Chapter 5 Piper pov

Piper's POV

The dress fit like armor.

The charcoal silk hugged my curves, the high slit daring but necessary-I needed freedom to move tonight. Not just in the literal sense, but in the emotional one too. If I had to wear a mask of elegance while playing chess with monsters, I'd at least do it on my terms.

I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the necklace Cameron insisted I wear. A single diamond teardrop. I was simple, understated and dangerous, because tucked into the clasp was a micro-transmitter barely the size of a fingernail.

"Everything's working," Cameron's voice crackled through the earpiece hidden behind a lock of hair. "Stay near the center of the gala floor. We lose signal if you go deeper into the wings."

"Got it," I murmured, swiping on a final layer of lipstick- it was wine red.

The gala was a benefit hosted by the Ashcroft Foundation-one of Ethan's many foundations. The kind of event designed to launder reputations under chandeliers and charity smiles. I was invited and I had to show up as the dutiful wife.

I entered through the north wing. The lights inside sparkled like champagne, casting fractured gold across every polished surface. People mingled, rich and powerful and oblivious, sipping vintage liquor and pretending the world didn't burn outside their marble wall moved with practiced grace, collecting smiles and ignoring whispers. I could feel eyes on me. Ethan had always surrounded himself with people who saw women like me as liabilities or trophies-never equals.

I let them underestimate me..........Let them.

My pulse jumped as I spotted him.......Ethan.

He was at the far end of the ballroom, a glass in hand, head slightly bowed in conversation with someone I couldn't see from this angle. His suit was impeccable, as always. So was his arrogance but there was a tension in his stance, a sharpness to his movements.

He knew I was here.

I turned toward the bar, pretending I hadn't seen him and pretending I wasn't watching every inch of that room.

"Target two o'clock," Cameron murmured. "And Piper... be careful. You're not just bait anymore. You're the whole trap."

I smiled tightly. "Good."

That's when I saw her.....Selena.

She stood near the grand staircase like she owned the damn place. All legs and lace, her dress sheer enough to make the waitstaff blush. She spotted me almost instantly and smiled-wide, sugary, lethal.

She started walking toward me.

I turned away and pretended to sip champagne, bracing myself.

"Fancy seeing you here," she said sweetly, planting herself beside me at the bar. Her voice carried that silk-wrapped dagger edge only women like her could master.

"Likewise." I didn't look at her.

Selena chuckled. "I almost didn't recognize you. That dress screams vengeance, darling. Is that what tonight is? A little performance art? Or are you just desperate to see him again?"

I faced her slowly. "Is that what you think? That I came here for Ethan?"

She leaned in close, smile unwavering. "Please. We both know how bad you want him back home and to be over you."

"I did," I said, my voice like frost. "Right around the time he started drugging me with anti-anxiety meds I didn't need."

Her smile faltered just a fraction.

I stepped closer. "Tell me, Selena. Did he promise you a future? Power? Because I hope you're enjoying your lingerie photo shoots while they last. When the truth comes out, he'll drag you down with him."

Selena's eyes narrowed. "You talk like someone who still thinks she's the victim."

"I'm not the victim," I said. "I'm the reckoning."

Before she could reply, the music changed.

The lights dimmed, drawing attention to the front of the ballroom. Ethan stepped onto the stage, flanked by board members, his voice amplified through hidden speakers.

I barely heard what he said. I was focused on the man who stood behind him, half-shadowed near the side entrance.

It was Christopher Hale.

I stiffened.

He was here? And he was watching.

"Cameron, confirm visual-are you seeing this?" I murmured under my breath.

Silence.

"Cameron?" But Still nothing.

Static hissed faintly in my ear. Shit, something was wrong. I turned instinctively, scanning the crowd again-and that's when Selena grabbed my wrist, nails digging into skin.

Her voice was low and sharp. "You don't get it, do you? He's never going to let you win. You think you're playing chess? You're not even on the board."

I yanked my hand free, stepping back.

"Tell Ethan," I said coldly, "his empire's already burning. He just doesn't smell the smoke yet."

I moved away from her, weaving through the crowd, trying to find a clearer line of sight to Hale-but he was gone, just vanished.

My earpiece clicked to life.

"Piper........run." Cameron's voice came through sounding urgent and breathy.

"Why?" I hissed. "What's happening?"

"Security has been compromised. They're tracking your signal and someone-someone tipped them off. You need to move, now."

My adrenaline surged. I turned toward the exit just as two men in dark suits began closing in from either side. They weren't dressed like waiters. They moved like predators.

Shit.

I slipped behind a column, heart pounding, reaching for the small flash drive hidden in my clutch. If they got me, they wouldn't find much-but this? This was leverage.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm from behind.

Not rough. Familiar.

"Don't scream," a voice whispered.

I turned-

It was Hale.

He smiled like the devil. "Let's finish what you started."