Chapter 3

Mia POV

Two days later, hunger began to dismantle my pride.

I hadn't left the city yet because I couldn't afford to. My cards were still locked, frozen by the Coles. Henderson wouldn't take my calls.

Then, the email came.

*Final handover required. The Commission Summit. The Plaza Hotel. 8 PM. Bring the hard drives. Payment upon delivery.*

It was a trap. Deep down, I knew it. But desperation has a way of silencing instinct. I needed that money to disappear.

I wore the only clean dress I had left, a simple black sheath that hung a little too loosely on my frame. I walked into the ballroom of The Plaza, feeling like a ghost haunting her own funeral.

The room was filled with the most dangerous men in America-the heavyweights of the Five Families. The air smelled of expensive cologne, cigar smoke, and fear.

I saw Ethan near the front, holding court. Isabella was on his arm, glittering in diamonds like a trophy aimed specifically at me.

I clutched my bag, scanning the crowd for Henderson.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed. A projector screen lowered behind the stage with a mechanical hum that silenced the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Isabella's voice rang out over the microphone, dripping with false sweetness. "Before we discuss the new territories, I'd like to showcase the... talents... of our former architect."

I froze.

The screen flickered to life.

It wasn't my architectural designs.

It was photos. Private photos. Images Ethan had taken of me in the sanctuary of our bedroom. Me, sleeping. Me, laughing in one of his shirts.

And then, worse.

Photos that were intimate, vulnerable, meant for his eyes only.

The room erupted in laughter. Low, guttural, male laughter that echoed off the vaulted ceiling.

"It seems she was better at horizontal structures than vertical ones," Isabella mocked.

I felt the blood drain from my face, leaving me cold and dizzy. This was a social hit. She wasn't just firing me; she was making sure no one in this city would ever hire me again. She was branding me a whore in front of the people who ran New York.

I looked at Ethan, begging him with my eyes to stop this.

He was staring at his shoes. He held a glass of scotch, his knuckles white, but he said nothing. He did nothing.

"Security!" Isabella called out. "Remove the trash."

Two large men materialized beside me and grabbed my arms.

"Let me go!" I struggled, but their grip was iron.

They dragged me toward the exit, past the smirking faces of men who killed for a living.

They threw me out the side door, into the service alley. I landed on my hands and knees on the wet pavement, the impact jarring the breath from my lungs.

The door slammed shut, instantly severing the link to the warmth and light, muffling the music and the laughter.

I stayed there, gasping for air, trying not to vomit.

"Here."

The voice was deep. Baritone. Smooth like velvet dragged over gravel.

I looked up.

A man was standing in the shadows of the alley. He was huge-broader than Ethan, more solid. He wore a tuxedo that strained against his shoulders and leaned against a black SUV, smoking a cigarette.

He held out a bottle of water.

I scrambled back, pressing myself against the rough brick wall. "Stay away from me."

He didn't move. He just set the water on the ground and slid it toward me with the toe of his polished shoe.

"I saw what happened inside," he said.

"Did you enjoy the show?" I spat, wiping tears from my eyes.

"No," he said, his tone flat. "I found it distasteful. The Coles have no honor."

He stepped into the light of the streetlamp.

His face was severe. Sharp angles, a scar cutting through his left eyebrow. His eyes were the color of cold steel.

"I'm Noah," he said. "Drink the water. You're in shock."

"I don't want your water. I want to die."

"That can be arranged in this city," he said calmly. "But it would be a waste of good anger."

He opened the back door of his car. "Get in. I'll drive you to the train station. Or the airport. Wherever you want to go."

"Why would you help me?"

"Because I hate a bully," he said, flicking his cigarette into a puddle. "And I hate a man who doesn't protect what is his."

I looked at him. He was terrifying. He radiated power in a way Ethan never did. Ethan was a prince playing at power; this man was a king who commanded it.

But I had nothing left to lose.

I got in the car.