HEIR OF RUIN: HEART OF STEEL

-to-ceiling windows framed the city's chaos below, but inside the boardroom of Creed In

n Cr

lar frame like armor. Every man in the room feared him. Every woman whispered about him. Damon was the ghost story to

ing at a single profile

ling off his tongue with measured weigh

She's the strategic asset they're placing on the merger. Harvard

brow. "Low digi

press appearances, minimal public data.

smile. It was a flicker of something sharpe

er. Family. Friends. Enemies. Fake identities, if any. Peopl

Mr.

yed behind, watching the city blink at him through the glass. He didn't trust the quiet ones. A

office, his mind already dissecting

r crimson sheath dress. It was bold, too bold for someone trying not to be noticed-but toni

the rich, the powerful, and the dangerous. She had spent years building this life-a new i

d from outside the dress

side the tiny gold shell was a picture of her mother-before the blood, bef

, her voice steady ev

t afford a

men in suits stitched with quiet violence. Celeste navigated it like a trained

n she s

n Cr

rity footage, dossiers, and whispered stories passe

han she imagine

ence was

ift. He didn't smile. He didn't blink. He just stared-studyi

e man next to her and resumed their conversati

e, she wa

kno

lf. He suspects. T

ahead of him. For one

e could dis

ollowed her th

s she

gestures that came from training, not breeding. Her smile was charming

no

harm

ly, giving her enough

ached her, her face a m

said, offering he

rip was cool, mea

ce low, smooth, laced with

ked. "Ex

ting. You've stayed out of the press, of

ated," she replied eas

en, a slow,

e why I'm w

pa

ttered or concer

ned close

but she didn't flinch. She

epped

," he said. "We

pear into the crowd like a sto

n she e

s dan

ause he coul

he intri

t was f