e executive elevator. He marched down the emergency stairwell, his heavy leather shoes slamming against the concrete steps with a violent, erratic rhythm that echoed his c

ittee in twenty minutes," his personal secretary, tight-lipped and visibly shaking, murm

the front desk instantly stiffen. "Cancel everything for the rest of the week. Get Jonathan into

gany-lined office of the Vance Enterprises penthouse. He had never seen Ethan look like this. The man who could calmly negotiate a billion-dollar hostile takeove

through the Montgomery building," Jonathan asked, closing

"Five years ago, Jonathan. The night I signed the divorce papers. The night Elena walked out into the storm. I need a complete, microsc

ey. She didn't. She vanished into a low-income district, and three months later, all financial paper trails vanished because she l

skey decanter to rattle violently. "You missed the most important detail of my entire miserable life, J

professional mask slipped, his eyes widening in

s as the realization washed over him like a physical blow. "A boy and a girl. I just saw the boy in her office. Jonathan... he has my face. He has the Vance jaw. And his eyes... he looked at me with the ex

perfectly. The children would be roughly four years old. But Ethan, if she has built an empire as massive as Montgomery Global, she has secur

by a dark, feral, and absolute obsession. The predator had found his

ter. And Elena... Elena is still my wife in the eyes of God, whether she wears those expensive European suits or not. I want a DNA test, Jonathan. I need a viable sample from those kids. Find out where

*

aurant in Manhattan's Upper East Side, was one of quiet luxury. The tables were spaced far apart

tunning, sapphire-blue silk dress with a high collar that radiated sophistication. Her dark hair was s

ce nine o'clock that morning. She hadn't been able to swallow a single bite of her expensive dinner. Every time

us murmured, standing respectfully a few feet away from her table. "The children are safel

around her crystal water glass. "Thank you, Marcus. I th

nt drew the attention of the elite diners. The sound of a maître d' protesting frantically was cut

epped into the

ck suit, his tie completely gone, his collar open. He looked wild, powerful, and utterly dangerous. His emerald eyes swept

pletely blocking Ethan's path. "Mr. Vance, this is a private esta

, I respect your loyalty to your boss. But if you don't step aside right now, I will buy this entire restaurant chain in the next si

lena knew Ethan wasn't bluffing. When he was in this state of feral obs

dly calm, though her hands were shaking beneath the

ocked onto Ethan with a warning glare befor

nen tablecloth, leaning over her just as he had done in her office that morning. The scent of his expensive col

g her face with a terrifying intensity. "But you look pale. Tell me... is it because you haven't

delusional, Ethan. I told you this morning, and I will tell you again in front of a judge if I have to: those chi

pocket, pulling out a small, transparent plastic bag. Inside the bag was a tiny, colorful plast

throat. Her eyes widened in pa

ok the twins to the private park behind your estate this afternoon. Leo dropped his toy in the grass. But he left something else

she felt like she was physically suffocating. He had a sample. The truth was a

w me away, Ethan! You stood in that penthouse on our anniversary and told me our entire marriage was a lie! You told me you never loved me, that I was just a pawn to destroy my father! You ordere

rds were physical blows. Over the last five years, he had convinced himself that he had done what was necessary for his mother's memory. But seeing the raw,

ng fingers, his skin burning hot against hers. "I was blind five years ago. I was consumed by a hatred that belonged to the dead, and I let it destroy the only good thing I ever had in my life. But I swear to you, I didn't know. I

arved on the streets! You didn't care if I died in that storm! I went through a high-risk pregnancy completely alone in a foreign country! I screamed in a hospital bed with no one to

breakable determination. "I am their father. I have the Vance blood running through my veins, and I will not stand by and let another man ra

a DNA test gives you power over me? I am the president of Montgomery Global. I have enough wealth to tie you up in international custody courts

she was right. She wasn't the helpless girl he could manipulate anymore. She was an eq

. He didn't want to answer it, but the specific, urgen

ng it to his ear, his eyes never l

ne, heavy with a profound, historical weight. "It's a ninety-nine point nine percen

ed at Elena, his chest rising and falling heavily, a wave of fierce, unyielding, and utterly terrif

ack in his chair, a dark, slow, and completely dangerous smile spreading across his li

corporate requisition of Montgomery Global's American assets. I am going to buy your company, I am going to buy your contracts, and I am going to force you into a boardroom with me every single day until yo

ress rustling around her legs, her dark eyes

he silence of the restaurant. "Because by the time you realize what I've planned for

f the restaurant with absolute dignity, s

g figure, his heart burning with a toxic, obsessive love that would ei