Kneeling on the cold concrete, my knees pressed into the rough surface, I barely registered the freight elevators groan as it opened behind us.
The wind hit me like a solid wall, slamming against my soaked clothes, but I didnt flinch. Nothing mattered anymorenot while Enzo, my little brother, was strapped to the edge of that skeletal crane arm, trembling like a leaf in a storm.
Three seconds, baby, Darian said, dragging his chair closer. His tone was unnervingly calm, the kind of precision that made every word feel like a blade. Sign the statement. Forgive Vivienne. Your brother walks away in one piece. Dont test me. You know I dont bluff.
Vivienne.
His mistress.
The woman who had set my mother on fire.
My hands shook uncontrollably, heart hammering against my ribs. Enzo clung to the rusted pipe, eyes wide and darting between the edge and me.
H-Lyra he whimpered, voice small and broken. Why are we so high? Can we go home now?
Darian, I croaked, lifting my gaze to himthe man I had once called my husband, the man I thought would protect my family with his life. She burned my mother alive. Locked her in that house like it was nothing. My mother is gone. Enzo hes all I have left. And youre holding him hostage to protect her? Do you even realize what youre doing?
He leaned forward, brushing a hand over my hair as though I were a prized possession. I wanted to sink my teeth into him.
Sweetheart, he murmured, voice dripping false sweetness, when you threatened legal action, did it ever occur to you how much she matters to me? How far Id go for her?
An eyebrow lifted, and then he began counting.
Two.
Panic clawed at me. I could barely breathe, barely see. This monster had everything: my trust, my years, my soul. I had believed I was his world.
Maybe I had beenuntil she returned from the dead.
I gripped the hem of his trousers, trembling. Just just let her admit it. Let me hear her say she did it. She burned my mother alive. Thats all I want. Just hear it from her.
A soft, cruel laugh. She says she didnt. Thats it. No guilt. No regret. Lyra I asked for compassion, and you refused. You let me down.
I looked up at him, and the truth hit. No forgiveness. No love left. There was no version of this story in which he still cared for me.
I swallowed bile, voice barely a whisper. Ill Ill sign. Just dont hurt him. Please.
The smile that spread across his face was sickening, predatory. Theres my good girl. Then it disappeared, replaced by a chill colder than death. But baby you went too far. I cant let this go.
One.
No!
Before my scream could escape, one of his men struck. A swift kick to Enzos chest.
My brother toppled.
One second he clung to that pipe, tears streaming, reaching for me. The next nothing. Only air.
My scream tore through the steel skeleton of the unfinished building. Lungs burning, arms flailing, I tried to leap, to save him, but two guards seized me, dragging me back as I thrashed like a wild animal.
The wind screamed around us, city lights below smeared behind my tears. And Darian he just sat there, untouched, perfectly calm.
Eight years ago, I had been Lyra Carrington. Respected. Feared. Admired. Queen beside the heir of Carrington Heights most feared mafia family. Then one fire destroyed it all.
My mothers house burned that afternoon. She was trapped inside. Official report said faulty wiring. An accident. But I knew better. Smoke, ash, a tarp over her bodyno fire trucks in sight.
That night, Darian held me. Promised vengeance. Swore hed burn her alive. But the neighbors security footage changed everything.
The woman at the back gate before the fire? Vivienne Sinclair. Thought dead. Alive. And suddenly, nothing else matterednot my mother, not justice. Only her.
I begged him to press charges. He refused. I demanded justice. He said she needed help. I pushed. And he snapped. Then he took Enzo.
My love, he said, voice sickly sweet, one signature, and this ends. Stop clinging to the past.
I had never imagined it would come to this. I had believed he loved me.
Darian Carrington had hunted me as though his life depended on it. I was dismissed as a fling, a pretty girl from the slums hed discard when bored. So I vanished. Faked my death. Disappeared.
He went mad. Found my clothes by the sea, nearly ended himself. Maybe he truly loved me.
Then I discovered the letter in his safe. A suicide notenot for me. For her. Vivienne. Dated the day I disappeared. Every tear, every cliff he had stood on none of it was for me. I was her shadow.
I cried for three days.
He held me, whispering lies. Baby, he murmured, Viviennes gone. Youre the one I live for. Ill prove it. If you doubt me, Ill jump every day until you believe me.
He went back to that cliff. No hesitation.
I broke. Begged him to come back. Told myself it was real. He even gave me command of his personal unit, his private kill squad.
Theyre yours now, he said, pressing the badge into my hand. If I cross you, use them. No mercy. Kill me. Deal?
I laughed through tears. Im not a killer. I just wanted you to love me.
He met my gaze. Darian only loves Lyra. Always.
Until Vivienne returned, and those words vanished.
Lyra, he had said one night, weary, soft, shes not okay. Give her time. Ill make it right with you.
I believed it. I believed he would return once he found closure. I was wrong. My mother was dead. My brother almost killed. And Enzos screams etched into my memory forever.
When we finally descended from that crane, I lost control. Screaming. Kicking. Threatening to burn the entire building if they didnt tell me where Enzo was.
Then the elevator doors opened.
A guard stepped out, holding him.
Enzo. Alive.
Weak. Barely conscious. But breathing.


Maam, the guard said softly, hes alive. Just fainted. Mr. Carrington set up safety cushions under the crane beforehand. He landed on them.
My legs gave out. I crumpled to the ground, choking on sobs so violent I couldnt see anything.
Darian walked toward me with the calm confidence of someone who believed hed done nothing wrong.
This is what happens when you go against me, he murmured, almost bored. Lets not repeat this, sweetheart.
Then he walked away as if I were nothing.
Rain started to pourheavy, cold, merciless.
And I just stayed there. With my unconscious brother in my arms.
Soaked. Frozen. Hollow.
I reached inside the hidden seam of my bag and pulled out the old burner phone he didnt know existed.