herself against the cold leather door, putting as much space as possible between them. The glow o

peated, the word

her... called me a whore... said you'd discard me like trash." She swallowed, forcing the

nd unyielding, locked on

ow?" The panic surged again. "You saw

tapped his phone screen, pulling up the damning photo: Lily, wild-eyed and disheveled, framed in the restroo

UM? Mystery Fiancée Sp

bility' returning. Harrison Vance will feast on this." He leaned forward, invading her space. The scent of smoke on his tuxedo mixed

her breath. "No! Go

s gilded cage terrifies you. Because you saw a chance to burn it down and run." Hi

flaring through the terror. "You are wrong. About the fire. About me. I signed your contract. I played your game. I endured Evelyn

red in his eyes doubt? Calculatio

rdered, steppi

h her, but his presence was a physical weight. Mrs. Finch materializ

jacket and tossing it carelessly onto a chrome console. "Confine her to her s

phone?" Lily gas

looking at her. "Mrs. Finch will handle it. You are a liability. Unti

rayal a bitter flood. He was cutting her off. From h

whispered, th

She scrubbed the smoke smell and Evelyn's cloying perfume from her skin until it was raw. Wrapped in a simple robe, she sat on the edge of the enormous be

screen chaotic, useless. He'd already deployed his crisis team: lawyers drafting denials, PR spinne

flew over a sleek keyboard, slicing through firewalls. He focused on the

one-hers showed only frantic internet searches for 'etiquette disasters' and 'Chopin's saddest pieces' before the gala. Amateur, harmless. This

d been circling Thorne Industries for months, hungry for Damien's revolutionary bio-synthetic p

lding a small, glittering object on a velvet tray. A delicate

iss Chen's discarded

tantly during their brief, disastrous engagement. A 'sentimental

t in Lily

raming Lily for theft on top of assault and arson? His mind raced. Lily, cornered and desperate, shoving Evelyn away

But she'd walked right into Evelyn and Liam's trap, giving them the perfect w

nly the oppressive hum of the penthouse and the terrifying echo of Damien's

e. Not Mrs. Finch's decisive knock. Thi

silently behind him. He looked uncharacter

spered urgentl

on. "What are you doing he

nuine concern. "I saw the news. Hell of a night. Evelyn's a viper." He sh

tung. "I didn't se

convenient." He glanced towards the door, lowering his voice further. "Look, it's getting dangerous. Vance is exploiting this, whisp

illed. "What ar

de, earnest. "I can help. I have a car downstairs. I can get you somewhere safe. Your mother to

and Evelyn's poison. The temptation was dizzying. But something felt... of

voice barely a whisper.

ien's darkness can do. And you don't deserve to be his collateral damage. Becaus

remembered Damien's warning: 'This world eats

s the door. "Footsteps! Finch!" He grabbed her arm,

trapped, propelled her. She let Liam pull her towards the suite's

ng gust of wind whipped in. "Go down three flights. Black sedan, idling in th

ingly below. Three flights? The metal rungs looke

balcony door sl

final. A trap

d. She was trapped on the narrow balcony, th

o dark SUVs, engines growling. Men emerged-shadows in bulky

s wasn't rescue. This was a setup. L

ng itself with a metallic thunk in the balcony railing beside he

fied sound that cut through the penthouse silence

urpose flooding his veins. He burst into the hallway jus

s Chen's

w her: pressed against it, robe whipping in the wind, her face a mask of terror. Below her, two figures in black

umed him. Not just anger. Possessi

Inside lay a sleek, matte black handgun and extra magazines. He loaded it with moveme

snarled at Mrs. Finch, his voice unrecognizable,

Lily's choked sob hit him. The first cl

er roughly back through the doorway. He steppe

w the gun. He fumbled f

en f

A single, devastat

AC

loom erupting on his shoulder. He screamed, losing his grip, plummeting

hted him. "Next one's between the eyes," his voi

elled down rapidly, vanishing into the

smoke curling from the barrel, the wind tearing at his untucked shirt. The city lights reflected in his ice-gray eyes, now blazing with an inferno no one had eve

king violently, her eyes wide with shock not just at the violence, bu

n her eyes. The fury still burned in him, but beneath it, something else flickered-a vulnerabilit

nd, when he reached towards

voice rough, stripped

t fallen into it. The gilded cage lay in ruins around them, and in the wreckage, Lily saw not the Ice Billionaire, but Damien Thorne flawed