Gabriel's eyes were burning amber, and he was ready to unleash the flames when the warehouse doors exploded inward with a crash that shook the entire building.Everyone turned to look and standing in the doorway, backlit by afternoon sun was Xavier, grinning like this was the best day of his life."Did someone order a rescue?" He called out. "Because I'm here and I brought my good mood, my fists and I'm ready to ruin someone's day."Gabriel felt relief wash through him and also intense annoyance because of course, Xavier couldn't just show up quietly. He just had to make a dramatic entrance."You're late." Gabriel scowled, his eyes turning from amber back to green as he pulled back the fire."I'm right on time actually," Xavier grinned, walking into the warehouse. "Dad put a tracker in your phone after the last incident and when it showed you weren't moving for twenty minutes, I figured something was wrong.""How thoughtful." Gabriel muttered as he forced the Phoenix Heart to calm.Th

Alfred's face went completely blank and he stood perfectly still like someone had pressed pause on him. Gabriel watched as the old man tried to decide how to respond to Ariel's accusation."I think you're mistaken." He finally said, but his voice lacked conviction."I'm not mistaken," Ariel insisted, leaning forward despite the pain it clearly caused her."I spent months researching the Hale family fire for a paper I wrote in law school. Your face was in every article about the inquest. You testified that Thomas Hale was a good man and that you didn't believe the fire was an accident. The media called you the loyal butler who refused to accept the official story."Alfred said nothing and Gabriel could see the walls going up behind his eyes."That was a long time ago." Alfred finally said with a loud sigh."Nineteen years," Ariel continued. "The same amount of time Siegel has been running Hale Industries. That's not a coincidence, is it? You've been waiting all this time and now you're

Gabriel was turning onto the highway when he saw headlights coming at them from the wrong direction.His brain screamed danger, but there was no time to react as the other vehicle slammed into them from the side and the world exploded.The car flipped and Gabriel felt himself being thrown against the seatbelt. The roof and the door groaned as glass shattered everywhere. The car hit the ground viciously and kept rolling, until it finally came to a stop upside down.His head pounded and blood trickled down his face. His ribs felt like they were on fire, but the Phoenix Heart was already working and he could feel his injuries starting to heal. His bones shifting back into place as his cuts closed "Ariel," Gabriel’s voice came out rough as he blinked, trying to adjust his blurry vision. "Ariel, are you okay?"He heard a groan from the passenger seat and he slowly turned his head. He saw Ariel hanging upside down from her seatbelt with blood pouring from a gash on her forehead and her a

Gabriel looked at Ariel and knew that there was no point in lying anymore. She had earned the truth after everything she had been through.The Phoenix Heart pulsed once in his chest like it was agreeing with him."Okay," Gabriel said. "I'll tell you everything."He started from the beginning and told her about growing up on the streets with no memory of his parents and the job to steal the Phoenix Heart. He told her about touching the crystal and having it bond with his soul.He told her about the memories flooding back and seeing his parents murdered. Realizing that Ian Siegel had killed them and stolen everything and left him to die.He also told her about Alfred finding him and about discovering he was the heir to a seven hundred billion dollar empire and about the plan to take it all back piece by piece.Ariel listened without interrupting and her face was hard to read, but Gabriel could see her processing everything and fitting the pieces together in her mind.When he finished,

Gabriel stared at the photo on his phone and felt ice spread through his veins.This wasn't just a threat anymore. This was Kroger telling them that he knew exactly where they were and that nowhere was safe.The photo was clear and recent and showed Alfred standing near the mansion's front entrance. The angle meant someone had been outside the gates watching and taking pictures.How long had they been watching? How much did they know? Were they out there right now?Gabriel's first instinct was to run downstairs and tell everyone and get them to safety, but then his brain caught up and he realized that panicking wouldn't help. He needed to think clearly about what to do next.He stared at the message again, feeling the Phoenix Heart pulse hot in his chest. Part of him wanted to go out there right now and find Kroger and burn him to ash before he could hurt anyone he cared about.But that was exactly what Kroger wanted. Rushing into a fight without a plan would get him killed and proba