Test of power

Flashback – Leila & Jaxon: The Betrayal That Started It All

The first time Leila met Jaxon Carter, she was nineteen.

She had just run away from a life she refused to accept—one where she was nothing more than a pawn in someone else's game. Back then, Jaxon had been her lifeline. He taught her how to disappear, how to survive in a world that didn't care about lost girls with no safety net.

She had trusted him.

Until the day she found out he had been feeding her information to someone else.

"It's not like that, Leila."

She remembered the way his voice had sounded that night—calm, almost indifferent. Like betraying her was nothing more than a business transaction.

"You of all people should know—nothing in this world is free."

That was the day she stopped believing in people.

And yet, years later, when she had no other choice, she had called him again.

And now, Cassius had erased him from the board.

The weight of it settled over her like a steel chain.

Had she made a mistake, trusting Cassius more than she feared him?

Or was she simply waking up to the truth?

Cassius's Penthouse – A Test of Power

Leila's fingers tightened around her phone as she stared at the message again.

Jaxon Carter is gone.

Her stomach twisted, but she forced herself to meet Cassius's gaze.

"Why?" she demanded.

Cassius leaned back against the edge of his desk, studying her. His silence stretched between them like a live wire, waiting to snap.

"He would have sold you out." His voice was calm, matter-of-fact. "And I don't share what's mine."

Leila's breath caught. "I'm not—"

"Yes, you are," he interrupted smoothly. "The moment you signed that contract, you became part of my world, Leila. And in my world, I don't let liabilities walk around unchecked."

She hated how easily he said it. Like it was just another business decision.

Like a man's life meant nothing.

She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "You can't control everything."

Cassius's lips curved, but there was no humor in his eyes. "That's where you're wrong."

Silence stretched between them.

Leila's pulse pounded against her ribs. She should have been afraid.

Instead, she felt something worse.

Fascination.

She had spent years running, fighting to keep men like him from owning her.

And yet, standing here, staring into the eyes of Cassius Beaumont, she realized something dangerous.

This wasn't just a battle for control.

It was a war she wasn't sure she wanted to win.

Cassius's POV – The Unraveling

Cassius watched her carefully.

Most people crumbled when they realized what he was capable of. They begged, they tried to negotiate, they feared him.

Leila did none of those things.

She stood there, fire burning in her eyes, anger and defiance clashing in every tense line of her body.

And that's what made her dangerous.

Because Cassius wasn't a man who allowed weaknesses.

And yet, every time she fought him, every time she pushed back instead of yielding—he felt it.

A pull.

A crack in the armor he had spent years perfecting.

He could crush her right now.

Make her see that resistance was futile.

But instead, he found himself doing something else entirely.

Testing her.

"You want control?" he murmured, stepping closer. "Take it."

Leila narrowed her eyes, wary. "What are you talking about?"

Cassius pulled out a single key and held it between them.

"This is the only access to my private records," he said. "Everything—every deal, every connection, every move I make—is in that safe."

Her gaze flickered between the key and his face, suspicion darkening her features.

"You expect me to believe you'd just hand me something like that?"

Cassius smirked. "No. I expect you to decide whether you're brave enough to take it."

A beat of silence.

Then, slowly, cautiously, Leila reached for the key.

Cassius didn't move.

Didn't stop her.

But as her fingers brushed against the cold metal, his voice dropped lower.

"You think you're playing the game, Leila," he said, watching her carefully. "But you don't realize—you're already in it."

Leila clenched the key in her fist.

Because, deep down, she knew—

She had just crossed a line she could never return from.

The Final Move – Who Holds the Power?

Hours later, Leila sat alone in her room, staring at the key in her palm.

Cassius was testing her.

That much was clear.

But was it a test of trust?

Or a test of loyalty?

Her fingers trembled slightly as she turned the key over, the weight of it pressing against her skin.

If she used it, she would have leverage.

Power.

But if Cassius was watching, waiting for her to make the wrong move—

Then she had just walked into a trap.

A shiver ran down her spine.

She had spent her entire life learning how to escape.

But for the first time, Leila wasn't sure she wanted to run.

Not from this.

Not from him.

Because power was addictive.

And she had just gotten her first taste.