Chapter 5 Beneath the Sky

Rossy just kept quiet on the way back. Gazing at the back of my seat, her head resting against the window, her eyes filled with grief. The bruise on her jaw was swollen, bloody, and raw. It made my stomach twist and at the same time, it flared my anger.

I couldn't just imagine how she must have felt back at the warehouse. Alone, frightened. Hoping that someone would show up. And yet, she still looked so composed. Even broken, she carried herself like a secret kept just out of reach.

When I pulled into the underground garage beneath my penthouse, I half-expected another black car waiting. None were.

I helped her out, touching her waist gently. She cringed when I touched her."Sorry," I said quickly, trying to pull back."No, it's fine," she whispered, then added, "I ... haven't been touched gently in a while."

She became quiet again. I led her to the elevator, floor after floor, into the room no one else had ever entered.

Once inside, she sank into the couch, while I wrapped a blanket around her. Sighing in relief, "Ah"

"I will go get you some water," I said.

In the kitchen, I held the glass tightly, trying to stay calm. But inside, I was hurt, in pain. To have found out my family had tried to erase her. My cousin had nearly succeeded. And they'd do it again, unless I ended it.

When I brought the water to her, she didn't take it right away. She just looked up at me.

"You shouldn't have come for me," she murmured.

"I had to."

"No, you didn't. You don't even know who I am."

I knelt beside her. "I do now."

Rossy stared. "So you've seen it. The file. The letter."

I nodded. "You're not just a cleaner. Not just an orphan. You're Eleanor's daughter."

Her lip trembled slightly. But she didn't cry. "I thought maybe... maybe if I just worked quietly, if I stayed invisible long enough, I could find answers without becoming a threat. But I was wrong. They always knew I was a threat."

"You're not a threat," I said softly. "You're truth. That's why they're afraid."

She looked away. "And now you're in danger too."

I sat back on my heels. "I've been in danger since the day I was born into this family. I just didn't realize it."

Rossy closed her eyes. "They killed her, didn't they? My mother."

"I don't have proof yet. But I think... yes."

She was quiet for some time. Then, she spoke, with a teary voice, "Do you think she would've wanted me to run?"

I hesitated. "I think she would've wanted you to survive. But I think she would've also wanted you to fight."

Rossy opened her eyes. "Then I'll fight."

Those three words hit something deep inside me. Because in that moment, she wasn't just a cleaner in navy overalls anymore. She was blood.

"I won't let them touch you again," I said.

"You can't promise that."

"I can try."

We sat in silence for a while. I wanted to reach for her. To hold her. But not yet.

Not while she still looked like she might shatter.

Instead, I asked, "Do you remember anything else from that night? The fire?"

She rubbed her face, "Smoke. Screams. Someone was pulling me out of bed. There was shouting, a man's voice I didn't recognize. And then... a hallway. Flames. A red ring."

"A red ring?"

She nodded. "On the man's hand. There was a ring with a crest. I saw it when he grabbed my wrist. It burned into my memory."

I froze.

I knew that ring.

The Edmond family seal. A ring only given to three people. My father. My uncle.And Dario.

Rossy looked up at me. "You recognize it."

"Yeah," I breathed. "I do."

Her eyes narrowed. "Then he was there. At the fire."

"Yes."

And now we had a connection, not just in blood, but in violence. Dario had tried to erase her twice. I wouldn't let there be a third.

Rossy stood shakily. "I need to go to the orphanage."

I blinked. "What?"

"What's left of it. The foundation. The ruins. Whatever is there, I need to see it for myself."

I paused. "It's been abandoned for almost twenty years."

"Then something's still there."

I nodded slowly. "Okay. We'll go."

But as I turned toward my phone to make the arrangements, Rossy suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Wait," she whispered. Her eyes darted toward the window.

I followed her gaze.

A red dot. Small. Barely visible.

Laser scope.

Sniper.

I dove forward, grabbing her and pulling her to the floor just as the glass shattered above us.

A shot pierced through the air, embedding into the wall behind where her head had been.

I covered her with my body as more glass rained down.

She gasped beneath me. "They found us."

"I know," I growled, reaching for the panic button under the coffee table. Sirens immediately blared through the building.

Another shot hit the floor near my side.

I grabbed Rossy's hand, pulled her toward the private exit through my bedroom.

We ran.

Down the service stairs. Through the emergency hallway.

I pressed the emergency call line.

"Security to Penthouse 1. Breach in progress, possible sniper."

It went static.

The line went dead.

Rossy looked at me. "What's happening?"

I looked toward the exit.

"They've cut the system."

I heard footsteps, outside, in the stairwell. Multiple. Moving fast.

There wasn't time to think.

I shoved open the emergency maintenance door, pulling her into the old freight lift.

"We're getting out," I said.

She grabbed my arm. "Ethan, what if they don't let us?"

As the elevator began to descend, and just as the doors started to close, a figure appeared at the top of the stairs, dark coat, gun raised.

The last thing I saw before the doors shut completely was the red crest on his ring.

The Edmond seal.