Chapter 3 Shadows and Silk

Manhattan – 3:06 a.m.

Isla jolted upright in bed.

Her breath came fast, shallow. Sweat clung to her skin despite the cool air drifting through the open windows of Damien's penthouse. Her fingers fisted the sheets, heart pounding like war drums against her ribs.

Another dream.

Another nightmare.

Another echo of him.

She pressed a hand to her belly. "You're okay," she whispered, more to herself than to the tiny life within. "We're okay."

The mattress shifted behind her.

Damien's voice was groggy but alert. "Bad dream?"

She didn't answer right away.

He sat up, sliding a hand down her back. "Was it about Brandon?"

She nodded.

Damien exhaled, pulling her gently into his arms. "He's not here. You're safe."

"Are we?" Isla whispered into his chest.

His voice was steel. "I'll burn the world before I let him touch you again."

7:00 a.m. – Damien's Private Office

Damien stood at the floor-to-ceiling window, phone pressed to his ear, muscles taut beneath a navy dress shirt.

"I want full biometric access denied to Keller across every Blackwood building," he said. "If he so much as steps into a lobby, I want alarms. Cameras. A goddamn SWAT team."

Mia's voice came through the line. "Already in place. But it gets better. I had our techs dig into Keller's financials. The guy's broke."

"Debt?"

"Worse. Blackmail. He's been extorting two minor investors in a pharmaceutical firm you've been circling. He's desperate. Erratic."

"Perfect," Damien muttered.

"Want me to leak it to the press?"

"Not yet." He turned slowly, eyes darkening. "I want him to feel the noose tightening."

Meanwhile - Brooklyn

Brandon Keller smashed his burner phone against a brick wall.

He paced the abandoned loft like a predator, eyes bloodshot, hands trembling with rage.

They had found his bank accounts. Frozen assets. Deleted contacts. Everything disappearing.

Because of her.

Because of him.

He pulled a worn, creased photograph from his pocket-Isla, smiling in the sunlight three years ago. He stared at it, lips curling into a twisted smile.

"If I can't have you," he whispered, "nobody can."

10:20 a.m. – Central Park Conservatory

Isla stood in a garden of wild roses, sunglasses shielding her eyes, a Blackwood security agent discreetly trailing behind her on the path.

For the first time in days, she let herself breathe.

The roses reminded her of her mother-how she used to whisper meanings behind each bloom. Red for love. White for secrets. Yellow for betrayal.

Isla plucked a white one.

"Miss Marquette?"

She turned.

A man in a brown coat extended an envelope.

"For you," he said, then vanished before security could reach him.

She opened the envelope with shaking hands.

Inside: a single note.

> White roses always were your favorite.

See you tonight.

-B

She dropped it. Trembled.

And then ran.

11:03 a.m. – Blackwood Towers

Isla burst through Damien's office doors without knocking.

He was mid-call but dropped the phone the moment he saw her face.

"What happened?"

She handed him the note.

He read it once. Then again. His expression changed.

From concern.

To fury.

He crumpled the note. "He was in the park. Near you."

"Your security-"

"Clearly needs upgrading."

He strode toward the door. "Cancel my meetings. Full lockdown. Mia, I want facial recon across every camera near Central Park. This ends now."

3:45 p.m. – Damien's Hidden Safehouse, Upstate New York

"We're seriously going off-grid?" Isla asked as they stepped into the sprawling glass-and-cedar estate tucked deep in the Catskills.

"Only until we find him," Damien said. "And destroy him."

The safehouse smelled of pinewood and lavender. A roaring fireplace cut through the stormy afternoon chill.

Isla wandered toward the kitchen, where everything gleamed with clean lines and untouched luxury. "You have a backup mansion?"

"Two," he said dryly. "One in Montana, one here."

"Because one billionaire fortress just isn't enough?"

He looked at her, and despite the tension, a smile tugged at her lips.

"You're ridiculous," she murmured.

"You're beautiful when you smile."

She blinked. Heat rushed to her cheeks.

He stepped closer. "Stay with me."

"I am staying."

"I don't mean just for safety. I mean... stay."

Her breath caught.

"I want this," he said. "All of it. You. The baby. The future. I know it's fast. Messy. Dangerous. But it's real."

Her voice cracked. "I don't know if I can give you what you deserve."

He cupped her cheek. "You already have."

And when he kissed her, it wasn't heat or urgency-it was something soft. Sacred.

A promise.

6:30 p.m. – Elsewhere in Manhattan

Brandon opened a door to a grimy, underground boxing gym.

Inside, an old friend-Rico Valdez, gang-affiliated arms dealer-waited with a duffel bag.

"You sure you want to go this far?" Rico asked, tossing the bag onto the table.

Brandon unzipped it.

Guns. Ammo. C4.

His grin was venom.

"I'm not going to hurt her," Brandon said. "I'm going to hurt him."

10:12 p.m. – Safehouse Fireplace

Isla curled up on the leather sofa, wearing one of Damien's sweaters, hair damp from a shower. She watched the flames, one hand resting protectively on her stomach.

Damien walked in with a tray of hot cocoa and sat beside her.

"Cozy billionaire edition," she teased, sipping.

"You're safe now," he said. "I have eyes on every possible lead. Mia's got the tech, and I've got the money."

Isla leaned her head against his shoulder. "I don't care about the money."

"I know. That's why I want to give it to you."

She smiled.

Then whispered, "I'm scared."

He kissed her temple. "Then we'll be scared together."

Midnight - Hidden Cameras

Brandon stared at the infrared feed.

Found it.

Isla. Safehouse. Real-time location.

He whispered, "Game on, lover."

And pressed send.

1:45 a.m. – Safehouse Bedroom

Isla and Damien lay in bed, skin to skin, tangled in silk sheets and steady heartbeats. The kind of silence that came only after trust was earned.

"You feel it too, don't you?" she whispered.

He looked over. "What?"

"This thing between us. It's not just chemistry."

"No," he murmured. "It's home."

Then the house alarm screamed.

Red lights pulsed.

And everything shattered.