Chapter 3

I made it home in twenty minutes.

The penthouse was quiet when I entered—too quiet. I kicked off my heels and padded toward the twins' room, my chest tight with worry.

Lily was sitting up in bed, her dark curls wild, her cheeks wet with tears. The moment she saw me, she launched herself into my arms.

"Mommy," she sobbed. "The bad man was chasing me again."

I held her tight, stroking her hair. "Shh, baby. Mommy's here. No one's going to hurt you."

Leo stirred in the other bed, blinking sleepily. "Lily had the nightmare again?"

"Yes, sweetheart. Go back to sleep."

He nodded, already drifting off. My little protector, always watching over his sister.

I stayed with Lily until her breathing steadied, until her grip on my shirt loosened, until she was deep in dreamless sleep.

Then I retreated to my office and poured myself a whiskey.

My hands were shaking.

Seeing Cassian had cracked something open inside me—something I'd spent three years sealing shut. The rage. The grief. The devastating love I'd once felt for him.

I hated that I still remembered how his hands felt on my skin. How his voice sounded when he said my name—my real name.

My phone buzzed again.

Unknown number.

I answered. "Who is this?"

"Ms. Vaughn." A woman's voice. Familiar. "Or should I say... Neve?"

My blood ran cold.

"Vivian."

Her laugh was exactly as I remembered—silk and poison. "So you do remember me. Good. I was worried you'd forgotten, hiding up there in your little tower."

"What do you want?"

"What I've always wanted. Everything that's mine." A pause. "Including Cassian. But here's the thing, Neve—he's been... distracted lately. Obsessed with some mysterious tech billionaire who rejected him at a party."

My grip tightened on the phone.

"He doesn't know who you are," Vivian continued. "But I do. And I'm going to tell him. Unless—"

"Unless what?"

"Unless you give me what I want. Your company. Your reputation. Your complete and total surrender." She laughed again. "You have 48 hours to decide. After that, I tell Cassian everything. Including about those adorable twins of yours."

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it.

She knew about Leo and Lily.

She knew.