Ethan’s POV

Adrian closes the door behind us, but I can still feel Maya’s eyes on my back — terrified, curious, trusting me when she absolutely shouldn’t.

The moment the latch clicks, Adrian speaks in a low, urgent tone:

“It’s your father.”

Every muscle in my body tightens. “What about him?”

“He knows,” Adrian says. “About Maya.”

I knew this moment would come — I just didn’t expect it so soon.

“What does he want?” I already know the answer. Men like my father are predictable: power first, loyalty second, and everything else buried under the foundations of the empire.

Adrian hesitates — which is alarming. “He wants her gone.”

My jaw clenches hard enough that something in it pops. “Define gone.”

“You know how he eliminates liabilities, Ethan.”

The world tilts. My pulse turns into something violent — not fear. Rage.

“He sent a message,” Adrian adds, pulling a folded piece of black stationery from his jacket.

My father’s signature.

Black and silver — the colors of the Blackwood crest.

His decree isn’t a threat.

It’s a sentence.

I unfold the note.

Cut loose the liability.

Or I will.

My vision goes dark around the edges.

He’s done it before.

Hundreds of times.

A whisper, and someone vanishes.

Not this time.

“She is under my protection.” My voice is low, lethal. “No one touches her.”

“Ethan…” Adrian looks pained. “Your father is testing how far your loyalties bend. The syndicate is watching. If you choose her…”

“I already have.”

The admission leaves my chest like a war cry.

Adrian swears under his breath. “We need a plan. A real one — not just locking her in a penthouse and hoping the world forgets she exists.”

“I’m working on it.”

A lie.

All I have is instinct and obsession — and both demand the same thing:

Keep her close.

Keep her mine.

Let the city burn if needed.

There’s a knock.

Not timid.

Not scared.

Controlled.

The elevator unlocks. It only does that for someone with a master override.

My father steps out — Alistair Blackwood — the king of New York’s underworld. Perfect suit. Perfect posture. A man carved from dominance and history.

His eyes — icy steel — sweep the room until they find me.

“You left a mess in the south warehouse,” he says casually. “Sloppy.”

Adrian bows his head slightly. I don’t move.

Alistair’s gaze sharpens with displeasure. “You’ve changed. Getting sentimental over a woman will do that.”

“She’s not—”

He raises a hand, silencing me like I’m still ten years old. “I don’t care what she is to you. What I care about is this family. This empire.”

He steps closer, invading my space with the ease of someone who believes the world exists beneath his boot heel.

“You are a Blackwood,” he says. “You don’t fall in love—”

“I didn’t say I did.”

“But you will.”

He says it like a curse.

Like a prophecy he hates.

Alistair circles slowly, inspecting me like a weapon he forged but now notices defects in.

“If you let her become your weakness,” he warns, “your enemies will harvest her bones and make you watch.”

My heart goes ice cold.

“And then,” he finishes, “I’ll bury you beside her.”

I step into his path — inches apart. “Touch her, and I swear—”

“You’ll what?” He laughs softly. “Defy me? Break the laws of our world? Risk everything for some… nobody waitress?”

A growl twists from my throat. My father’s hand moves faster than logic — gripping my chin, dragging my eyes to his.

“Learn this now,” he hisses.

“Love is a liability.”

“And liabilities get removed.”

I rip his hand away, fury slamming through my bloodstream. “I won’t let that happen.”

“You already have,” he counters darkly. “Your enemies smelled the weakness on you the moment you brought her here.”

“We can protect her,” I snap.

He actually looks amused. “We? There is no we in this. If she breathes — it’s because I allow it. If she dies — it’s because you failed.”

His voice drops into death:

“You have until the end of the week to choose.

Her life… or your crown.”

He turns to leave — but pauses at the door.

“And son…”

Mocking affection slips into his tone.

“When you decide, do it cleanly. A bullet to the head is kinder than what the Colombos will do.”

The door shuts behind him like a guillotine.

Silence suffocates the room.

Adrian blows out a shaky breath. “We need to move her somewhere he can’t find her.”

“He’ll always find her.”

Because Alistair Blackwood doesn’t lose.

Not games.

Not empires.

Not sons.

But he’s about to learn what I’m willing to lose.

I walk to the window, staring at the city — the kingdom I’m destined to rule.

“I’m doing this differently,” I say.

Adrian shifts. “Differently how?”

“I’m not giving her up.”

The vow feels like flames in my throat.

“And I’m not giving up my birthright.”

Adrian blinks. “Ethan… that’s not possible.”

“It will be,” I answer, voice like a blade.

“I’m going to break the rules.”

I take out my gun — place it on the table — a symbol of the life I’ve lived.

Then I place my phone beside it — showing Maya’s picture glowing on the screen.

Her smile.

Her hope.

“This…”

I touch the phone.

“…is my future.”

I reach for the gun again.

“And anyone who threatens her — family or foe — dies.”

Adrian nods slowly. “Then we’re starting a war.”

“No,” I say.

“We’re winning one.”

I grab my jacket and head toward the bedroom where she is. My sanctuary. My destruction. My reason.

Before I open the door, I inhale once — a broken attempt to compose myself.

Because after tonight…

There is no turning back.

Inside, she looks up — eyes soft but filled with worry.

“Ethan? Are you okay?”

I cross the room in three strides and pull her into me — tight enough that she gasps.

“No,” I breathe into her hair.

“But I will be.”

Her fingers curl against my chest — right over the heartbeat that only she commands now.

“You’re safe,” I tell her.

The promise tastes like blood and devotion.

“You’re mine.”

And if I have to burn my father off the throne…

So be it.