CHAPTER 10

Elena

The air inside the warehouse was thick with dust, the harsh scent of oil and metal lingering like a faint memory of something better. The faint hum of machinery echoed in the distance, but the place felt more like a tomb than anything that had once been alive. It had been years since I set foot in this building—the old headquarters of Marcus's organization, the place where our worlds had once collided.

And now, here I was, standing at the very door I had walked through so many times, and yet, everything had changed.

I had tried to prepare myself for what was coming, to brace myself against the torrent of emotions that I knew would crash down on me. But no amount of mental preparation could have stopped the chaos inside me. The past had come back in a way I wasn't ready for.

I glanced over at Marcus, who stood beside me. His presence was a comforting constant, even though the tension between us was palpable. He was still the same Marcus I remembered—calm, collected, and in control. Or at least, that's how he appeared on the surface. I knew better than to think that meant everything was okay.

"I never thought I'd be back here," I muttered, more to myself than to him.

His eyes softened, just slightly, but it was enough for me to notice. "I know," he replied. "I didn't want to bring you here, but we don't have a choice. You're not safe. And if we don't act fast, you're going to be right in the middle of something bigger than either of us."

I wanted to argue, to fight against the pit that had opened in my stomach at his words, but I didn't. I didn't want to acknowledge it, but he was right. My mother, Isabel—she had set this all in motion. And now, I was at the center of it.

A small sigh escaped me as I walked toward the heavy metal doors, pushing them open with more force than I intended. I wasn't sure what I was expecting—perhaps some sign that this place hadn't changed, that it hadn't become a part of the cold, unfeeling world my mother had created. But nothing had changed. The dark, industrial interior still held the same shadows, the same sense of danger that I had always associated with it.

Marcus followed closely behind me, and I could hear the faint scrape of his shoes on the concrete floor as we made our way through the cavernous space. I could feel his presence more than hear it—always protective, always watchful. But his silence didn't put me at ease.

"You don't trust me, do you?" His voice cut through the stillness, catching me off guard.

I stopped walking, my body tensing in response. "What makes you think that?" I asked, even though deep down, I knew the answer.

"Your actions speak louder than words, Elena," he said. "Every time I try to get closer, you push me away. I'm here. I'm trying to help you. But you keep shutting me out."

I swallowed hard, the truth of his words stinging more than I wanted to admit. But I had learned the hard way that trusting Marcus came with consequences. Consequences that had almost destroyed me once before.

"I don't know if I can trust you again," I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper. "Not after everything."

Marcus stopped next to me, his eyes searching my face as if trying to find something I wasn't ready to give. "I don't expect you to forgive me. But if we're going to survive this, we need to work together. And that means trusting each other. At least for now."

I nodded stiffly, my heart pounding in my chest. I wanted to push him away, to run as far as I could from this place, from him. But something in the way he said those words—so raw, so real—made me hesitate. He was right. I didn't have a choice. I had to trust him. For now.

I stepped into the main area, the clanking of distant machinery filling the silence between us. "Where do we start?"

Marcus's gaze flicked over the room, a plan already forming in his mind. "First, we find out who's behind this. Your mother's involvement in all of this isn't as simple as you think. She's tied to people who can make us disappear without a second thought."

I shivered involuntarily at his words. Disappear. I had never really considered what that might mean, but the weight of it settled on my chest. I had already lost so much—what else could they take from me?

But I had to push past the fear. I had to focus on the task at hand.

"What's the next step?" I asked, my voice firm now.

Marcus turned toward a set of monitors in the corner, the faint glow from the screens casting an eerie light over the otherwise dark room. He gestured for me to follow. "I've been gathering intel on the people who have been moving against us. There's a network of them—people your mother has aligned herself with. Powerful people who can't afford for you to exist anymore."

I felt a chill run down my spine as I approached the monitors. The images flickered briefly before stabilizing, revealing faces I didn't recognize. But there were names beneath them—names I had heard in passing over the years. Names that were linked to my mother's empire, to the dangerous world she had created.

"This is just the beginning," Marcus said, pointing to the screens. "But it's enough to get us started. These people—they're ruthless, Elena. You have to understand that. If they know you're still alive, they'll come for you. They won't stop until they've silenced you."

I looked at the faces on the screen, a knot forming in my stomach. The people my mother had associated with weren't just corrupt businessmen or shady politicians. They were dangerous, untouchable, the kind of people who wouldn't hesitate to destroy anyone who got in their way.

"How do we stop them?" I asked, my voice steady despite the fear that threatened to overtake me.

"We don't stop them. Not yet," Marcus said. "What we do is find out everything we can about them, about your mother's involvement. Then, we make sure they know we're not afraid. We make them come to us."

I met his gaze, the intensity in his eyes matching the weight of his words. "And then?"

"And then," he said, a dangerous smile playing at the corner of his lips, "we take them down."

Marcus

Watching Elena in this place—so different from the confident woman I remembered—was a constant reminder of everything I had ruined. She was still the same in many ways—strong, sharp, determined—but the layers of hurt were obvious now. I could see it in her eyes every time I tried to reach her. I knew she didn't trust me, that she couldn't. Not after everything that had happened.

But what mattered now was survival. If we didn't work together, if she didn't trust me, we were both as good as dead.

I had no illusions about the danger we were in. Elena had no idea how deep her mother's involvement went. Isabel had been pulling strings for years, manipulating people, orchestrating events from the shadows. And now, Elena was a target. A pawn in a game far too dangerous for someone who had been raised in the quiet luxury of her life.

I had my own reasons for being here. For helping her. But it wasn't just about redemption anymore. It was about making sure Elena had a fighting chance. Because if I didn't help her, no one else would. And she was stronger than she thought.

I glanced over at her, watching as she absorbed the information on the screen, her brow furrowed in concentration. There was a fire inside her, one that had never truly gone out. And as much as I had once tried to control her, I couldn't deny it. She was the one thing I had never been able to control.

"Marcus," she said suddenly, her voice cutting through the tension in the room, "I want to know everything. No secrets. No lies. If we're going to do this, I need to know everything."

Her words hit me like a punch in the gut. She wasn't asking for trust. She was demanding it.

I nodded, turning toward the monitor again. "You'll know everything. But you have to understand—the people we're up against don't play by the rules. And neither can we."

Elena's gaze met mine, and for a split second, there was something in her eyes that told me she understood. She had never been the type to back down from a challenge. Not when it mattered.

I didn't want to admit it, but I knew this was it—the moment everything would change. Whether we walked away from this alive or not, one thing was certain: we weren't the same people we had been before.

Elena

I stared at the faces on the screen, the weight of everything crashing down on me all over again. These people weren't just my mother's allies. They were my enemies. And soon, they would come for me.

But I couldn't run. Not this time.

It was time to fight back.