Derek's face flushed with humiliation and rage. "Screw you! Do you have any idea who I work for? Who am I connected to? I'm part of Victor Kane's organization!"The name was meant to inspire fear. Victor Kane — the most powerful underground boss in Creston City, possibly the entire state. A man whose network touched everything from gambling to protection rackets to worse things whispered about in dark corners.Logan's expression didn't change. "Victor Kane is a footnote."Derek blinked. "What?""I said he's a footnote," Logan repeated calmly. "I've dealt with him before. He knows better than to cross me. And if you think dropping his name will save you, you're more deluded than I thought."It was true. Two years ago, Victor Kane had made the mistake of targeting one of Imperial Group's subsidiary operations. Logan had paid him a personal visit. The encounter had lasted less than ten minutes and ended with Victor Kane swearing on everything he held dear that he would never interfere wi

Ashley grabbed Emma's arm. "This is your fault! You and that psycho you brought here! You need to do something! Apologize! Beg! Offer Derek whatever he wants!""She's right," another friend added, a young man named Trevor. "Emma, you need to make this right. Spend the night with Derek like he asked. It's the only way to calm him down before Kane gets here."Emma jerked her arm free, disgust and disbelief written across her face. "Are you people insane? You want me to—""We want to survive!" Trevor shot back. "You brought this disaster down on all of us! The least you can do is fix it!"Logan stepped between Emma and the group, his presence like a wall. "Touch her again and Derek won't be your biggest problem.""Tough talk from a dead man," Derek muttered, but there was no conviction in his voice.Vivian pulled out her phone, her hands shaking slightly. She scrolled to Brandon's contact. "Brandon, call your father. Maybe he has connections that can smooth this over."Brandon was alread

"Of course!" Brandon said, his earlier fear transforming into smug pride. "I called him, remember? He must have contacted someone high up in Kane's organization. Pulled strings. Made it clear that we weren't to be touched.""That makes sense," Ashley said eagerly. "Victor Kane wouldn't just back down for no reason. He must have gotten a call from someone even more powerful."Trevor nodded enthusiastically. "Your father must have serious connections, Brandon. To make Victor Kane apologize like that? To get Vivian a party at the Skyline Grand? That's incredible."Vivian's expression shifted from shock to satisfaction. She looked at Brandon with renewed appreciation. "Your father did that? For us?""For you," Brandon corrected, puffing out his chest. "He knows how important you are to me. When I told him about the situation, he must have immediately started making calls. That's the kind of influence the Holt family has.""This is amazing!" Ashley gushed. "Vivian, you're so lucky. Not onl

Brandon stood frozen on the balcony, his phone still pressed to his ear, his thoughts spiraling. If his father hadn't intervened, then who had made Victor Kane back down? Who had the kind of power to make the city's most feared criminal apologize and offer reparations?The answer tried to surface in his mind, but he shoved it down violently. No. Impossible. Logan was nobody. A worthless ex-husband with nothing to his name. Victor Kane hadn't backed down because of Logan. That was insane.There had to be another explanation. There had to be."Brandon?"He turned to find Vivian standing in the doorway, freshly showered and dressed in a silk robe, her face carefully made up to hide the worst of last night's damage."Who was that?" Her eyes were sharp, assessing."My father." Brandon forced a smile, tucking his phone into his pocket. "Just touching base about last night.""And?" Vivian crossed her arms. "What did he say?"Brandon's mind worked frantically. He couldn't tell her the truth.

Vivian looked at her phone again, at her name still climbing across every feed, and felt something close to complete.The party would be tonight. The city would watch. And Logan Mercer would understand, finally and permanently, exactly where he ranked.She went to get ready.By eight o'clock, the Skyline Grand Hotel blazed with light. Cars lined the curved entrance in a procession that made passersby slow down and stare. Not ordinary cars.The kind of vehicles that required appointments to even test drive, black sedans and imported coupes and one powder-blue sports car that a small crowd of young men photographed from across the street.Vivian arrived in a floor-length emerald gown that caught every camera flash in the lobby.Brandon walked beside her in a charcoal suit, his hand at her back, nodding at faces he recognized and manufacturing familiarity with faces he didn't.Ashley and Trevor and the others from last night followed close behind, dressed and groomed and buzzing with exc