The text message lit up my phone like a blade pressed against my throat.I’ve made a choice, Adrian. I’m ready to face the consequences.Vanessa.I sat in the waiting room, white walls humming with fluorescent light, disinfectant stinging my nose. Elena was beside me, calm but coiled. She hadn’t said a word since we arrived. She didn’t have to. She knew why I was here.I rose when the nurse nodded. My legs felt heavy but steady. Elena stood with me, and together we pushed through the door.Vanessa lay in the bed. Bruised. Cast on her arm. Eyes swollen, face drained of vanity. A ghost of the woman she used to be.Her gaze lifted and froze when she saw me—and then slid toward Elena, panic flickering.Her voice was raw, scraped thin. “Adrian. You came.”“I’m here.”Elena moved to the far corner, silent, arms folded. She didn’t look away.Vanessa swallowed, trembling. “Why? Why would you? After everything—”“Because you called,” I cut in.Her lips parted. Shock. “You shouldn’t have.”“The

The night air was sharp, clean, and laced with the electricity of the city that never slept. I leaned on the balcony rail of my penthouse, Ravencrest glittering beneath me. A living map. A kingdom. Mine. Elena’s head rested on my shoulder, her hand wrapped tight around mine. Elena: “We did it, Adrian.” Her whisper was soft, almost carried away by the wind. Me: “Did we?” Elena: “Don’t start.” She tilted her face up to mine. “Look at it. You stood against them all and you won. The Hales. The Beaumonts. The ones who thought you’d break. They’re gone, Adrian. This—” her free hand swept toward the skyline “—this is ours now.” Me: “It’s just the beginning.” She smiled faintly. “Always restless. You can’t enjoy the view for even one night, can you?” Me: “The view’s dangerous. From the top, every enemy sees you clearly. From the top, you’re the target.” She studied me for a moment, then turned back toward the city lights. Elena: “Then we fight again, if we must.” Inside, the penth

“The first rule of war isn’t to win,” I said aloud, staring at the text glowing on my screen. “It’s to survive long enough for the next battle.”My voice sounded cold in the quiet room, too calm for what I was reading.The message on my phone pulsed back at me:The King is Dead. Long Live the King.I muttered, “Sterling CEO… I should’ve known you’d crawl out of my father’s shadow sooner or later.”My phone buzzed again. Not encrypted this time.I tapped the notification. A photo filled the screen. My chest tightened.“Vanessa…”She was on a modest street, hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, wearing the simplest dress I’d ever seen her in. No designer logos, no diamonds, no armor of vanity. Just her. And she was smiling — a smile so genuine it cut through me.She was holding grocery bags for an old woman, balancing them against her hip. She even bent down to adjust one so it wouldn’t spill.I whispered, “What the hell are you doing out there, Vanessa? Who are you now?”Another buzz.

The giant screen snapped black. Caleb Sterling’s smug face dissolved into nothing. For a second, only the hush of the hall remained, broken only by shallow breathing and nervous murmurs.The lights flickered once, then steadied. Crystal chandeliers washed the room in sterile brightness. Every eye in that hall was locked on me. The gala—my gala, my father’s legacy turned into a spectacle of power—wasn’t a celebration anymore. It had become a battlefield.I clenched my fists so tightly I felt the bones grind. My gaze shot to Elena. Her face was pale, her body trembling under the weight of what Sterling had dragged into the open. He had threatened her. He had clawed open a wound she’d buried. And he had smiled while doing it.I leaned close, my voice low, clipped, lethal.“We’re leaving.”Elena’s lips parted. “Adrian—”“Now.”My arm slid around her shoulders, firm, unshakable. Security immediately formed a wall, earpieces buzzing with frantic chatter.One guest whispered too loudly: “Did

He had built a city. Now, a ghost from his past was going to burn it down. The message from Caleb Sterling—Your ex-wife is my first pawn—hit me like a blade to the chest. Vanessa. Of all people, he had gone for her.My hands shook over the keyboard as I hammered a reply. I sent a message to her phone. Call me. Trust me. Just leave—now. I stared at the screen, heartbeat slamming in my ears. Delivered. No reply. My jaw locked tight. The silence wasn’t technical. She had ignored me. Distrust still poisoned every word I sent her, even when her life depended on it.I spun toward the ops deck, voice like steel. “Deploy a team. Now. Her apartment. Find her. Secure her. Bring her to me.”The leader of my security detail hesitated. “Sir—”“Don’t ‘sir’ me. Get moving!” I snapped, the command center suddenly too small for my rage.Elena leaned against the server wall, arms folded, eyes fixed on me. Calm, controlled. Silent. I couldn’t read her, but I could feel her judgment like a knife in my ba