I had given this firm everything. Three years of law school, one year as an intern working myself to the bone just to prove I deserved a seat at the table. And when I finally got it, I didn't waste a second.

One year.

One damn year.

That was all it took for me to become one of the best junior defense attorneys in the firm. I had built a reputation for myself, sharp, relentless, undefeated. I had spent nights drowning in case files, mornings in court, afternoons battling men twice my age and winning.

And the man who had guided me through it all? The one I had trusted the most?

And in one day, it was all gone.

He had been lying to me.

All because of him.

Because of what he asked me to do.

I had always known Nathaniel operated in gray areas. That was how he won his cases, pushing boundaries, finding loopholes, twisting the law just enough to get his clients off the hook.

But I never thought he'd expect me to commit a crime for him.

And yet, two days ago, he had slid a folder across his desk and told me to bury the evidence.

Not twist it. Not argue against it.

Destroy it.

I had stared at the files, my stomach turning. A case I had been working on for weeks, a corporate fraud lawsuit against one of our firm's biggest clients. There were documents proving everything. Bank transfers, hidden accounts, internal emails detailing the entire operation.

Evidence that should have sealed the case.

Evidence that Nathaniel wanted gone.

"This is how things work, Serena." His voice had been smooth, patient, like he was teaching me something valuable. "You don't win by being righteous. You win by being smart."

"This isn't smart," I had shot back. "This is illegal."

He had sighed, rubbing his temples, as if I was the one frustrating him.

"You're making this harder than it needs to be."

"You're asking me to commit obstruction of justice."

"I'm asking you to choose a side." His voice had hardened then, the mask slipping just for a second. "You're either with me, or you're against me."

And like the idiot I was, I had still thought I had a choice.

I had walked out of his office that day, my head held high, thinking I could fight him.

By the next morning, my access to the firm's system was revoked. My office was emptied. My colleagues people I had trusted, people I had fought alongside in court were laughing behind my back.

They had all known.

Nathaniel had made his choice. And he had made sure I wouldn't have one.

But the worst part?

The real knife to the gut?

Was Danielle.

I had stormed into Nathaniel's office, ready to fight, only to find her standing beside him.

Arms crossed. Chin high. That smug, victorious smirk on her lips.

She had been my closest friend. The one person I had trusted outside of work.

And she had walked right into my place.

Because she was willing to do what I wouldn't.

Nathaniel had wanted my body. He couldn't have it, so he took the next best thing.

And the way she looked at me, as if she had won it made me want to burn the entire building down.

Nathaniel had only sighed, like he was disappointed in me.

And then, with that same unreadable expression, he had said it.

"You're smart enough to know when to walk away."

And that's when I realized he had planned this.

He had wanted me out.

I had been asking too many questions. Getting too close to things I shouldn't. I was a liability.

So he had cut me loose.

And I had no choice but to walk away.

The airport was packed, but I barely noticed.

I moved through security, checked my bags, boarded my flight-on autopilot.

By the time we landed, the sky was dark, the streetlights flickering on as the city came alive.

I stepped out of the airport, inhaling deeply. Home.

I had promised myself I wouldn't return until I was ready, ready to face the man who killed my dad 5 years back.

But now, I had no choice.

A car was supposed to be waiting for me.

My eyes swept over the row of parked vehicles until they landed on a sleek black car.

Expensive. The kind of car I expect the company I ordered the car from to deliver

I sighed, exhausted, and pulled the door open.

Then froze. My blood turned to ice.

He was there. Sitting in the driver's seat.

As if waiting for me.

His posture was relaxed, one arm draped over the seat, his long fingers tapping lazily against the leather.

That same perfect face. That same haunting, effortless smile.

The man that ends my father's life. 5 years ago and nothing change about him.

Chapter 2 The Demon

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