The mansion reeked of smoke and blood.
By morning, the bodies were cleared. The injured were sent to private clinics. The east wing was cordoned off, its walls crumbling and splattered in black soot. Clair sat on the stone railing of the back balcony, a cup of untouched coffee beside her. She hadn't slept. Neither had Austin.
He stood behind her, silent, staring at the city skyline like it might whisper answers.
"Your brother," Clair finally said. "Elias. You said he was dead."
Austin clenched his jaw. "I believed he was."
"Until last night."
He nodded, eyes cold. "The way they moved, the tactics… that was my father's training. No one else would've known it but family."
Clair turned to face him. "Then it's time I know the truth. All of it."
Austin leaned on the railing beside her. "My father built our empire on fire and blood. He was cruel, manipulative. I hated him, but I learned everything from him. Elias didn't want that life. He was always softer. Smarter. He wanted to invest, legitimize everything. I thought he was weak."
"So what happened?"
"I found out he was planning to leave—take millions in accounts I didn't know existed. I confronted him. We fought. He said he didn't want to become a monster like me."
Clair said nothing.
Austin's voice hardened. "Days later, his car exploded. I assumed he was inside. The remains were unidentifiable. I buried an empty casket."
"But he wasn't in it."
"No. He disappeared and watched me rebuild everything. He let me believe he was dead. And now he's back."
Clair put a hand on his. "Then we stop him. Together."
Austin didn't speak, but he didn't move away either.
Marco barged in. "We've got something. Come see this."
They followed him into the tech room, one of the only parts of the house still intact. Screens displayed security feeds, satellite footage, and bank data.
"This hit last night? It wasn't just an attack," Marco said. "They were looking for something."
Clair frowned. "What?"
"A vault file. Hidden hard copy. Years old. It's gone."
Austin stepped closer. "Which file?"
Marco hesitated. "Operation Nightglass."
Austin's entire expression changed.
"What the hell is that?" Clair asked.
Austin turned away. "Something I buried."
Marco continued, "It was an operation your father ran. You shut it down. But Elias… he might be planning to use it."
Clair's voice rose. "Use it for what?"
Austin didn't answer.
Marco lowered his voice. "It's a ledger, Clair. A blackmail list. Politicians, judges, CEOs. If Elias leaks it…"
"Every ally we have will turn on us," Austin finished.
They all stood silent.
Until Austin finally said, "Then we strike first."
That night, they moved to one of Austin's underground safehouses, a fortress disguised beneath a luxury hotel. Clair walked into her new suite, tossing her bag on the bed.
It still felt like she was in a movie.
Except now, she was one of the main characters.
An armed one.
There was a knock on the door.
Marco entered, holding a small USB. "We decrypted one of the dead mercenaries' comms. You're going to want to hear this."
He plugged it into the TV.
The screen came alive with shaky footage, likely a hidden body cam.
A group of masked men in a van.
One of them spoke into a headset.
"Alpha One reporting in. We have eyes on the target...Clair Johnson. Orders confirmed. We don't touch the son. Only the girl."
Clair's blood ran cold.
Son?
She looked at Marco. "Did he say... son?"
Marco replayed it.
It was clear.
We don't touch the son.
Clair whispered, "I don't have a son."
Marco's face had gone pale. "Not yet."
A chill swept through her.
Elias was planning something far beyond simple revenge.
He was trying to shape the future, before it even happened.
Austin stormed in moments later.
"I heard," he said grimly.
Clair stepped forward. "What is he planning?"
Austin's eyes locked on hers. "He's trying to erase me from the inside out. And you… you're the piece he's trying to steal."
The tension hung heavy between them.
"Then give me a gun," Clair said, fire in her voice. "Because I'm done being the hunted."
Austin looked at her, pride and fear battling in his eyes.
"You already are a weapon," he said. "But if we're going to survive this war..."
He walked closer, placed a hand over her chest.
"You fight with this."
Then, for the first time, he kissed her.
Fierce. Desperate. Real.
And Clair didn't push him away.
She pulled him closer.
Because whatever was coming next, they were in it together.
And the ghosts of Austin's past?
They were about to find out what it meant to threaten a mafia king's heart.
Especially when it beat for a woman like Clair.