LOGINDAMIENI'm in the car with Hayes, Marcus Reid secured in the back seat, when Elara's text comes through."Elena's missing," I tell Hayes. "Change of plans. We need to find her before she gets too far.""Or before she does something desperate," Hayes adds grimly. "Cornered narcissists are dangerous."Marcus speaks up from the back seat. "She has a backup plan. She always does."I turn to look at him. "Explain.""When we first started working together, Elena told me she had contingencies for every scenario. If things went south, she had places to go, identities to use, with money stashed away." Marcus looks at us nervously. "She said she'd been planning her escape route since high school. Just in case.""Since high school?" That's fifteen years of preparation. "Where would she go?""I don't know the specifics. She kept that information compartmentalized, she said if I didn't know, I couldn't tell anyone even if I wanted to." Marcus shifts uncomfortably. "But she mentioned Canada once. S
ELARAThat evening, as we're doing final preparations to leave for the safe house, my mother calls me.I almost don't answer. But something makes me pick up."Mom.""Elara, sweetheart, we need to talk." She sounds tired and defeated. "About Elena.""There's nothing to talk about...""She's in trouble. Real trouble. The police called us today. Said they're preparing to arrest her for fraud and conspiracy." My mom's voice breaks. "They said she could go to prison for decades.""She committed crimes, Mom . Serious crimes. She should go to prison.""But she's your sister. Our daughter. We can't just abandon her.""She abandoned herself when she chose to destroy people for sport." I'm so tired of this conversation. "Mom, she orchestrated a murder plot. She hacked into federal databases. She framed Damien for securities fraud. These aren't mistakes. This is who she is.""She's sick, Elara. She needs help, not prison.""Then she should have gotten help before she committed felonies." My voic
DAMIENMarcus Reid sits across from me in the empty building, looking like a man who's just been handed a life preserver."Elena's calling me." He holds up his phone, showing the three missed calls. "She never calls three times in a row. She's freaking out.""Because she knows you've been compromised." I lean back against a concrete pillar. "The question is, what are you going to tell her when you call back?""What do you want me to tell her?""The truth. That you're scared. That the SEC is closing in and that you want out." I meet his eyes. "But not that you've met with me or that you're cooperating. You play it straight, like a nervous partner who's getting cold feet.""She'll know something's wrong.""Let her. Paranoid Elena makes mistakes. Comfortable Elena is dangerous." I check my watch. "Call her back. Put it on speaker. Let's hear what she says."Marcus dials with shaking hands. Elena answers on the first ring."Where the fuck have you been?" She didn't bother with greeting. T
DAMIENBy next morning, I recieve Hayes texts at 6 AM.Hayes: Marcus Reid has been acquired. He's at the foundation site. Though he is confused but he is cooperative. How do you want to handle this?Me: Give me thirty minutes. I'll meet you there.I slip out of bed without waking Elara, dress up quickly, and leave a note on the pillow: Meeting with Marcus. Back soon. Stay inside. -DThe foundation building looks skeletal in the early morning light, bare concrete and steel beams, frozen mid-construction.Marcus Reid is sitting on a plastic crate in the center of the empty first floor, flanked by two of Hayes's security team, looking so terrified."Mr. Reid." I approach him slowly, in a non-threatening manner. "Thank you for agreeing to meet.""I didn't agree to anything. Your people grabbed me off the street...""My people offered you a ride to discuss a business opportunity. You accepted." I sit on a crate across from him. "But you're right. This isn't voluntary. So let's be honest wi
ELARAI kiss him then, pouring all my gratitude, fear and desperate hope into it.Damien meets me with the same raw intensity that II felt his mouth is slow and deliberate, like he’s memorizing the shape of my mouth all over again. There is no rush or frantic act of tearing at our clothes. Just this deep, searching kiss that tastes like relief and everything we’ve been too afraid to say out loud until now.His hands slide under my shirt, as he glides his warm palms up my ribs, his thumbs brushes the undersides of my breasts. He breaks the kiss only long enough to pull the fabric over my head, then returns immediately, his lips trail down my jaw, throat, and the sensitive spot just below my ear that makes my breath hitch. I tilt my head back, offering more skin to him.He lays me down gently onto the rumpled sheets that still smell faintly of last night’s sweat and sex and he settles above me, he braced his weight on his forearms so he doesn’t crush me. His eyes never leave mine.“I lov
DAMIENWe spend the next two days in the penthouse, finalizing our travels.Movers come and go, packing our belongings into storage and the penthouse slowly empties. By the second evening, the space looks sterile, unlived-in.Like we were never here.Elara stands at the window, looking out at the city skyline one last time. "It feels strange. Leaving like this.""It's temporary." I come up behind her, wrap my arms around her waist. "Three months maximum. Then we come back and reclaim everything.""If the plan works.""It will work. Elena thinks she's won and that makes her careless." I rest my chin on her shoulder. "And while she's celebrating, we will be building a case that destroys her."My second phone that I had encrypted buzzes with message from Hayes.Hayes: There's a development sir. Marcus Reed made contact with Elena two hours ago. We have the footage and audio. You need to see this.I show Elara the message."Already?" She turns in my arms. "We've barely been dark for forty
ELARAI call in sick.For the second time in three years at Cross Enterprises, it is all because of the same reason. I sent the email to Jennifer at 6 AM:
ELARAThe restroom door locks with that familiar, ominous click. My heart slams against my ribs as Damien steps into view, his eyes already black with possession. No words. He doesn’t need them.His hands are on me in seconds in a rough, demanding manner, spinning me and slamming my back against th
DAMIEN The clock glows 2:17 a.m. in soft red digits when my eyes open. The room is bathed in the faint silver glow of city lights through half-closed blinds, casting long shadows across the tangled sheets. Elara’s body heat radiates ag
ELARA"Starting now." He takes a shaky breath. "Starting right now. I won't come to your apartment. I won't even show my face at the office. I won't track you or monit







