CASSIAN’S POV“What the hell are you talking about?” Lucas asked.I didn’t answer right away. I pushed off the edge of my desk and slowly wheeled to the window, the rain now a violent sheet slicing down the glass, the world outside smeared and gray.Thunder cracked overhead like the sky was splitting open.Lucas’s footsteps were steady behind me, his voice low but hard. “Boss, you said Jonah was lying. You need to help me understand what's going on.”“Jonah thinks I’m stupid,” I said, my voice quiet.Lucas blinked. “Come again?”“He thinks I’m blinded by anger. That I’m reckless. That I’d grab the first thread he dangled and unravel the whole thing myself.”Lucas moved to stand beside me, watching the storm with me like it held answers. “Boss…”“Can’t you see it?” I said, eyes fixed on the window. “It’s too clean. Too convenient. Jonah just walks in, offers me a way to gut Elias from the inside? Gives me a midnight meeting, a location no one’s supposed to know exists, a fucking escap
CHAPTER 178CASSIAN’S POV"How?" I asked again, quieter this time, but no less deadly.Jonah's gaze didn’t waver."You said you wanted to gut him. Brick by brick, skull by skull. I can give you the foundation. I know where he sleeps, where he meets, where he bleeds. But he won't come out in the open—not unless he's lured."I leaned back in my chair, cold fire burning in my veins. "You think he's stupid enough to walk into a trap?""No," Jonah admitted. "But he's arrogant enough to think he can outsmart yours."Lucas scoffed, arms crossed tight across his chest. "And what? You think you can convince him to meet you for tea?""He still trusts me," Jonah said. "Not fully. Not the way he used to. But enough. Enough to pull him in. You want Reina back? You want to end this war before it turns into a goddamn bloodbath on both sides? Then let me do what I was raised to do. Lie. Deceive. Survive."I stared at him, trying to see past the calm, the poise, the rehearsed stillness. He looked like
Cassian’s POVThe sun didn’t rise.It clawed its way up the horizon like it didn’t want to be seen. The sky was bruised gray and blood-tinged red, a warning if there ever was one.I hadn’t slept.Not really.Every time I closed my eyes, I heard her—Reina’s scream.Sometimes it was her voice. Sometimes Bella’s. Sometimes both. Merging into one endless, soul-shattering sound that yanked me awake in cold sweats.I’d reach for the pillow, searching for her warmth.But all I found was absence.And guilt.I stood at the center of the courtyard now—marble beneath my boots, the chill of morning heavy on my skin. Rows upon rows of my men lined the space. Black suits. Steel eyes. Some looked alert. Some looked uncertain. But all of them—every single one—stood silent as the tension in the air vibrated like a string pulled taut.They knew something was wrong.They felt it.And I made damn sure they did.Lucas stood slightly behind me, hands clasped, eyes scanning every face with predator calm.N
Reina’s POVDarkness ebbed and flowed like a tide behind my swollen eyes. Pain beat in my skull like a second heart. Every breath scraped raw against the inside of my chest. Blood slicked my back, my legs, the inside of my thighs. Footsteps.Heavy. Calculated. Fading.The door slammed.Silence again.A silence that screamed louder than the belt ever could.I didn’t cry.Not this time.I wasn’t sure how long I lay there—minutes, hours, maybe centuries—before sound returned.The pain had tunneled into something else—something quiet, seething, and angry. Beneath the agony, beneath the betrayal, was a spark that refused to go out.Cassian.His name pulsed like venom through my veins.Did he really serve me up to Elias like a lamb to slaughter? Or had Elias lied? Twisted the truth? There had to be something more. There had to be.But right now, none of that mattered. Because one truth cut deeper than any belt could:I was going to die in here unless I did something.Groaning, I pushed mys
Reina’s POVThe first thing that greeted me when I regained consciousness was the smell.Rot. Sweat. Dampness soaked into the very bones of the room. The air was thick, humid, and rancid, like it had never been filtered through sunlight. I gagged before I could stop myself, rolling onto my side on the cold, sticky floor.A sob echoed somewhere behind me.And another.My eyes shot open.Not mine.Other girls.I sat up so fast my head spun, and I nearly lost my balance. My arms instinctively wrapped around my body.Underwear.That’s all I had on.I shivered, my teeth chattering from more than the cold. The walls around me were stained with mold, cracked in places, and lined with rusted nails and rot. A single, dying bulb flickered overhead. It buzzed like it had a death wish.Whispers. Sobs. A choked breath.There were girls in every corner. Seven of them. Huddled. Hunched. Silent as shadows.I stumbled to my feet, arms tight around my chest, and staggered toward the door. My bare feet
CASSAIN’S POV“What message?”She looked up at me, and her voice cracked.“He said: Tell Cassian Morelli that the past always collects its debt. And this time, interest has matured.”My stomach turned to iron.“And then,” she added with a trembling breath, “he smiled. Said, ‘Tell him Jonah remembers too.’”Jonah.That must be the other brother.The room tilted slightly. My pulse thundered in my ears. I felt myself roll back, but I don’t remember pushing the chair.“Who is Jonah?” Lucas asked beside me, but I barely heard him.He was Elias’s shadow. His brother.Not his blood, but raised beside him like a reflection. The backup plan. The weapon in the dark.I turned back to the maid after gathering myself.“You’re sure that’s what he said?”She nodded, tears now dripping down her cheeks. “He made me memorize it. He said if I told you wrong, they’d mail me pieces of my sister.”I took a step closer, voice lower now, cutting through the panic in her chest. “Did he say anything else?”She