Chapter Eleven

Juniper's pulse hammered in her ears as she gripped the wooden railing, staring down at Victoria's furious, waterlogged form. The once-polished heiress flailed in the icy water, her sleek black trench coat ballooning around her like dead weight, dragging her under with every frantic movement.

"You little—" Victoria sputtered, spitting out saltwater as she struggled to keep herself afloat. Her perfectly curated mask had shattered, her elegance drowned, leaving behind only rage and desperation.

Juniper's breath came fast and shallow, her entire body trembling. She could still feel the ghost of Victoria's grip on her wrist, the sharp edge of the knife slicing too close for comfort.

A car door slammed behind her.

"Juniper!"

That voice. Deep, commanding, edged with urgency.

Her stomach flipped.

She whirled around just as Adrian stormed onto the dock, his six-foot frame cutting through the mist like something out of a nightmare or a miracle.

His suit jacket was missing, his crisp white shirt rolled at the sleeves and slightly wrinkled, like he'd been running or fighting. His tie was loosened just enough to hint at chaos beneath the surface. But it was his face that stopped her breath.

His dark, stormy eyes—eyes she knew as well as her own, locked onto her with a fire that sent heat curling through her chest.

He was here.

"Adrian," she breathed, her knees nearly buckling in relief.

Then she remembered he wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be in jail.

"How—"

"Doesn't matter." His voice was rough, strained, like he'd been holding back too much for too long. He closed the distance between them in three long strides, his hands gripping her shoulders, scanning her from head to toe. "Are you hurt?"

Juniper shook her head too quickly, still trying to piece everything together. "You're—You're supposed to be—"

"Locked up?" His lips curled into something almost like a smirk, but his eyes stayed sharp. "Yeah, about that"

A spluttering gasp cut through the moment.

"You're both dead!" Victoria shrieked, still thrashing in the water. "Do you hear me? DEAD!"

Adrian barely spared her a glance, his jaw tightening. "Someone shut her up."

Tires screeched against gravel.

Juniper turned just in time to see another car—smaller, sleeker, blacked-out windows—roll to a stop behind Adrian's SUV.

The back door swung open.

Her stomach plummeted.

"Oh no," she whispered.

A man stepped out.

He was older, probably mid-fifties, maybe dressed in an impeccable dark coat that barely rustled in the wind. His silver hair was neatly combed back, his sharp features carved from stone. But it was his eyes that made Juniper's blood run cold.

Piercing. Calculating.

Cold enough to freeze fire.

"Hello, son," he said smoothly.

Adrian went rigid beside her.

Juniper's throat dried. "Blackwood."

Nathaniel Blackwood. Adrian's father. The man Adrian had spent his entire life trying and failing to escape.

The air turned suffocating, the storm swelling behind them like a warning.

Adrian's voice was ice. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Nathaniel's lips curled into something that might've been amusement. "Cleaning up your mess."

Juniper's fingers twitched, itching to reach for her phone again. But before she could move, Nathaniel's bodyguards stepped out of the car, two men in suits, broad-shouldered and silent, their presence screaming danger without a single word.

"You're the one who put him in jail," Juniper accused, her voice shaking with barely contained fury. "You framed your own son."

Nathaniel's expression didn't flicker. "Correction I taught him a lesson."

Adrian let out a bitter laugh, stepping in front of Juniper like a shield. "And what lesson was that, Father? That I should've stayed in line? Married Victoria? Become your puppet?"

Nathaniel sighed, almost bored. "That power isn't given, it's taken. And you, my dear boy, weren't strong enough to keep it." His eyes flicked to Juniper, razor-sharp. "You let a liability weaken you."

Juniper bristled, but before she could snap back, Adrian spoke.

"Say what you really mean," he drawled. "You wanted me to be just like you. Ruthless. Heartless. But instead, I walked away."

Nathaniel's smile didn't reach his eyes. "And look where that got you."

Juniper felt Adrian tense beside her, his hands clenching into fists. The weight of everything, his father's betrayal, Victoria's schemes, the years of power struggles pressed into the space between them.

The dock creaked ominously, as if the very earth beneath them was warning them of what came next.

"What do you want?" Adrian finally asked, his voice low, dangerous.

Nathaniel's gaze flicked to the water, where Victoria had managed to grip onto the wooden post, heaving for breath.

"Finish what you started," Nathaniel said simply. "Or I will."

A chill ripped down Juniper's spine.

Adrian went eerily still. "You want me to kill her?"

Nathaniel shrugged, as if discussing stock options. "She's a loose end. A problem. And you know how we deal with problems."

Victoria let out a strangled gasp. "Nathaniel, please I did this for you!"

Nathaniel didn't even blink. "You did it for yourself, Victoria. And you failed."

The storm finally broke.

Lightning split the sky, illuminating Nathaniel's cold, expectant face.

Juniper's stomach twisted.

She turned to Adrian. "You don't have to do this."

For the first time since she'd met him, Adrian looked truly, completely lost.

"I don't know how to stop it," he murmured. "I've spent my whole life fighting him, and I still can't win."

Juniper swallowed hard. "Then let's change the game."

She reached for his hand.

And in that moment, with the storm raging around them, she knew whatever happened next, they would face it together.