screens. “Sir!” a technician yelled. “Verena disabled internal access from he
💎 CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX — THE TRUTH SHE CAN’T UNSEEAmara stood frozen at the edge of the darkened room, her breath shallow, her heart pounding so loudly it drowned out every other sound.The screen in front of her flickered once… then stabilized.Security footage.Dante’s private security room was silent except for the low hum of machines. Monitors lined the walls, each showing different camera angles from the penthouse, the underground facility, and places she didn’t even recognize.Dante stood beside her, his jaw clenched so tightly she could see the muscle twitch.“Dante…” her voice trembled. “Why are you showing me this?”“Because,” he said quietly, “you deserve the truth. And because things are about to get worse.”Her stomach dropped.He reached forward and tapped the screen.The footage rewound.The date appeared in the corner.Three years ago.Amara f
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE — THE FALL OF THE SERPENTThe city burned beneath the storm.Sirens wailed. Helicopters cut through the night sky. Streets were locked down as Dante’s private forces and government units closed in from every direction.But the real war was underground.Amara stood at the center of the command core, her spine straight, her heartbeat steady.She no longer felt afraid.She felt ready.“Lucien’s forces are retreating toward Sector Nine,” a voice reported through the system. “They’re cornered.”Dante stood beside her, armed, blood on his sleeve—not his.“Sector Nine is a trap,” he said. “He built it to collapse if he loses.”Amara nodded slowly.“Then we don’t chase him,” she said. “We summon him.”Dante turned to her sharply. “Amara—”She met his gaze. Calm. Certain.“He’s arrogant. He believes I’m still learning.” A pause. “He won’t
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR — BLOOD AND VOWSThe first explosion ripped through the upper floors like thunder cracking open the sky.The vault lights flickered violently.Dust rained from the ceiling.“They’re inside the building,” Dante said sharply, already pulling Amara toward the side corridor. “Multiple entry points. This isn’t a warning attack.”Amara’s heart hammered, but she didn’t freeze.Not anymore.“How many?” she asked.Dante paused—just for a fraction of a second—clearly surprised.“At least three teams. Trained. Professional.”She tightened her grip on the ring in her palm.They came for me.Gunfire echoed through the tunnels above them—short, controlled bursts.Dante keyed his comm. “Knight actual. Initiate Protocol Black. Evac route Sigma.”Static answered.Then a calm voice: “Copy that. We’re compromised.”Amara swallowed







