INICIAR SESIÓNLEAH'S POV The guard drags me down the hallway. I stumble, barely keeping up as pain shoots through my shoulder. My head still rings from the earlier slap, and the coppery taste of blood fills my mouth. He shoves me through a door. I hit the concrete hard my palms scraping raw. I push myself up and look around. It’s an office. Dirty windows let in weak gray light. A desk. A chair. And standing behind the desk is Elric’s father. The old man. He turns my phone over in his hands, studying it like a curious artifact. Then his cold eyes lift to me. “So,” he says quietly. “You made a call.” I say nothing. He walks around the desk, slow and deliberate. His footsteps echo off the bare floor. “Who did you call?” I press my lips together. He stops in front of me and looks down like I’m something he might step on. “I asked you a question.” Silence. His hand shoots out, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking my head back. I cry out in pain. “Who did you call?” I still don’t ans
EMILY'S POV I grip my phone so hard my knuckles ache. The city blurs past the window as Stefano drives too fast. My father sits rigid in the passenger seat, jaw locked, eyes burning into the road. None of us speaks. There's nothing left to say. My phone rings. Leah's name lights up the screen. My breath catches. I fumble to answer, almost dropping it, my hands shaking so badly I can barely press the button. "Leah?" "Emily listen, I don't have much time, the battery's almost—" "Oh God, Leah" My father whips around. His hand shoots back. "Give me the phone." I hand it over. He presses it to his ear. "Leah? It's Damien. Where are you? Talk to me." I watch his face. Hope. Then confusion. Then fear. "Leah, I can't hear you. Say it again. Slow down." Her voice comes through broken fragments. "Leah where are you? Where are you?" The line dies. He stares at the phone as it betrays him. Redials. Voicemail. Redials again. Again. "Fuck," he mutters. I watch him lower the phone
LEAH'S POV I kneel in the corner of the dark room with Sophie and Mom huddled close beside me. The three of us are pressed together like we're the only thing keeping each other alive. The cold seeps through the concrete floor and the silence presses down on us from all sides. Sophie is crying. Her body shakes against mine. She's trying to be brave but she's terrified and I can't blame her. Mom hasn't moved in hours. She stares at the wall. I don't know what's going on in her head anymore and that scares me more than anything else in this room. I pull them closer. "Don't worry" I whisper. "I'm going to get us out of here. I promise." Sophie looks up at me. Her eyes are red and swollen. "How?" I reach down and pull the phone out of my waistband. The screen is dark. I press the power button and it lights up. The battery icon flashes red. Two percent. Sophie's eyes go wide. "Where did you get that?" "I stole it from the guards. While they were distracted." She stares at the phone
DAMIEN'S POV I drive back to the safe house with my hands gripping the steering wheel and my mind still replaying the conversation with Elric. I don't know if I trust him. I don't know if this is a trap. But I know I don't have a choice. I park the car a block away and walk the rest of the distance. The house is dark and quiet. I slip in through the back door and close it softly behind me. Stefano is waiting in the kitchen, arms crossed, eyes sharp. "You're back" he says. "Earlier than I expected." I glance past him toward the hall. "Where's Jeremy? Where's Ethan?" "Sleeping. Why?" "Are you sure? I need this room to be just us." Stefano studies me for a second, then checks the hallway himself before pulling the kitchen door most of the way shut. "They're upstairs. Nobody's listening. What happened?" Only then do I let it out. "I met with him." "Elric?" I pull a chair out and sit. "He's going to help me get her out. Says there's a back gate he can get me past the guards, str
DAMIEN'S POVI hang up the phone and stand there for a moment staring at the receiver in my hand, my heart pounding and my mind racing. I walk back into the living room and Emily is still on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest. She looks at me when I walk in."Who was that?" she asks."Wrong number" I say keeping my voice flat. "They had the wrong number."She stares at me. "You were on the phone for a while.""Just trying to get rid of them." I walk past her toward the hallway. "I'm tired. I'm going to try and get some sleep.""Dad."I stop but I don't turn around."I know you're lying."I close my eyes and take a breath then I turn around. "I'm not lying.""Then who was on the phone?"I hold her gaze. "It doesn't matter. Get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."I walk to my room before she can ask me anything else and close the door leaning against it. Stefano is sitting on the edge of the bed with his arms crossed and his eyes sharp."That wasn't a wro
ELRIC'S POVI stand in the doorway of my father's office and watch him pour himself a glass of whiskey heu The amber liquid catches the light and I think about how easy it is to pretend everything is fine. How easy it is to pretend I'm not drowning."Elric" my father says, turning to face me. His face is warm, approving. It makes me sick. "You did well tonight. Better than I expected. The way you played Victor. The way you made them trust you." He raises his glass to me. "You're becoming the man I always knew you could be."I force a smile. "Thank you, Father.""Your uncle was impressed. He said you handled it perfectly. The girl, the mother, the sister—they're exactly where we need them. Cross will come for them. And when he does, we'll be ready."I nod. I don't trust myself to speak.He walks toward me and claps a hand on my shoulder. The weight of his hand feels like a brand. His fingers dig into my shoulder like he's checking if I'm still real. Like he can feel the lie under my sk
DAMIEN POV I woke up wrong, something is definitely wrong in my system. I don't know how today will be but it doesn't seem like a good day. My head aches, just as my lower belly.I can feel it… It's going to be a long day. I have checked my phone several times. But not a single message from Leah.
DAMIEN POVIs she really packing? I didn't mean it that way. I just wanted her to beg. I thought Emily would be able to console her and she would stay. She is leaving and I can't do anything about it.“It's almost dark, I think the Uber should be here any minute” I heard Emily voice behind the doo
DAMIEN POV"Emily first," I said in a low voice. I'm genuinely scared of what threat my women are getting. I knew my weakness would be known to these people, but I can't let them know it is my weakness.Marcus shifted slightly. "Miss Cross is fine sir. No immediate concerns." He paused “Just that s
DAMIEN POVToday was supposed to go really well. I mean it started with Leah wrapped up against me, exhausted and naked.I have never gone that long on anyone in a long time, I had to stop going on her because she tapped out. I haven't felt so motivated in a very long time. I feel like all the issu







