Page 74 of The CEO

Tears blur my vision as the full weight of betrayal crushes me. This man, this monster, helped cover up my parents’ deaths, then spent years watching me, only to draw me into his world when our paths crossed again.

“I need to go,” I say, backing toward the door. “I can’t . . . I need to think.”

To my surprise, he doesn’t try to stop me. “You know where to find me when you’re ready to talk,” he says. “But don’t take too long, Eve. I’ve waited eight years already. My patience has limits.”

The warning in his words sends a chill down my spine. I turn and rush from the room, tears streaming down my face as I navigate the unfamiliar corridors. I have no idea where I’m going—only that I need to get away from him, from the truth he’s revealed.

A security guard finds me wandering and offers to call a car. I accept numbly, allowing myself to be led to the entrance where a sleek black sedan awaits.

As the car pulls away from Eden, I watch the Gothic mansion recede in the rear window. My mind races with everything I’ve learned, everything I’ve done, everything I’ve become in such a short time.

The man I was drawn to, the man I let touch me, claim me, possess me—he helped steal my parents from me. Then he watched me for years, calculating and manipulating. And now he’s trapped me in his world with no way out.

Tears continue to fall as the reality of my situation becomes clear: I’ve crossed lines I never thought I would, witnessed horrors I can never unsee, and given myself to a man I should hate with every fiber of my being.

And worst of all, despite everything I now know, some dark, twisted part of me still wants him.

That, more than anything, terrifies me to my core.

Chapter14

Damien

Blood pools at the corner of my mouth. I taste copper on my tongue as I run my thumb over the place where Eve hit me during our confrontation. The pain is sharp—a physical manifestation of the fury she unleashed upon me. I deserve far worse.

I remain seated on my throne, alone in the cavernous chamber beneath Eden. The silence presses in around me, broken only by the occasional drip of condensation from the stone ceiling. I’ve sat here countless times, passing judgment, determining fates, wielding the power of The Shadows with unflinching certainty. But now, I feel hollow.

Eve’s absence leaves the room colder, emptier. The memory of her standing before me, rage and betrayal burning in her eyes, is seared into my mind. But even more vivid is the way she commanded me to kneel in the shower, and how readily I complied—for the first time surrendering my power to another person.

I press my fingers against the wound on my lip, welcoming the fresh sting of pain. Eight years of careful planning, of watching from a distance, of maintaining control . . . all of it undone in a single moment of truth. I should have told her from the beginning. I should have confessed when she first confronted me in my office. I should have given her the choice to walk away before she became entangled in my world.

Instead, I manipulated her. Drew her in. Let her believe in a connection that I had engineered through calculation and cunning.

And yet, somewhere along the way, it turned from manipulation into something genuine. The calculated interest transformed into something raw and real. Something I haven’t felt since I stood over the body of my mother’s killer.

“Sir?” Foster’s voice interrupts my thoughts from the doorway. “The council is assembled upstairs. They’re waiting for your assessment of the situation.”

I don’t turn to look at him. “Tell them the meeting is canceled.”

“Sir, with respect, this is the third cancellation this week. The Vigilante is becoming . . . concerned about your focus.”

Now Idoturn, fixing him with a gaze that would make most men retreat. “The Vigilante’s concerns are noted and irrelevant. The meeting is canceled.”

Foster hesitates, his loyalty warring with his obligation to the organization. “Does this have to do with Miss Thorne, sir?”

“Everything has to do with Miss Thorne.” I stand, moving to the glass display case that houses our most ancient artifacts. My reflection stares back at me from the polished surface—a man I barely recognize. “She knows everything now, Foster. About her parents. About my role in covering up their deaths.”

“I see.” His voice is carefully neutral. “And you believe she’ll expose us?”

The question should concern me. It should be myprimaryconcern—the security of The Shadows, the empire I’ve built, the power I’ve accumulated. Instead, I find myself indifferent to the threat.

“No,” I say after a long moment. “She won’t expose us.”

“You seem certain.”

“I am.” I turn to face him fully. “She’s part of this now. She participated in killing a man. She’s seen our justice delivered. She may hate me, but she understands what we do. What we represent.”

Foster studies me, his expression revealing nothing. “And if you’re wrong?”

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