I shouldn’t have said yes. Yet here I am—seated across from Julian in the most exclusive restaurant in the city, a smile plastered on my face, my stomach churning like a storm.

The lights are dim, the music soft, and the air smells like aged wine and scandal. He raises his glass in a toast, and I follow suit, pretending not to notice the possessive gleam in his eyes.

"To us," he says smoothly.

To hell, I want to say. Instead, I clink my glass gently and sip.

“So,” Julian begins, leaning back casually. “I’ve noticed a shift in you lately. Less fire. Less fight. What changed?”

You tried to ruin me. I cross my legs and rest my hands in my lap to hide the trembling. “I’m just exhausted. Work’s been insane.”

He studies me for a moment too long, and I know he doesn’t buy it.

"You’ve been seeing him again, haven’t you?” His voice drops low. “Kade."

I nearly choke on my wine.

“What?” I laugh, but it sounds brittle. “Julian, seriously? You’re jealous of a ghost?”

His smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “He’s not a ghost, Alina. He’s a cockroach. Always crawling back at the worst times.”

I grit my teeth. “Kade has nothing to do with me anymore.”

Lie. And he knows it. Julian’s fingers tap against the tablecloth. “I warned you before. Loyalty matters. You were doing so well... but now, I wonder.”

The waiter arrives, breaking the tension with a silver tray of filet mignon and overpriced truffle risotto. But I’ve lost my appetite.

I pick at my food while Julian talks about acquisitions and political favors, but all I hear are sirens in my head. He knows. Or at least suspects. And that means I have less time than I thought. I excuse myself to the restroom and slip my phone from my clutch, fingers shaking.

Me: He knows. He’s on edge. I’ll stall.

Kade: Get out of there now.

Me: Too late. He’s watching. If I move too fast, he’ll know.

No reply. I wash my face with cold water and look at my reflection. I see fear. But under that? Rage. I walk back to the table calmer, rehearsed, a mask firmly in place.

Julian smiles like he’s already won. “Feeling better?”

I nod. “Much.”

He leans forward. “You know, I was thinking… how funny life is. First I lose Leo, and now I see the same thing happening with you.”

The mention of Leo—my best friend, his stepbrother—hits me like a gut punch. I flinch. That was deliberate. He sees it. He enjoys it.

Julian lowers his voice. “Don’t forget who gave you everything, Alina. That law firm you manage under my stepbrother’s name, the position you have in the fashion industry, that clout. Your future. I can take it all back.”

There it is. The threat. Naked and unapologetic.

And yet I still smile. “Noted.”

He grins and reaches across the table to touch my hand, but I pull away casually.

“My driver will take you home,” he says. “Wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

The implication sinks into my spine like ice.

I force another smile. “So thoughtful of you.”

BACK at my apartment, I triple-check the locks before pacing the living room. I’m still shaking when I hear the knock. Three soft raps. It's Kade. I open the door, and he slides in without a word, pulling me into him.

“I told you not to go,” he mutters against my hair.

“And I told you I could handle him.”

“You were lying. I saw your hands.”

I push away. “I got what we needed. He’s desperate. And angry. Which means we’re close.”

Kade drags his hand through his hair. “He mentioned Leo, didn’t he?”

My throat tightens. I nod.

He slams his fist into the wall. “Bastard’s playing dirty now. He always blamed me for Leo’s death.”

“Was he wrong?” I whisper before I can stop myself.

Kade freezes. His eyes narrow. “You think I killed him?”

“No—” I shake my head quickly. “I just—”

“You still don’t know what really happened that night.”

“Then tell me!” I shout. “Because all I remember is you disappearing right after the funeral, leaving me and Leo’s family to clean up the mess!”

He turns his back to me, breathing hard. “I tried to save him, Alina. But he wouldn’t listen. He made a deal with someone powerful… and when it all went south, Julian offered him a way out. Leo refused. I didn’t.”

That silences me.

“I thought protecting Leo meant walking away,” Kade says. “But I was wrong. And Julian made me pay for it. Just like he’s making you pay now.”

I drop onto the couch, my knees weak. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Would you have believed me?”

I don’t answer.

Kade kneels in front of me. “I know I don’t deserve your trust. But I’m here now. And I’m not running again.”

We stay like that for a moment, the tension melting into something heavier—something harder to define. His hand brushes mine. I don’t pull away.

Then his phone buzzes. He stands, reading the message. His face goes pale.

“What is it?” I ask, alarmed.

“They’ve got Trixie.”

My blood runs cold.

“She followed a lead—on Julian’s secret account, the one funding everything. Someone must’ve been tailing her. The message says if we want her alive… we have to give up the files.”

A pause.

“And me.”

Kade’s words echo in my head like a gunshot.

“They’ve got Trixie… and they want the files. Or me.”

“No.” I stood up, my heart slamming against my ribs. “We are not giving them anything.”

He looked at me, quiet, too quiet. “It’s not your call, Alina.”

“The hell it isn’t!” I snapped. “Trixie is my friend too. My family. And I’m not about to watch you walk into a trap for her.”

“I’ve done it before,” he said with a bitter smile.

“That’s not funny.”

“It wasn’t a joke.”

Kade turned away, pulling out his phone. I crossed the room and grabbed it from his hand. “You think this is noble? That playing the sacrificial hero fixes what happened with Leo?”

His jaw clenched. “This has nothing to do with Leo.”

“The hell it doesn’t! You couldn’t save your brother, you couldn't save Leo, so now you’re trying to save everyone else, even if it kills you.”

He didn’t deny it.

I grabbed my laptop and dropped onto the couch, fingers flying across the keys. “We’re not giving them the files. We’re going to find out where they’re holding her. And we’re going to take her back.”

Kade sighed and dropped next to me. “You still think like a lawyer.”

“No, I think like someone who refuses to be controlled.”

The encrypted drive flickered to life on the screen. I opened the folder marked “J.M.” — Julian Maddox’s financial sins, tax fraud, shell corporations, bribes to public officials. All tied to dummy accounts.

“There.” I zoomed in on a recent transfer. “This wire went out just three days ago. Same pattern as the one Trixie was following. She found something. That’s why they took her.”

He leaned in. “Cayman account. But the bounce location is… odd.”

“I know that address.” I tapped the coordinates. “It’s not a bank.”

Kade’s eyes met mine. “It’s a private property.”

“An abandoned glass factory, near the river.” I whispered, heart sinking. “Julian used to take us there as teens. Said, it was his ‘kingdom’ before the world got in the way.”

“Creepy.”

“No, calculated.” My hands shook. “He’s using it now. Because it’s off-grid. No cameras. No police.”

Kade grabbed his keys.

I grabbed his wrist. “We need a plan.”

“We don’t have time.”

“We also don’t have backup. Or weapons. Or a guarantee she’s even there. You walk in unarmed, you’re giving him exactly what he wants.”

He hesitated. Then nodded once.

“We’ll go together,” I said. “And we’ll do it smart.”

AN HOUR later…

The night air smelled of rust and damp leaves. The factory loomed in the dark like a graveyard of secrets. We parked a block away, walked through brush and broken fences, avoiding the floodlights. My heart pounded with every step.

Kade moved ahead silently, scanning with the flashlight on a low beam. I followed, clutching the small taser we brought. It felt like a toy.

“There,” Kade whispered, pointing to a broken window on the far side. “We go in fast, no sound.”

I nodded.

We slipped inside, feet crunching lightly on glass shards. The place smelled like mold and gasoline.

Whispers echoed through the empty halls. Then a scream. It's Trixie! Kade bolted.

“Wait!” I hissed—but he was already gone.

I ran after him, down a narrow corridor, into a cavernous main floor lit by a single hanging bulb. And there she was—Trixie, tied to a chair, gagged, blood on her forehead. Kade rushed to her—but before he could reach her, the trap sprang.

Lights blazed on. Metal doors slammed shut behind us. And Julian walked out from the shadows, clapping slowly.

“Bravo.”

I froze. He looked sharp, elegant even, in a dark coat and gloves. Beside him stood two armed men, smug and silent.

“I was hoping you’d come,” Julian said, his gaze never leaving mine. “But I didn’t expect you both.”

Kade stepped in front of me. “Let her go.”

Julian chuckled. “You’re still assuming you have power here. How charming.”

He circled Trixie like a predator. “She was clever, I’ll give her that. Found something she shouldn’t have.”

“What do you want?” I asked, voice shaking.

Julian smiled at me. “You.”

My blood turned cold.

“I want you, Alina. All this chaos? This game with Kade? It ends tonight. You come with me willingly, and I let her go.”

I looked at Trixie, then at Kade. “And what happens to him?”

Julian’s smile widened. “He dies, obviously. But that’s nothing new, is it?”

Kade took a step forward. “Touch her, and I swear—”

Julian raised a hand and his guards aimed their guns.

“Ah, ah,” he warned. “One more step and I paint this room with her brains.”

Tears pricked at my eyes. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe.

“I’ll do it,” I said suddenly. “Let her go. I’ll go with you.”

“No!” Kade turned to me, fury in his voice.

“I’m not letting her die,” I whispered. “We don’t have a choice.”

Julian extended his hand. “There’s my girl.”

I stepped forward—then grabbed the taser from my coat pocket and jammed it into his side. He screamed and crumpled. Chaos erupted.

Kade lunged at the guards, wrestling the gun from one of them. A shot fired—glass exploded behind me. Trixie kicked her chair backward, giving Kade the opening he needed to knock one man unconscious.

Julian groaned, struggling to rise. I kicked him in the ribs.

“That’s for Leo.”

The second guard aimed at Kade—but Trixie, half-loosened from her ropes, threw a metal pipe at his legs, tripping him long enough for Kade to disarm him. I ran to Trixie, cutting her ropes with the knife Kade tossed me.

“We need to move!” I shouted.

Kade grabbed Julian by the collar and dragged him to his feet. “We’re not done with you yet.”

“You have no idea what you’ve started,” Julian spat, coughing blood.

“Oh,” I said, helping Trixie to stand. “We’re just getting started.”

TWENTY minutes later…

Trixie was resting in the backseat of my car, her head on my lap, wrapped in a jacket. Kade drove in silence, his knuckles white against the wheel.

“We need to leak the files,” I said softly. “Tonight.”

He nodded. “Julian won’t stay down for long.”

“And when he gets back up?”

Kade looked at me through the rearview mirror.

“Then we finish it. For real this time.”

But just as we turned onto my street, I saw it. My apartment building was lit up with red and blue flashing lights. Police tape. Paramedics. Cameras. My mouth went dry.

“Pull over,” I said.

Kade stopped the car. I stepped out slowly, heart in my throat. Then I saw them carrying something out of the building.

A stretcher. A body bag. And then—A detective approached me. “Are you Ms. Alina Cruz?”

“Yes,” I said, barely able to stand.

“I’m sorry to inform you… your neighbor was found dead in your apartment. We believe it was a message.”

The world tilted.

“No,” I whispered. “That’s not possible. I—” I looked at Kade. “I didn’t bring anyone home.”

The detective held up a small, bloodstained envelope. Addressed to me.

My hands shook as I opened it.

“You should’ve stayed mine.” — J