Chapter Title: The Shadow Behind The ThroneLena’s POV.I didn’t realize I had gone backward until I struck something solid with my heel. I gasped as I pivoted around, gazing down at the body on the ground. The gaze from Bianca met me with a raw expression of rage, her lips still aghast as though she had parted her lips in a last try at a deathbed promise.I had murdered her.But it wasn't over.A benefactor. A mastermind in the background who had orchestrated.The room itself also felt colder, more oppressive. The pounding in ears as I yanked my gaze from gazing at Bianca's body towards Damian. Nothing on his face did betray itself, except that his jaw was tightly closed. That told me everything I needed.Whoever had defended Bianca was not going to let that lie pass.“Minutes,” Damian repeated in a cold silence. “Or maybe hours.”A war is looming.I forced down the panic that threatened in my chest. I stiffened. “What do we do?"Damian finally looked at me, his coal-colored eyes siz
Chapter Title: The Overlooked RealityLena’s POVI sat in its weak light study, which lay as thick as wood fire. The enemy did not allow its last attack to cease, and though Damian did all that lay in its power to keep me out of its wrath, I did not have a shadow in me regarding it—the battle was not over. The enemy lay waiting out in its darkness, patiently in ambush, waiting patiently for its perfect target.Damian had paced around wildly since Bianca had fallen over, a restless animal in a cage, thinking three moves ahead, waiting for a move. But something in this evening was different. There had arrived a letter with a strange emblem stamped on it. There was no address. There was no name. There was just a single line in beautiful lettering.“It’s time you remember who you are, Lena.”My fingers trembled as I read over those words again, pounding in my breast. Who I am. That did not compute. I did not not know who I am. I lived it, I suffered it, I escaped from it. But that letter
Chapter Title: Unraveling the PastLena’s POVThe pendant lay in my palm, icy and alien, but the moment my fingers wrapped around it, a chill coursed through me—like a memory at the tip of my tongue. My heart pounded in my ears as I gazed at Elias, the man who claimed to have been my guardian, the man who'd known things I hadn't even realized I needed to know.Damian was standing beside me, his stance guarding, his eyes slitted suspiciously. Always this way—planning ahead, always three steps ahead of everyone. But today, I wasn't even certain he could anticipate this."Explain exactly what you're saying?" Damian's voice was threatening, low.Elias didn't flinch. He looked at me with an unblinking stillness before he spoke. "Lena was taken from her real family years ago. They erased her memories and named her something new."I gulped. My mind refused to believe it, but my body… My body reacted as if it already did."I would remember," I breathed."No, you wouldn't," Elias said flatly.
Chapter Title: Trapped in the ShadowsLena's POVI awoke with a burning pain in my wrists. My hands were behind me, the rough rope burning into my skin. My head pounded, and the cold air caused my body to shake. I attempted to move, but my ankles were bound as well. A wave of panic rose up within me as I realized I was no longer at Damian's house.The last that I remember, I was heading to my vehicle after seeing one of Damian's thugs. Something had felt wrong—shadows moving where shadows shouldn't, the feeling that I was being watched—but I was about to do something before I was dragged from behind. A cloth had been placed on my mouth, and I was out.Now, I was in a dark, empty room. The only illumination came from a small, grimy window high on the wall. The walls were made of old bricks, dripping with moisture. My heart pounded as I pulled against the ropes, but they were too tight.Then, I heard footsteps.Slow, deliberate.The sound of high heels clicking on the floor.I knew who
. Chapter Title: The Final Betrayal(Damian's POV)The warehouse stood before me, dark and ominous against the night sky. The salty air from the docks mixed with the stench of oil and rusting metal, but none of that mattered. All I could think about was Lena. She was inside, trapped, hurt, and scared. And it was my fault.I gripped my gun tighter, my jaw clenched as I scanned the perimeter. Bianca had gone to extreme lengths to cover her tracks, but I wasn’t leaving without Lena.I pressed a finger to the earpiece. “Any movement?”Silence.Then, a low voice crackled through. “West side—two guards patrolling. Armed.”I nodded, barely breathing as I slid through the shadows, keeping close to the steel walls. Two guards, easy. I took out my knife, knowing that stealth was my best option. A gunshot would alert everyone inside, and I needed the element of surprise.One of the guards paused to light a cigarette. His mistake.I was upon him in seconds, my knife slashing across his throat be
Chapter Title: The Price of Betrayal(Damian's POV)The night was thick with tension, the sort that slithered under your skin and sat heavy in your chest. The blast was still echoing in my ears, but I didn't flinch. Instead, I stood there, gripping Lena tightly as we watched the last flames consume what remained of Bianca's empire.It was over.At least, I hoped so.Lena trembled in my arms, and I brushed her hair back, speaking soft words. She'd been through hell and was supposed to be safe with me. The reality that she'd been kidnapped, tortured, and nearly blown up was a failure I refused to live with.Not yet.Not ever."Damian," she croaked, her voice raw. "What now?"I didn't answer immediately. I was checking the perimeter, making sure we were truly alone. My men had already moved into the outer defenses, but I didn't trust anyone. Not tonight. Not after Vincent—my second in command—had betrayed me.The hurt of the betrayal still churned in my stomach like an open, festering wo
Chapter Eighty Three: BetrayaDamian’s POVThe room was black, the wan light of one lamp making shadow dance upon the walls. Damian stood in the center of the room, palms pressed down upon the top of his desk as he stared at the documents before him. His jaw was tight, eyes clouded with the weight of discovery. The name on the document was not one he had been seeking—one that brought a slow, burning fury."Viktor Ivanov."A man with a name in the underground as a ghost. A shadow man with influence that went beyond the city, beyond borders. A man who never made a move directly, instead pulling strings in the dark, letting others take the fall while he himself stayed above the law. And now Damian understood that Viktor had been backing Bianca all along.Bianca had never managed to orchestrate something so dangerous herself. She was manipulative, yes, but she lacked the resources and authority to take him on in this calculated manner. No, Viktor had been pulling the strings, using Bianca
Chapter Title: The Desperate EscapeLena's POVDarkness seemed to close in on all sides. The damp, cold scent of the room filled my nostrils as I lay on the cold, unyielding floor, my hands numb from the tight restraints. My body ached from days in captivity, but my mind was sharper than ever. I had spent every waking moment memorizing my surroundings, tracking the movements of my captors, searching for a weakness.I wasn't going to just sit here and wait for someone to come and save me. I had to do something.Footsteps echoed down the corridor, stopping outside the door. A key rattled in the lock, and I forced myself to stay still, pretending to be tired. The heavy metal door creaked open, and two men stepped inside, their faces obscured in the darkness."She's weaker than I thought she'd be," one of them said."Doesn't matter. She's just bait," the second one replied.Bait. For Damian.I shivered at their words. They weren't holding me for ransom. They were using me to bring him her
LLena’s POVI held the photo in my hand for a long time.It was a picture of me… standing in the garden. Smiling. Peaceful. I had no idea someone was hiding nearby, taking pictures of me. Watching me.I felt sick.My heart pounded in my chest. My hands trembled as I slowly placed the photo on the table. Damian stood across from me, arms crossed, his jaw tight with anger. But he wasn’t just angry. He was scared. I could see it in his eyes.And that scared me even more.“She was close enough to take this,” I whispered. “That means… she could have hurt me anytime.”“She didn’t,” Damian said quickly, walking to me. “She didn’t, and she won’t. I won’t let her.”I nodded, but fear crawled up my spine like cold fingers. I turned my head toward the window. The garden looked peaceful. The sun was shining. But now it felt like a trap. Like eyes were hiding behind every tree.I looked at Damian. “What if she’s still watching?”“She’s not,” he said firmly. “We swept the grounds. She’s gone.”“Bu
.Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Six: The Hunt BeginsDamian’s POVI didn’t sleep.I sat in my office all night, the shadows long and heavy across the floor. The city outside my window was quiet, but inside my head, it was chaos. Bianca’s face kept flashing in my mind—smiling, cold, dangerous. I knew her well enough to understand one thing.She wasn’t done yet.Lena was still sleeping when I left. I didn’t want to wake her. Not because I didn’t trust her strength—but because I didn’t want her to see the war I was about to step into. I had promised to protect her. And now, I had to keep that promise with everything I had.Logan was already waiting downstairs.“She moved again,” he said, holding a file. “But we have something. A man named Nico—he used to work for Ricci. He wants to talk.”“Why?” I asked.“He says he has information. Claims he knows where Bianca is hiding.”I narrowed my eyes. “And what does he want in return?”“Money. And safety.”Of course. No one in this world gave an
Chapter 125Lena’s POV – Preparing for the StormThe soft hum of the safe house’s lights was the only sound that accompanied me as I paced back and forth across the room. The floor was cold beneath my bare feet, but I barely felt it. My mind was racing, a storm of thoughts that I couldn’t seem to quiet.Damian had gone into another room hours ago, speaking in hushed tones to Logan. The urgency in their voices had been undeniable, but I hadn’t been able to get close enough to hear the details. I hated being left out of the plan, hated feeling like a liability. I wasn’t the same vulnerable person I had been when I first walked into this world.But still, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the sense of helplessness that seemed to cling to me, suffocating me with every passing minute.I walked to the window, peering out into the darkness. The world beyond was eerily still, almost as if it was waiting for something to happen. I didn’t like how quiet it was. There was too much at
Chapter: Lena’s POV - The AftermathThe silence in the room was deafening. The kind of silence that fills your ears and makes every tiny sound seem amplified. It was the quiet after chaos. After the explosion, the gunfire, the running. After the moment when my life, and Damian’s, nearly slipped away in the blink of an eye.I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my hands, which were still shaking. The memory of the bomb—its deafening roar—was fresh in my mind, every detail still vivid. Damian’s urgent hands on my arm, pulling me into his protection, the heat of the blast, the smell of smoke and dust that had choked the air. The sound of the glass shattering, the metallic scent of blood in the air. I had never been so close to death, yet here I was, alive. But was I really living? I felt numb, detached from everything around me.Damian had ordered me to stay here, in this safe house, a place where I had never felt more like a prisoner. There were no windows, no doors to the outside wo
Chapter One Hundred and : The Final CountdownDamian's POVThe room was filled with the harsh beeping of the countdown on the bomb, the constant, remorseless intervals ringing out. 00:02:45. The evil red numerals on the device pulsed, a grim reminder that every second ticked us closer to disaster.Bianca leaned against the cold ground, her body shaking in weakness due to the wounds I had inflicted upon her before. Nonetheless, despite the pain, she smirked. Her deep, bloodshot eyes gleamed with twisted satisfaction. She thrived in such chaos. "You'll never be able to prevent it in time," she whispered, licking blood from her cut lip.I clenched my fists, my patience wearing perilously thin. My heart pounded in my ears, the rage within me kept barely under control by the fear of what was at risk."Shut up," Logan snarled, bent over the bomb. His hands flew across the wires, but even he couldn't hide the sweat at his temples. "This is not an ordinary bomb—it's encoded. If I cut the wro
Chapter 11”: The Trap Lena’s POV The silence in the room was suffocating. I stood frozen, my heart hammering against my ribs as I stared at Damian. His face was stone-cold, but his eyes burned with barely contained fury. Logan had just delivered the news—Bianca had taken someone. Someone close to me. I swallowed hard, my throat dry. My fingers curled into fists as I struggled to process it. “Who?” My voice came out hoarse. Logan hesitated, glancing at Damian before answering. “Mia.” A sharp pain shot through my chest. Mia. The only person who had ever been like a sister to me. The girl who had stayed by my side when no one else did. The thought of her in Bianca’s hands made my stomach churn. I took a shaky breath and turned to Damian. “We have to go. Now.” He didn’t answer immediately. His jaw was tight, his muscles tense as if he were barely restraining himself. “It’s not that simple,” he finally said. My eyes flashed with anger. “What do you mean? She has Mia! Are you ser
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty a one: A Perilous MissionLena's POVThe night was abnormally still as I crouched next to Logan behind a row of abandoned boxes outside the warehouse. The cold wind nipped my skin, but the surging adrenaline coursing through my veins prevented me from feeling it. This was it. Bianca's operation. One of her most important warehouses, where she had stored weapons, money, and intel that could be used against her. Blowing it up would eliminate a good chunk of her might.It wasn't just a matter of incinerating her resources, though. It was a matter of finding out what she had in store. Why she had allied herself with Antonio Ricci.Logan handed me an earpiece, his expression serious. "Stay close. No unnecessary risks. If something does go wrong, we leave right away."I grinned wryly. "Oh, you don't trust me?"He glared at me. "I trust you. I don't trust this place."He wasn't joking. The warehouse was heavily guarded. Security cameras were around every corner
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Lena's ChoiceLena's POVI lay in bed beside Damian, my hands holding him tightly. His face was pale, breathing labored but slowed. Having him like this—so broken and open and vulnerable—was like having someone poking an icicle deep into my heart. I never saw him in this manner before. Damian was always standing, always directing everything. But now, he was hanging by a thread barely.And this is all Bianca's doing.I swallowed the lump in my throat, and fought to keep my cool. I didn't have time to lose it. I didn't have time to let fear get the best of me. Bianca wasn't finished yet. She had already demonstrated how far she would go. And if I just sat here, waiting for Damian to wake up, she would come after us again.I couldn't let that happen.I needed to do something.I needed to stop this.I breathed in deeply and looked over at Logan, standing by the door. His arms were crossed, his face inscrutable, but I could tell there was tension in his stanc
Chapter One Hundred and Nine: The Escape (Lena's POV)The sound of gunfire echoed through the air, my own heart pounding against my ribcage. There was madness inside the warehouse—shouting, running, bullets ripping through walls. I blinked through dust and smoke, but I did not have time for fear. Logan was beside me, firing at Bianca's men while I held onto Damian, trying to keep him awake.He was too white. Too quiet. His chest rose and fell shallowly, and blood trickled through the bandages I'd slapped across his wound."Stay with me," I breathed, jostling him lightly. His eyelids trembled, but he didn't move.Logan ducked behind a stack of crates, reloading his pistol. "We have to go now," he exclaimed, sounding frantic. "They're on top of us.".I swallowed and nodded. My body trembled, but I steadied myself against it. Now was not the time to be afraid."We can't get out the front," Logan said. "They're too numerous."I looked around for another way out. The warehouse was big, but