The storm hadn’t stopped overnight. By morning, the rain was a steady percussion against the windows of Reina’s apartment, the kind that made the city seem muted, as if even the skyscrapers were hiding from what lurked in the shadows.

Reina sat on the couch with a mug between her palms, though the coffee inside had long gone cold. Ezra was on the rug, building towers with his wooden blocks, humming quietly to himself. The soft sound should have soothed her. Instead, it pierced something raw in her chest.

She hadn’t been able to sleep. Not after Damian’s kiss. Not after the way her body had betrayed her, answering a memory she shouldn’t have. And not after the echo of Lucien’s voice from days before: Spy on him. Or Ezra won’t live to see five.

Her hand tightened on the mug. She shouldn’t have let herself slip last night. Not with Damian. Not with anyone. She had built three years of walls brick by brick, teaching herself to survive with no memory, to thrive with no help. And one man,one look, one scar, one kiss—had threatened to crack all of it open.

“Mommy,” Ezra’s small voice broke into her thoughts. He was holding up a crooked tower, pieces tilting dangerously. “It’s falling.”

She forced a smile. “Then let’s build it stronger this time.”

He nodded, determined, and started again. She envied that simplicity,the way he could rebuild without fear of the collapse.

Her phone buzzed on the table. She didn’t want to look. But she did.

Unknown number.

Her blood chilled.

She swiped the screen.

One message: Lobby. Now. Alone.

No name, but she didn’t need one. The dread pressing against her ribs was answer enough.

Lucien.

---

She tucked her phone away before Ezra could notice. “Sweetheart, Mommy has to step downstairs for a minute. Stay here, okay? Lock the door behind me.”

He frowned, too perceptive for his age. “Is it work?”

“Yes.” The lie slid easily, too easily. She hated herself for it. “I’ll be right back. Ten minutes.”

“Promise?”

She crouched and kissed his forehead. “Promise.”

He stared at her for a long second, then padded over to the door and waited until she’d slipped out before locking it with a click.

Reina forced her steps steady down the hall, into the elevator, through the gleaming lobby where the morning shift staff moved quietly like background shadows.

And there he was.

Lucien Stone.

Damian’s half-brother. Damian’s opposite in every way and yet, disturbingly, alike where it mattered most,the eyes, the aura of command. But where Damian’s presence was steel, Lucien’s was silk wrapped around a knife.

He leaned casually against a pillar, tailored charcoal suit immaculate despite the storm outside. A smile curved his mouth, but it never reached his eyes.

“Reina,” he greeted smoothly, like an old friend. “Or should I say… Sabrina?”

Her stomach dropped, but her expression didn’t flinch. “You’ve got the wrong woman.”

He chuckled. “I’ve seen denial before. But this?” He stepped closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear. “It’s almost convincing. Almost.”

“What do you want?” she asked flatly.

His smile widened, and suddenly he was the kind of handsome that made strangers stare too long on the street. Dangerous. Calculated. “I think you already know. But let me spell it out so we don’t waste time. Damian trusts you,or at least he wants to. That makes you valuable. To me.”

She crossed her arms, forcing herself to look bored, not afraid. “And if I refuse?”

His voice sharpened, silk giving way to steel. “Then little Ezra learns how cruel the world can be.”

Her heart slammed against her ribs. She kept her face blank, but her nails bit into her skin. “Stay away from my son.”

Lucien tilted his head, as if amused by her fire. “You think threats work on me? You think locking him in that apartment keeps him safe? I know every guard in this building, every nanny in your directory, every park you take him to. He’s… vulnerable, Reina. Unless you cooperate.”

She wanted to scream. To claw the smug expression off his face. But Ezra’s face flashed in her mind, his innocent trust, the way he had said Promise. And she knew she couldn’t afford rashness.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked through clenched teeth.

“Simple,” Lucien said, as if discussing dinner reservations. “Feed me information. Damian’s movements. His deals. His weaknesses. I want to know everything. And in exchange, Ezra lives a long, happy life.”

The world tilted. She couldn’t breathe for a moment.

Lucien leaned in, his cologne sharp, his whisper lethal. “You of all people should understand betrayal. Damian ruined you once. Why protect him now? Use that hatred. Help me destroy him.”

Her throat burned. She forced herself to meet his gaze. “And if I agree?”

“Then we’re allies. And Ezra grows up with a mother who kept him safe. Everyone wins.”

The implication was clear. Refuse, and she lost everything.

She straightened slowly, hiding the tremor in her hands. “I’ll think about it.”

“No.” His smile was sharp as broken glass. “You’ll do it. Or tomorrow morning, that boy’s laughter will be the last sound you hear.”

Her blood turned to ice.

Lucien touched her chin lightly, mockingly, before stepping back. “I’ll be in touch. Don’t disappoint me, Reina.”

Then he was gone, melting into the lobby crowd as if he’d never been there.

---

Reina stood frozen until her lungs screamed for air. Only when the elevator doors slid open again did she move, forcing herself inside, forcing her breaths to slow.

Ezra. She had to get back to Ezra.

The door clicked open at her apartment, and relief nearly dropped her to her knees when she found him still on the rug, stacking blocks, safe.

“Mommy!” he chirped. “It fell again.”

Her throat tightened painfully. She scooped him up, hugging him so hard he squirmed.

“You’re squishing me,” he giggled.

She kissed his hair, breathing him in. I won’t let him touch you. I won’t let either of them take you away.

But how?

If she defied Lucien, Ezra was in danger. If she obeyed, she risked betraying Damian—betraying herself.

And the worst part?

A small, traitorous part of her believed Lucien’s words. Damian ruined you once. Why protect him now?

She rocked Ezra gently, her eyes burning. “Mommy’s here,” she whispered. “And I’ll always keep you safe.”

Even if it meant selling pieces of her soul to the devil who shared Damian’s blood.

---

That night, when Ezra was asleep, Reina sat by the window, rain still streaking the glass. Her wrist throbbed faintly where the scar lay, as if reminding her of Damian’s kiss, his voice, his plea.

Say you’re not her, and I’ll walk away.

She hadn’t said it. Couldn’t.

And now Lucien held her silence as a weapon.

She had a choice to make.

Not between Damian and revenge.

But between Ezra’s safety and her own heart.

And for the first time, Reina wasn’t sure which was more dangerous.