Married to the enemies son

even when morning came. Somewhere in the east wing, Victor Ryker was l

oom with the silence of someone who'd lear

d days ago-through the servants' hallway, past the wine cellar

But the key hadn'

was exactly as she'd expected: neat, cold, efficient. Shelves of

awer marked with a brass pl

e it

Photos. T

oo

eir downfall orchestrated not by fate, but by Victor Ryker himself. Her father had refused a deal. Days l

coincidence. It

ut not from fear. Rage burned

photos-page after page, every signature,

r, the do

fr

tur

y. Barefoot. Shirt loose

or a moment. Then

s something you

ove. "Are you go

. "But I want

for the first time, she didn't see the

man caught i

pered. "He took them piece by piece. Burie

the room. Closed t

ow?" h

ng her chin, "I'm goin

n. He just looked at her with somet

won't survive thi

eath c

ded, "Let

tween them was

s dan

just offered to

that made him brave... or

answer him

fire and warnings she had sworn never to ignore. Jace stood so close now, the soft golden light from the offi

she said quietly, stuffing the last o

d, voice low. "Mo

ghtening between them, not with the weight of what she now carried on her phone. As

rs, she paused. "If he

wo

ays fin

slowly. "No

s that wasn't empty, but overflowing with everything they didn't dare say aloud. Celeste wanted to b

ightly. "Why would you

w what he's capable of. And I've

It made her chest ache in a way she wasn't prepared

dn't

k onto the bed. The documents were real. The evidence she needed

t something she

ne

yet unable to trust a single soul. Except... maybe now there w

at the ceiling, sleep av

ne of those heavy wooden doors, J

scarie

it was her side... or som

urtains without permission. Celeste hadn't slept. Her eyes burned, but she couldn't

under her eyes to hide the war behind them. She

gh corridors like ghosts, fresh flowers on polished tables, the smell of espresso curl

ste knew

eading the paper like the world still belonged to him. His wife, a

asn't

n, picked up a croissant

?" Victor asked wit

." She lied wit

ng studied by a predator that didn't need t

faster than I ex

she'd practiced in mirrors

ng his paper. "You'll

ual. They were a warn

ite shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows. He looked the part of a perfect he

met. Brie

word, but his foot brushed hers u

r heart skipped a beat like it hadn't

ssed in prac

garden, she fo

ack to my room las

hings to

dded. "

what has t

. He just stepped closer, lowering hi

ated, but onl

boy she'd imagined-Victor's

ething els

ld c

he hadn't

ack in the armor of the man

nodde

that, the war

r bones as she walked beside Jace, the path through the garden winding betwee

the security cameras didn't quite reach, just out of habit or arrogance. M

rms folded. "You said you know what h

l starting in Prague, leading to three dead companies under different nam

dropped lower. "You need to trace it, expose

pire on ruins like mine. People need to

or a long time. "You

't y

s hair slightly across his forehead, and when he looked a

o be free

ant the sa

gently. "You want j

, too new to name. Celeste didn't reach for it. Not yet. She still didn't know if Jace was standing beside

I need someone who knows the accounts. Pa

it," he said. "Not all.

looking at him again. "Because on

've been halfway my w

harder than it should h

urned

e reached for her wrist, stopping her. The

help you bring him down... what

aze, calm but

only Ryker I don't

hat, she w

n't loo

s stayed with him like a

nd encrypted onto a private drive only she could access. She moved through the data like a surgeon-precise, calm, ruth

er had eng

nies. The shell accounts. The manipulated market crash that

t business. I

with a message.

ht. They're being monitored.

ized the number. Burned it into her

flown to Zurich without notice, leaving the staff whispering about

used the

xed out of one of the staff weeks ago. The door to Victor's private study was triple-l

ed like leather and s

s. Found a safe in the floor beneath the heavy bookshelf. She didn't

he faintest knock echoed from

's s

path without turning on her flashlight. He was waiting near the stone

t in?"

d

did yo

iles. I need more t

ng, he stepped closer. His body was warm

-he's funneling arms shipments through his shell companies. Eastern Eu

ste

have

ogs," he said. "They're

d hardly

he

en looked her st

lt. In Geneva.

You're giving

ng you ev

welled be

" she

ecause if I don't help des

ng down his cheek like it was part of

en of ruined bloodlines, bound by the weight

f them would