Chapter 1 1

Adria Barr stepped out of the car and looked up at the looming silhouette of her family's estate. It had been six years since she ran away from this place, and more importantly, six years since she ran away from Damon Hansen.

Tonight was her grandfather's eightieth birthday gala. It was a summons she couldn't refuse, but as she stood on the gravel driveway, her legs felt heavy. In Boston, she was Dr. Barr, a respected cardiothoracic surgeon who held lives in her hands every day. But here, in the salty air of Nanxi City, she felt like the terrified twenty-year-old girl she had been when she left.

She handed her keys to the valet. Her fingers lingered on the metal fob for a second too long, the tips turning white from the pressure. She wasn't just walking into a dinner party; she was walking into a minefield.

"Welcome home, Ms. Barr," the valet said, his smile practiced and hollow.

Adria didn't answer. She couldn't. She turned toward the main house, where the golden glow of crystal chandeliers spilled out onto the manicured lawn. The noise hit her first-a wall of laughter, clinking glass, and the low hum of gossip. She took a deep breath, forcing the air into her lungs.

*Smile,* she told herself. *You fix trauma for a living. Do not let them see yours.*

She pasted on the expression she used when telling a family their loved one wouldn't make it-calm, detached, professional. She stepped through the French doors.

"Adria!"

The voice was deep, familiar. Adonis, her older brother, cut through the crowd like a ship breaking ice. He looked relieved, which only made Adria feel guiltier. He waved, beckoning her toward the family circle near the fireplace.

Adria moved toward him, her eyes scanning the room for threats, for exits. But she didn't look low enough.

Standing by Adonis's leg was a small boy. He couldn't have been more than four years old. He was tugging on Adonis's trouser leg, holding up a toy car.

Leo. Her nephew.

Adria's steps faltered. The air left the room.

Leo looked up. He had the Barr eyes-dark, inquisitive, innocent. He smiled, a gap-toothed, pure expression of joy.

The reaction was immediate and violent. Adria's stomach lurched. The boy was four years old-the exact age her own child would have been. A phantom pain shot through her abdomen, sharp and twisting, dragging her back to a cold clinic room and a flickering ultrasound screen.

*Why didn't you want me?*

The voice from her nightmares whispered in her ear. Adria took a stumbling step back. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't look at him. She averted her gaze, staring fixedly at a point on the wallpaper, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

"Adria?" Adonis was beside her now, his hand heavy on her shoulder. "You look like you're going to faint. Are you okay?"

"Jet lag," Adria lied, the words tasting like ash. "I just need... champagne."

She reached for a flute from a passing tray. Her hand shook. She needed the alcohol to numb the edges of the panic that was clawing at her throat.

Just as her fingers brushed the cold glass stem, the atmosphere in the room shifted. It wasn't a sound; it was a sudden, collective intake of breath. The ambient chatter died down, replaced by the aggressive click-click-click of shutters.

Adria turned toward the entrance.

Damon Hansen stood in the archway.

He was wearing a black tuxedo that fit him with lethal precision. He looked older, harder, and colder than the man she had left behind. He radiated a dangerous, quiet power that sucked the oxygen right out of the room.

And he wasn't alone.

Hanging onto his arm, draped in shimmering silver silk, was Campbell Lowe.

Adria felt her blood turn to ice. The woman's smile was perfect, practiced for the cameras that were flashing blindingly in their faces. She leaned into Damon, whispering something in his ear, her hand resting possessively on his bicep. It was a picture of the future Adria had forfeited.

Adria's hand froze in mid-air, inches from the champagne. Her lungs simply stopped working. Six years of building walls, of convincing herself she was over him, of telling herself she had moved on-it all crumbled into dust in a single heartbeat.

Damon didn't look at the cameras. He didn't look at Campbell. He scanned the room with the predatory indifference of a wolf assessing a herd of sheep.

Then, his gaze landed on Adria.

He stopped.

It was a physical halt, as if he had walked into a glass wall. His pupils blew wide, swallowing the blue of his irises. For a second, the mask of indifference cracked, revealing something raw and terrifying. Shock. Disbelief. And then, a rage so potent it felt like heat radiating across the ballroom floor.

Campbell stumbled slightly at his abrupt stop. She looked up at him, confused, then followed his line of sight. When she saw Adria, her smile didn't falter, but her eyes narrowed into slits.

Adria wanted to run. Her muscles screamed at her to turn and flee, to get back in her car and drive until the ocean swallowed the road. But she was paralyzed. She was pinned by the weight of Damon's stare.

Damon didn't blink. He reached out mechanically, his eyes never leaving Adria's face, and snatched a tumbler of whiskey from a waiter's tray.

He didn't drink it.

He just held it, his grip tightening. He took a step toward her. Then another. The crowd parted instinctively, sensing the volatility radiating off him.

Adria dropped her gaze. She couldn't handle the intensity. She couldn't handle the hatred she saw burning there. She looked down at her shoes, breaking the connection.

The sound was like a gunshot.

*CRACK.*

Adria's head snapped up.

Damon was still standing there, ten feet away. The heavy crystal glass in his hand had shattered. Amber liquid and bright red blood were dripping from his clenched fist, soaking into the pristine Persian rug.

The room went dead silent. The music seemed to stop.

Campbell let out a short, high-pitched scream. "Damon! Your hand!" She reached for him, trying to pry his fingers open.

Damon didn't even look at his hand. He didn't seem to feel the shards of glass digging into his palm. He shook Campbell off with a rough jerk of his arm, sending her stumbling back.

He took another step toward Adria. Blood dripped from his fingertips, leaving a macabre trail. His eyes were wild, focused solely on her.

Adonis stepped in front of Adria, his body blocking her from view. "Back off, Hansen," he warned, his voice low and dangerous.