Enemies in Silk

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📖 Until You Beg

Chapter Eleven – Enemies in Silk

By Peace Lovie

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Zariah arrived at the rooftop bar with a knife in her purse and fire in her chest.

Rain threatened the sky, heavy and thick, but she didn't flinch. Not even when she saw Elias already waiting—alone.

He stood when he saw her, dark-skinned and sharp-eyed, the man who'd once been her father's shadow and now lived like a ghost in Cassian's world.

She sat opposite him. No smile.

"You said I'm in danger. Start talking."

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Elias pushed a manila envelope across the table. No greetings. No drinks.

Just truth.

Inside: photos of Cassian, Luca, and three others Zariah didn't recognize. Men in suits. Men with blood on their hands.

Zariah flipped through them, heart pounding.

"What am I looking at?"

"History," Elias said. "Before your father died, there was a vote."

"A vote?"

"To eliminate someone from their circle. One of them was leaking intel to the feds. Cassian and your father were split. Luca forced the decision."

She stopped on one picture: Cassian, Luca, and her father standing outside a burning building.

"Zeke never forgave him for it," Elias said. "That was the beginning of the end."

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Zariah leaned back.

"So this is Luca's fault now?"

"No," Elias said. "It's yours."

Her eyes snapped to him.

"What?"

"You're the wildcard," Elias continued. "Cassian's falling apart. The board's nervous. Your relationship with him—it's a liability."

"You think I care what they think?"

"You should. Because they've already decided to move on him. And you."

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Silence.

Zariah felt the chill settle in her bones.

"They're coming after me?"

Elias nodded. "Not to kill you. Worse. To ruin you. Financially. Legally. Publicly. Cassian made you visible. Now they'll make you bleed."

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Zariah's fingers clenched the envelope.

"So why tell me?"

"Because I made a promise to your father," he said. "To protect you when he couldn't. And Cassian? He won't see it coming."

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Zariah stared at the city lights.

The skyline looked smaller tonight.

So did her heart.

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Back at her apartment, she spread the contents of the envelope across her floor.

Meeting records. Shell companies. Offshore accounts.

And one name kept surfacing: Luca Ventresi.

She called Cassian.

He didn't pick up.

She tried again.

Voicemail.

She didn't leave a message.

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She paced.

Anger clawed at her ribs.

Because despite everything—despite betrayal, heartbreak, lies—she still wanted to warn him.

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She finally texted:

> "We need to talk. Luca's coming for you. For me too."

No reply.

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The knock came an hour later.

Zariah opened the door without checking—half-expecting Cassian.

But it wasn't him.

It was Luca.

Smiling. Calm. Dressed in a pale silk suit.

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"Miss Zariah," he said smoothly. "We haven't had the pleasure."

Zariah stood stiff.

"How did you find me?"

"I always know where the queen is before I make a move on the king."

She stepped back.

"I'm not part of your game."

"Oh, darling," he said, stepping inside uninvited. "You are the game."

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Zariah reached for her phone subtly.

Luca noticed.

He smiled wider.

"No need to scream. I'm not here to hurt you. Just to make you understand."

"Understand what?"

He circled her like a shark in silk.

"That Cassian is not your protector. He's your prison."

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Zariah's eyes narrowed.

"You're afraid of him."

Luca's smile thinned.

"I'm afraid of what he'll do to our world if you keep softening him. He's slipping. You've made him human."

"Maybe he always was," she said coldly.

"And maybe that's the problem," Luca whispered.

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He pulled a small recorder from his coat pocket.

Pressed play.

Cassian's voice filled the room.

> "If anyone comes near her, I'll bury them. I don't care who it is. Luca. The board. Anyone."

> "I'll take them all down with me."

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Luca clicked it off.

"That was yesterday."

Zariah blinked.

"He said that… for me?"

"Darling," Luca said, now serious, "he's willing to die for you."

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Zariah's knees almost gave way.

Because part of her had believed Cassian would always put power first.

But this?

This was love in its most dangerous form.

And it meant the war had truly begun.

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Luca walked to the door.

"You have one choice left," he said. "Leave him. Or fall with him."

She didn't answer.

Not then.

Not yet.

But her silence was already a declaration.

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