LOGINThe first thing Lucien heard was Aria crying.Soft. Broken. Trying desperately to stay quiet.His eyes opened slowly to white hospital lights and the steady sound of machines beside him.Pain hit immediately afterward.Sharp fire spreading through his chest every time he breathed too deeply.Lucien winced slightly.And instantly—Aria lifted her head from beside his hospital bed.Relief crashed across her face so violently it almost looked painful.“Oh my God.”Tears filled her eyes again as she grabbed his hand tightly.“You’re awake.”Lucien stared at her for one long second.Messy hair. Red swollen eyes. Exhaustion written across every inch of her face.She looked terrified.And somehow…That affected him more than the bullet itself.“You’re crying,” he murmured hoarsely.Aria let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh.“You nearly died.”His fingers tightened weakly around hers.“But I didn’t.”The tears finally spilled down her cheeks completely then.Lucien hated seeing h
The old Moretti estate looked like a graveyard.Rain poured endlessly over crumbling stone walls and dark windows while armed men surrounded the property from every direction.Lightning flashed across the massive mansion perched above the cliffs outside the city, illuminating decades of secrets buried inside its walls.Aria stepped out of the car beside Lucien slowly.The air felt heavy here.Haunted.She immediately understood why.This place held every ghost he carried.Lucien stood silently beside her for a moment, staring at the estate with unreadable eyes.Pain flickered briefly across his face.Then vanished beneath cold fury again.Dante approached carefully.“Victor’s men are inside. Heavy security.”Lucien nodded once.“Vanessa?”“Also inside.”Something dark moved behind Lucien’s eyes instantly.Not heartbreak.Disappointment.Betrayal.Aria slipped her hand into his quietly.Lucien looked down at her immediately.“You stay behind me no matter what happens.”His voice left n
Morning sunlight spilled softly across Lucien’s bedroom, warm against tangled sheets and bare skin.For the first time in weeks, Aria woke without fear clawing at her chest.Instead, she woke wrapped securely in Lucien’s arms.His body was pressed against hers possessively even in sleep, one arm draped tightly around her waist like he instinctively refused to let her go again.Aria stayed still for a moment just watching him.Without the coldness in his eyes. Without the armor he wore around the world.Lucien looked younger asleep.Less dangerous.Almost peaceful.A soft ache spread through her chest.Because she understood now how rare this version of him truly was.As if sensing her gaze, Lucien’s eyes slowly opened.Gray. Heavy with sleep. Immediately fixed on her.For one quiet second, neither spoke.Then his hand slid slowly along her waist beneath the sheets.“Why are you looking at me like that?” he murmured roughly.Aria smiled softly. “You were sleeping.”“That doesn’t answer
The drive back to the mansion was silent.Rain still poured heavily outside the car windows while the city lights blurred across wet streets, but inside the vehicle, the air felt heavy with everything left unsaid.Lucien sat beside Aria in the backseat, one hand gripping hers so tightly it almost hurt.As if he still needed proof she was alive.Neither of them let go once.Not even for a second.Aria kept glancing at him quietly throughout the drive.At the bruises darkening his jaw. The dried blood staining his hands. The exhaustion hidden beneath his cold expression.He looked dangerous.But more than that—He looked terrified.That realization stayed with her all the way back to the estate.The moment the car stopped outside the mansion, Lucien turned toward her immediately.“You’re sleeping in my room tonight.”Not a suggestion.Normally she would’ve argued.Tonight she simply nodded.Because after everything that happened…The thought of being alone suddenly felt unbearable too.
The first gunshot shattered the warehouse at exactly 2:13 a.m.Aria jolted violently upright against the wall as screaming erupted somewhere outside the room.Then came another shot.And another.Heavy footsteps thundered through the hallway followed by men shouting over one another in panic.“He’s here!” “Move!” “MOVE—”A body slammed hard against the metal door outside.Aria’s heart nearly stopped.Chaos exploded everywhere at once.Gunfire echoed violently through the warehouse while men screamed in pain somewhere beyond the walls. Furniture crashed. Glass shattered.And underneath all of it—A terrifying silence moved closer.Not literal silence.The kind that arrived before something deadly.The men guarding her room suddenly looked terrified.One grabbed his weapon shakily while the other backed toward the far wall.“What the hell is happening?” Aria whispered.Neither answered.Because both of them already knew.Lucien.The hallway outside erupted again.A scream cut off abrupt
Aria woke slowly.Pain throbbed behind her eyes before consciousness fully returned.Cold.That was the first thing she noticed.Cold air. Cold floor beneath her hands. Cold fear spreading through her chest the second memory crashed back into place.The crash. The men. The cloth over her mouth.Kidnapped.Her breathing quickened instantly as she forced herself upright.The room around her was dimly lit and unfamiliar—concrete walls, a single chair near the corner, metal door.Warehouse.Panic slammed into her chest violently.She stumbled toward the door immediately and grabbed the handle.Locked.“Help!”Her voice echoed uselessly against the walls.No answer.Oh God.Aria pressed shaking hands against her mouth as terror threatened to consume her completely.Lucien was right.Again.The realization hurt almost as much as the fear itself.Meanwhile, across the city—Men were bleeding because of her.Lucien stood inside a nightclub office overlooking downtown while one terrified man k
The storm arrived just after midnight. Aria woke to the sound of thunder shaking the windows hard enough to rattle the glass. For a few disoriented seconds, she forgot where she was. Then lightning flashed across the enormous bedroom, illuminating unfamiliar walls, silk sheets, and the massive city
The inside of the car smelled like leather, rain, and expensive cologne.Aria sat pressed tightly against the door, her breathing still uneven as the black SUV sped through the city streets. Her wet clothes clung uncomfortably to her skin, and her fingers wouldn’t stop shaking no matter how tightly
Aria could barely feel her legs. The cold rain soaked through her clothes while terror sat heavily in her chest, making it difficult to breathe properly. The man gripping her arm loosened his hold slightly, but not enough for her to escape.Not that she could. There were too many of them.Too many
Rain hammered against the bus stop roof as Aria Collins hugged her sketchbook tighter against her chest, trying hopelessly to protect it from the wind.The last bus had already left. Of course it had.She let out a tired sigh and rubbed her freezing fingers together before checking her phone again.







