HE IS A RED FLAG I'M A PYROMANIAC

"If you're going to shoot me, do it now. I hate waiting."

The man in the velvet chair didn't blink. He just sipped his whiskey like we weren't two seconds from killing each other.

I didn't flinch, even with four armed men behind me and the burn of a Glock digging into my ribs. If anything, the longer he stared, the calmer I got.

Control is always quiet.

"Raven Moretti." His voice was low, lazy, lethal. "The ghost herself. You've been busy."

I smirked. "I multitask."

He set the glass down. No ice. No noise. Just power in human form.

God, I hated him already.

Jaxon Vega.

The billionaire with blood on his boots and a bank account soaked in war crimes. Tech mogul. Mafia-born. Former heir to the Vega cartel if rumors were true and the man my mother had once warned me about with trembling hands and a bottle of vodka.

And now, the buyer of my last piece of leverage.

"I assume you've looked at the files," I said, chin high. "So you know what's on them."

"I know what they're worth," he replied, nodding once to one of his men.

A thick envelope slid across the table toward me.

I didn't move.

"You're not curious?" he asked.

"I don't trust anything wrapped in elegance. Especially not from a Vega."

His mouth quirked like he wasn't sure whether to be amused or offended.

"Smart girl."

"No," I said. "Just burned."

The envelope was light. Too light.

Inside: one single photo. Of me.

Taken that morning.

"Cute, right?" Jaxon said, almost bored. "I like the one where you're wiring explosives to your laptop under a diner booth."

My heart dropped and I masked it with a glare.

"You were never selling those files, Raven," he continued smoothly. "You were baiting the sharks. Trying to see who would swim toward you."

"You're not denying that you're one of them."

"Oh, I am one of them." He stood. Tall. Dark suit, darker eyes. "But I'm the one that keeps you alive."

"Why?"

The word fell out before I could stop it.

His reply?

"Because, sweetheart, you just walked into my web. And I'd rather trap you than kill you."

Flashback, 2 days earlier

Two nights ago, I'd gotten a message.

Blocked number. Encrypted email. Simple terms.

Meet me at The Vesper Club. Bring the files. No copies.

J

I should've run.

Instead, I wore my mother's black coat and loaded a pistol into my boot.

Back to Present

I didn't sit. Didn't blink.

"You think I won't blow this whole place just to take you down with me?" I asked.

Jaxon raised an eyebrow.

"I think you don't want to die," he said. "And I think you're desperate enough to gamble."

He stepped close. Close enough to smell his cologne cedar and smoke.

Close enough to feel the heat bleeding off his skin.

"I'm offering you protection," he said. "A deal."

"No one offers protection for free."

"You're right. I want something."

He reached into his pocket.

Pulled out a small, black flash drive.

Not mine.

But I recognized the engraving.

El Diablo. My father's codename. The last thing tying me to the family I abandoned.

"I've had this for five years," Jaxon murmured. "Encrypted. Uncrackable. Until now."

He held it out.

"You give me your files. I give you this. And we call it even."

I hesitated.

Because the only person who ever touched that drive... was dead.

Or so I thought.

"Where did you get that?"

"I killed the man who was holding it," he said, simply. "But the real question is... do you want what's on it bad enough to trust me?"

I snatched the drive from his hand.

My fingers shook.

Not from fear.

From fury.

From fire.

He smiled.

"You're staying with me now," he said, like it was already decided.

"Excuse me?"

"Security reasons. You just put a target on your back the size of Chicago."

I laughed. Cold.

"I've had a target on my back since the day I was born."

He didn't argue.

Just turned and walked toward the elevator.

"Come willingly, or I'll carry you out," he called over his shoulder. "Your choice."

I stayed rooted.

Because the drive in my hand buzzed twice.

Encrypted message detected.

I knew that pattern.

Only two people in the world had that signal.

Me.

And my brother.

Who was supposed to be dead.

The moment I stepped into Jaxon Vega's elevator, the flash drive lit up and blinked red.

Incoming message: DON'T TRUST HIM.

The letters flashed red once before vanishing from the screen like they'd never existed.

I stared down at the drive in my palm, cold metal warming against my skin.

Impossible.

Only one person used that encryption key.

And he'd been buried in pieces.

I made sure of it.

Unless...

"You okay?"

Jaxon's voice cut through my spiral like a scalpel.

I snapped the lid on the flash drive shut and forced my face blank. "Peachy."

The elevator hummed upward. Fast. Quiet. Dangerous.

Just like him.

"Who did you kill to get this?" I asked.

He didn't answer.

Typical.

I studied his profile instead. Strong jaw, blood-born calm, and the kind of presence that made everyone else in a room forget their name. His suit was sharp. His mouth was sharper. But his eyes?

Dead. Absolutely dead.

Until they landed on me.

"You're not afraid of me," he said. Not a question. An observation.

"No." I shifted slightly, one hand still on the inside of my coat, where the knife sat.

"I'm afraid of what you make me want."

His eyes flicked down to my lips, then to my fingers curled in steel.

"Violence?" he asked.

"Control."

The elevator dinged.

Penthouse. Of course.

Doors slid open, revealing a wide, dimly lit space of black floors, dark windows, and chrome everything. Like stepping into the belly of a wolf.

A woman in a fitted suit greeted us. "Ms. Moretti," she said, bowing her head.

I didn't correct her. Didn't remind her I stopped using that name the day I set fire to the Moretti estate.

Jaxon stepped aside and gestured for me to enter first.

"After you."

Gentlemanly. If the gentleman in question could also casually order a hit over dinner.

I stepped in.

Three things hit me immediately:

The cameras. Hidden well, but I could feel their gaze.

The silence. Like the apartment was waiting for something to break.

The piano. A single grand piano in the center of the room, untouched but polished, like a memory someone didn't know how to let go of.

"This is where you keep your prisoners?" I asked, walking past him.

"This is where I keep the people I don't want dead."

He brushed past me. Close. Not touching. But enough to make every hair on my neck rise like it recognized its predator.

He handed his jacket off to the assistant. "Room's ready?"

"Security system updated. Vault moved."

Vault?

He didn't elaborate.

I turned back. "Where's my room?"

He smiled.

"Left hallway, last door. No locks on your side. Three on mine."

Of course.

"And if I try to leave?"

He paused.

"Then I'll assume you want me to chase you."

I rolled my eyes and walked to the hallway. Found the room.

Clean. Minimal. Grey sheets. Camera in the corner.

I flicked it off with one button and slid my bag under the bed.

Then I pulled out my second flash drive.

Not the one he gave me.

Mine. The original. The one I'd been trying to trade.

And now?

Now I had two.

And two problems.

I sat on the edge of the bed and synced the drives together. Cross-encryption.

The red light on the second drive blinked once. Twice.

Incoming File: PLAY ME

My heart slowed.

That voice again.

Same key. Same code.

I pressed play.

"If you're seeing this... he already has you."

"Don't let him near the vault."

"He's not after your files, Raven. He's after you."

I slammed the laptop shut.

My hands were shaking.

No.

No.

That voice.

It wasn't my brother.

It was my mother's.

And she died right in front of me.

The door opened.

Jaxon stepped in without knocking.

Of course he did.

"Dinner's ready."

I stood, keeping my expression still. "I'm not hungry."

He didn't move. "That wasn't a question."

"I'm not one of your bodyguards you can order around."

"No," he said, stepping closer. "You're not. You're the wildcard I let into my house. And I don't like surprises."

We stood close. Too close.

"You're hiding something," I said.

"So are you."

"Why am I really here?"

He studied me.

Then, low and quiet, almost like he hated the words

"Because if I didn't bring you here... they would've killed you."

I blinked. "Who?"

He hesitated. Just for a second. But I caught it.

"The people who paid your father to kill your mother," he said.

My stomach turned.

"What did you just say?"

"I've known since the day I got that drive. And I've been waiting for you to figure it out." He leaned closer. "You're not a loose end. You're the trigger."

A scream echoed from down the hall.

Jaxon turned fast, hand already at his gun.

"Stay here," he snapped.

But I was already moving.

I wasn't the kind of girl who stayed behind.

Not anymore.

"I said stay here."

"I said no."

I bolted past Jaxon before he could grab me not because I thought I was faster, but because I knew he wouldn't drag me back.

Not unless he wanted to touch me.

And if he touched me right now, I'd burn us both.

The hallway was colder than before. Sharp with silence. The kind that warns you something's already gone wrong.

Another scream.

Female.

Muffled.

I ran toward it, heart hammering, adrenaline kicking.

Left turn.

Open door.

A girl stood shaking in the corner of a dim room, hands over her ears. She wore a maid uniform barefoot, splattered with red.

A body lay facedown on the marble floor.

"Get back!" Jaxon barked behind me.

Too late.

I was already kneeling beside the man, flipping him over.

Gunshot to the throat.

Still warm.

Whoever did this had just left.

Jaxon swore under his breath and pulled out a phone.

"What the hell is happening?" I demanded.

He ignored me.

"Lock every floor. Check the east camera loop. No one leaves the building."

The girl was crying now. Whispering something in Italian.

I stepped toward her gently. "Hey... it's okay. You're safe."

She blinked up at me. Eyes swollen, mouth trembling.

Then she said it.

"They were looking for you."

I froze.

"What?"

Her hand trembled as she pointed to the dead man.

"He asked where you were. Said he had orders to drag you back."

Jaxon looked at me. "Still think I'm the one you shouldn't trust?"

I stared at the body.

No markings.

No insignia.

Just a cheap tattoo on the wrist.

A match.

To the men my father used to send for clean-ups.

They weren't here for him. They were here for me.

Back in the main room, Dev Jaxon's head of security was pulling camera footage. Jaxon stood beside him like a storm in a tailored suit.

"He got in through the private garage," Dev muttered. "No facial match. Probably using a burner ID."

"And the girl?" Jaxon asked.

"New hire. Cleared three weeks ago. Looks clean."

"Looks," Jaxon repeated.

Then his eyes flicked to me.

"You bring them with you?"

I didn't answer.

Because I wasn't sure.

He closed the distance between us in three long strides.

"Tell me the truth, Raven. Who else has your encryption key?"

"No one."

"Try again."

I swallowed. "My brother had a copy."

He froze.

Had. Past tense.

"I buried him."

His stare sharpened.

"When?"

I didn't blink. "The night after my mother was killed."

"Cause of death?"

"Shot to the chest. I did it myself."

Dev looked up from the screen. "Then why the hell is his code still active?"

Silence.

Then

Jaxon grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hallway I hadn't seen before. No cameras. No echoes.

Just cold walls and hotter anger.

"What aren't you telling me?" he hissed.

"I don't know!"

"You show up with files that were supposedly lost. People start dying. Your dead brother's ghost sends you messages and I'm supposed to believe that's all coincidence?"

"No," I snapped. "You're supposed to believe I didn't walk into your life to start a war."

He stared at me.

"Then explain why I'm already bleeding from it."

My chest tightened.

Because he wasn't wrong.

He stepped back, paced once, then turned and pinned me with a look I felt in my spine.

"I should lock you down. Cut the power. Block the drives. Hell, maybe I should hand you over."

"Then why don't you?"

He paused.

Took one long step forward.

Voice low. Controlled. Deadly.

"Because you're the only thing that feels real in this entire goddamn mess."

My breath hitched.

I hated how much I wanted to believe him.

Suddenly, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a second phone.

He handed it to me.

"It's encrypted. Your eyes only. Use it to trace the last message from your brother's signal. If you're lying, I'll know."

"And if I'm not?"

He stared at my lips.

Then my eyes.

Then back again.

"Then I'm protecting you for the wrong reasons."

[Later That Night – Description + Dialogue]

I sat cross-legged on the bed, decrypting code while my hair dripped from the shower.

The trace led to a server farm downtown.

Too clean. Too fast. A rerouted ghost trail.

But there at the edge of the log file a signature.

R.M.

R. Moretti.

Not me.

Someone was posing as me.

Which meant

The voice in the message wasn't my brother.

Or my mother.

It was a forgery.

But the message?

That part might be true.

The door creaked open behind me.

"Come in," I said without looking.

I knew it was him.

Only Jaxon moved like that like the room was already his.

He walked in. Quiet. Watchful.

His tie was gone. Shirt sleeves rolled up. Hair slightly messy.

Dangerous men shouldn't look that good after someone dies in their penthouse.

"I know who forged the message," I said.

He raised a brow.

"Who?"

"No idea. But they used my name."

"Impressive. Or suicidal."

"Maybe both."

He came closer. "Are you still planning to run?"

"I was never running. I was baiting."

"And now?"

I looked up. "Now I'm hunting."

He stepped into my space again, closer than was necessary. His scent curled around me earth and sin.

"And if I tell you I want in?"

I didn't blink.

"Then I tell you I don't trust you."

He reached out slowly fingers brushing the damp ends of my hair.

"Trust me with your secrets. Not your heart."

"That was never on the table."

"Good."

But neither of us stepped back.

"You make me want things I shouldn't want," I whispered.

He smiled darkly. "Then we're even."

His fingers brushed my collarbone. Then my wrist.

Every inch of skin he touched felt like it was choosing sides.

"You're fire, Raven," he murmured.

"And I've never been afraid of getting burned."

And then he kissed me.

Not gentle.

Not sweet.

Possessive. Brutal. Demanding.

I kissed him back like I was starving.

Because I was.

Not for him.

For power.

For control.

For revenge.

And if I had to pretend to love the man who ruined my family to get it?

So be it.

The flash drive on the bedside table lit up again.

One message:

> "THEY'RE INSIDE."

And the screen went black.

"That's not possible."

But I already knew it was.

The voice playing from the speakers wasn't a fake.

It was him.

My father.

Luca Moretti.

Dead men don't confess to murder.

So either he was alive...

Or I buried a lie.

> "She betrayed the code. She tried to burn it all. So I burned her."

"Don't let her death be for nothing, Raven. You know what you have to do."

The file ended.

The screen went dark.

And something inside me cracked.

"Raven."

Jaxon's voice was low. Controlled.

I couldn't look at him.

If I did, I'd break harder.

"I killed him," I whispered. "I killed him."

"You sure?"

"I shot him in the chest. I watched him fall."

"Did you check the body?"

The question hit like a punch.

No.

I didn't.

I ran.

Because I couldn't face what I'd done.

Or what I didn't.

I stood too fast. My knees buckled.

Jaxon caught me.

Again.

This was becoming a pattern.

One I hated.

One I needed.

"Let me go."

He didn't.

"You need to breathe."

"I need to kill him."

"That's fair. But breathe first."

I shoved him, hard enough to make him stumble.

He didn't react.

Didn't even flinch.

Just stared at me like I was a match he couldn't help striking.

"He killed her," I said.

"And now he wants me to finish what he started."

"Maybe he wants you to destroy it."

"Or maybe he wants to destroy me."

Silence.

Then Jaxon said something that turned my stomach.

"He's not working alone."

I blinked. "What?"

"I've been tracking someone through the dark web. A phantom with access to international firewalls, off-grid account trails, and biometric scramblers."

"And?"

"Three weeks ago, that phantom made contact with a shell corporation registered to the Moretti family vault. The login key? Your heartbeat."

My stomach dropped.

"You're saying he has my prints?"

"No. He has your blood."

I turned toward him. "That's impossible."

Jaxon opened a drawer, pulled out a small black box, and placed it on the table.

He clicked it open.

Inside?

A syringe.

Filled with blood.

Labeled: RM-1.

"Where the hell did that come from?"

"One of my informants intercepted it during a trade in Berlin. Sold on the black market to a buyer under the alias Capo Nero."

The Black Boss.

My father's old codename.

My voice came out low. Hollow. "He's been planning this for years."

Jaxon nodded.

"And now he's ready to make his move."

"Then let's beat him to it."

[Scene Shift – Jaxon's War Room]

The war room looked like a military command center fused with a hacker's dream.

Three walls of screens.

Live feeds. Code lines. Facial recognition.

And in the center?

A glowing red circle.

Target zone: Montevista Private Bank, Geneva.

Jaxon pointed. "Your father's last financial drop was traced to a vault inside this bank. Registered under your name, five years ago."

"I never opened an account in Switzerland."

"You didn't. But your mother did. In your name."

I stared at the screen.

"I need to get to that vault."

"You will."

"When?"

He looked at me.

"Tonight."

We left through the underground exit black SUV, no plates, tinted to hell.

Dev was already in the driver's seat.

"Geneva jet's ready in thirty. We're cleared under a false manifest."

"Security?"

"Local team on standby. Clean weapons. No ties to Vega Holdings."

"Good."

In the back seat, I stayed quiet.

Jaxon studied me through the dark glass.

"You're not saying much."

"I'm thinking."

"Dangerous habit."

"Only when you're the target."

He smirked. "So I'm still your target?"

"No," I said softly. "Not yet."

[Scene Shift – Montevista Bank, Geneva – 3 Hours Later]

The bank was modern, elite, empty after midnight.

Our fake IDs passed the scanner. The clerk didn't blink twice.

We were escorted down into the sub-level vaults.

The deeper we went, the heavier the air became.

Like the walls themselves were holding secrets.

Vault 103. Nameplate: R.M.

The clerk stepped back. "We'll give you privacy."

He left.

Jaxon placed a hand on the scanner.

It blinked green.

The vault door opened with a hiss.

Inside?

Nothing.

Just a metal box on a pedestal.

Jaxon scanned the room. "No heat signatures."

I walked to the box.

I opened it.

Inside?

A flash drive.

A photograph.

And a bullet.

The photo was of me.

Ten years old.

Sitting on my mother's lap.

Smiling.

The bullet was engraved with two letters:

J.V.

My hands trembled.

"This is a threat," I whispered.

Jaxon stepped beside me. "No. This is bait."

"For what?"

"For you."

The flash drive beeped.

Screen lit up.

A video file.

I hit play.

> "She was going to run, Raven."

"She was going to take you and disappear."

"So I made sure she never could."

"Now it's your turn to decide blood or loyalty."

Jaxon reached out and slammed the laptop shut.

"No more."

"But "

"No." His eyes were wild. Dark. Real.

"He's not playing with you. He's trying to turn you into him."

Jaxon turned away.

But something fell from his pocket.

A folded piece of paper.

I picked it up.

Unfolded it.

It was a photo.

Of my mother.

Standing next to Jaxon.

Two weeks before she died.

The photograph fluttered in my hand like it didn't know how heavy it was.

But I did.

Because the woman smiling in it wasn't just my mother.

She was alive. Laughing.

And standing next to the man I was now sleeping with.

"Jaxon."

His name came out like a loaded gun.

He turned.

Saw what I was holding.

Didn't move.

Didn't lie.

Didn't deny.

Just... stood there.

"Tell me this isn't what it looks like," I said.

His jaw tensed. "It is."

"You knew her?"

"Yes."

"Before she died?"

"Yes."

"You were working with her?" My voice cracked.

Another yes, and I swear I would've pulled the trigger I wasn't even holding.

But he didn't say it.

He said something worse.

"I was watching her."

Time stopped.

I stepped back. The vault was suddenly too small. The air is too tight.

"You were sent after my mother."

"Yes."

"By who?"

"Your father."

It hit like a knife through my chest.

I laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because it was insane.

"Of course," I whispered. "Of course you were the one watching her."

"I didn't kill her."

"But you knew she was going to die."

He didn't answer.

I stared at him really stared. The man with the sharp suits, colder heart, and quiet obsession.

The man I'd kissed.

The man I almost trusted.

"You were watching her... and now you're watching me."

He took a step toward me.

I raised the photo like a shield.

"Don't," I warned. "Don't come closer."

"I didn't hurt her."

"No, you just followed her. Let her get close. Used her. Like you're doing with me."

He flinched at that one.

Good.

I wanted him to feel it.

"I was assigned to monitor her," he said. "That's true."

"But?"

"But I didn't report everything I saw. Because what I saw didn't fit the mission."

"Which was?"

"To confirm her plans to leak the vault intel and destroy the Moretti code."

"And?"

He paused.

"She was trying to protect you. She wanted to disappear with you. Start over."

"And my father couldn't allow that."

"No. So he ordered the hit."

I stared at him.

"You watched her die, didn't you?"

"No."

"Liar."

He didn't deny it this time.

I just stepped forward slowly and looked down at the photo in my hand.

"I fell in love with her," he said softly.

The words slammed into me like a fist.

"What?"

"I was nineteen. She was already dying inside that house. I didn't know she was your mother at first. She used a different name."

I felt like I was being swallowed whole.

"You loved her?"

"I didn't understand it until she was gone."

I couldn't breathe.

Not because of him.

Because of her.

Because of the lies.

Because if she loved him back... why didn't she run?

He reached out to touch me.

I slapped his hand away.

"You don't get to touch me. Not after this."

"Raven "

"You think just because you tell me the truth now, it makes up for the lies?"

"No."

"Then why are you still here?"

He looked at me.

Not the cold billionaire.

Not the violent ghost.

Just a man. Haunted.

"Because I failed her."

"And I won't fail you."

I should've walked away.

I should've left him in that vault and never looked back.

But I didn't.

Because some part of me still wanted him to fix it.

Still wanted to believe he could protect me from the war I was about to bring.

I still wanted the fire.

"What's next?" I asked.

He nodded once. "We are going back to New York. We pull every asset. We go on offense."

"And the vault files?"

"You open them."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then someone else will."

I knew what that meant.

If I didn't use the weapon my mother left me...

My father would.

We left the vault.

The air outside felt different.

Like the ground was already burning beneath us.

[Scene Shift – Private Jet, 3 Hours Later]

Back on the plane, Jaxon was silent.

I was staring at the file labeled: PROJECT R.M.

Last modified: the day after my mother died.

Password required: 10 characters. All numbers.

I tried it on my mother's birthday.

Wrong.

My father's.

Wrong.

My brother's.

Wrong.

I closed my eyes and whispered the number that haunted me.

The day I set fire to the estate.

0729.2019

The file opened.

Dozens of folders.

Documents.

Photos.

One message at the bottom.

> "If you're reading this, then I failed. But you still have a chance. Use it. Destroy him before he destroys you."

Mom

I looked up at Jaxon.

And for the first time, I felt something worse than fear.

Resolve.

"We finished this."

He nodded.

And for a split second, I thought we were on the same side.

Until I opened the next document.

And saw his name.

Jaxon M. Vega Asset #013

His photo. His name.

And beneath it:

> "PRIMARY HANDLER TARGET: Raven M. Moretti."

The file was still open on the tablet, the words still glowing, burned into my brain:

Jaxon M. Vega Asset #013

Primary Handler Target: Raven M. Moretti

I couldn't breathe.

"You were sent after me."

It was a statement, but I wasn't sure if I was asking or accusing him. The words felt like they had weight, like they could tear me apart if I said them too loudly. If I let them sink in fully.

Jaxon didn't move. He didn't even blink.

His hand rested casually on the armrest between us, but I knew better than to think he wasn't watching me. He was always watching me.

But the silence stretched on, and that was the worst part.

He wasn't denying it.

I wanted to throw the tablet across the plane.

I wanted to scream.

But instead, I felt the anger begin to simmer beneath the surface, slow and thick, like it was trying to eat me from the inside out.

Jaxon's voice was quiet when he finally spoke. "I didn't choose this."

"You don't get to say that," I snapped, my fingers tightening around the tablet. "You didn't choose this, but you played the game. You were a part of it. You were sent after me, to handle me, to control me. And for what? To make sure I didn't escape? To make sure I didn't get away?"

"I'm not your enemy." His words came too quickly, too urgently. "Raven, I "

"Shut up."

His jaw clenched. "I didn't come here to betray you."

"And yet you still did. You didn't come here because you wanted to protect me. You came because someone told you to. And don't try to tell me otherwise. You were following orders from the start."

I wasn't sure who was trembling now, me or him.

Jaxon stood up abruptly. "This is bigger than you think, Raven. And bigger than me. This isn't about us."

"Isn't it?" I shot back, staring at him, my throat tight, my heart thumping in my chest. "How is it not about us? You've been lying to me from the very first moment we met. You kissed me, you touched me, you made me feel things I shouldn't feel. And now you expect me to just forget everything because you say it's bigger than us?"

The plane lurched slightly, the faint hum of the engines filling the space around us, but inside my head, there was nothing but a thick silence.

I couldn't look at him. I couldn't look at the way his eyes betrayed every word he said, every excuse he gave. The truth was there out in the open and it was suffocating me.

But then, as if the weight of everything wasn't enough, Jaxon stepped closer.

"It's about your father," he said, his voice low, raw. "It always has been. And it's about the people who want you dead."

The words hit me like a slap. I snapped my head up, my eyes widening. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your father's business, his empire, there are factions within it, people with motives, agendas. And they'll stop at nothing to take you out."

"Because I'm the heir?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

"No." He shook his head, his hands balled into fists at his sides. "Because your father is a liability. And so are you."

The world tilted.

What did he mean?

My heart was beating so fast I thought it might explode. "You're lying. You don't even know what you're talking about."

"I'm not lying. Your father has been hiding things, secrets, things that could bring the entire Moretti empire down. I was supposed to keep you in the dark. I was supposed to control you, keep you in check."

"By keeping me in a cage?" I shot back, my voice trembling with rage. "Is that what you thought? That I'd just sit back and let you control my life?"

"No. I thought I could protect you," he said quietly, his voice full of regret. "I thought if I kept you close, I could make sure you weren't dragged into this war."

A bitter laugh escaped me, despite myself. "Close? Is that what this is? You keep me close, making sure I don't escape, making sure I never find out the truth?"

He took another step closer, his face hard but full of pain. "Raven, you don't understand. There are people who would use you as a weapon. People who would destroy everything you love just to get their hands on your father's empire."

The pain in his voice, the weight of his words, made my heart skip.

But I couldn't let myself fall for it again. Not when I didn't know what was real anymore.

"I don't believe you," I said, but the conviction was weak, even to my own ears. "You think you can protect me? You think you're the one who gets to decide what's best for me?"

"I didn't choose to fall for you, Raven," he whispered. "I didn't choose to feel the way I do. But I swear to you, I won't let anything happen to you. Not while I'm still breathing."

The sincerity in his eyes made my insides twist. The man I'd been sleeping with. The man I thought was just a pawn in my father's game.

Was he lying? Or had he been trying to protect me all along?

I stepped back. "I don't need your protection. I don't need anything from you."

His face darkened, and for a moment, I thought he might snap. But instead, he turned away. His shoulders were stiff with restraint.

"I'm not asking you to need me."

I didn't know what to say to that.

The plane shook slightly as we flew over the clouds. The world outside the window was a dark void. The tension inside the cabin was even darker.

I wanted to hate him.

I wanted to scream and rage and tear everything apart.

But instead, all I could do was sit there in silence, the weight of the truth pressing down on me.

The file was still open. The message from my mother is still glowing.

"If you're reading this, then I failed. But you still have a chance. Use it. Destroy him before he destroys you."

Suddenly, the plane's alert system sounded a sharp, urgent beep.

"We have an incoming threat."

Jaxon stood up immediately, his eyes darkening. "We're not alone."