The penthouse felt smaller every day.
I was in the kitchen helping Noah with his drawing when my phone rang — the one Damien had “generously” replaced with a new model that he could probably track to the second. Sophia’s name flashed on the screen.
My stomach dropped before I even answered.
“Elena?” My sister’s voice was shaky, barely above a whisper. “I think I’m in trouble. There’s… something wrong at Voss Tech. I found files I wasn’t supposed to see. About the merger. Someone’s been leaking information and they think it’s me.”
I gripped the counter, heart hammering. Sophia was only twenty-four, brilliant but naive, working in the data analysis department because I’d stupidly encouraged her to apply when the job posting came up. Before I was dragged back into Damien’s world.
“Stay calm,” I whispered, glancing toward the hallway where Damien was working in his study. “I’ll handle it.”
But I couldn’t. Not from inside this golden cage.
Twenty minutes later, Damien walked into the living room like he already knew. Of course he did.
“Sophia,” he said flatly, reading the panic on my face. “She’s been flagged in security. Corporate espionage accusations. Internal team is handling it.”
“Handling it?” I stepped closer, voice rising. “She’s my sister, Damien. She’s innocent. You know what your company does to people they suspect.”
His eyes met mine, cold and calculating. “Then she shouldn’t have been digging where she doesn’t belong.”
Noah looked up from his drawing, sensing the tension. I forced a smile and sent him to his room with a snack before turning back to Damien.
“Please,” I said, hating the way the word tasted. “She’s all I have left besides Noah. Help her.”
A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. He closed the distance between us, backing me against the kitchen island. His fingers tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“I will,” he murmured. “But everything has a price, little ghost.”
—
Two hours later, the trap snapped shut.
Damien made calls. Quiet, ruthless ones. Within the hour, Sophia was escorted safely out of the Voss Tech building by his personal security team. No arrest. No scandal. Just “resolved internally.”
She arrived at the penthouse pale and shaken, still in her work clothes. I pulled her into a tight hug the second she stepped off the elevator.
“I didn’t do anything, El,” she whispered against my shoulder. “I swear. I just saw some encrypted files about offshore accounts and—”
“Shh.” I cut her off, aware of Damien watching us from across the room like a shadow. “You’re safe now.”
Damien approached slowly, hands in his pockets, the picture of controlled power. “Sophia. Welcome. You’ll stay here for the time being. Safer that way.”
My sister glanced between us, eyes widening. “Here? With… you two?”
“It’s not optional,” Damien said smoothly. “The people involved in the leak won’t stop just because I pulled you out. They’ll come looking. My roof means my protection.”
Sophia looked at me for confirmation. I nodded, even as dread coiled tighter in my chest. Another person pulled into his web. Another chain.
Later that night, after Sophia was settled in a guest room and Noah was asleep, Damien found me on the terrace. The city stretched below us, cold and glittering.
“You used her,” I accused, wrapping my arms around myself against the night chill. “You could’ve helped without moving her here. Without turning this into another way to control me.”
He stepped behind me, his chest brushing my back. His hands settled on the railing on either side of me, caging me without touch. That Eclipse scent wrapped around me like smoke.
“I saved her,” he corrected, voice low and intimate against my ear. “And now you owe me. Again. Sophia stays here. Under my watch. Just like you. Just like Noah. No more secrets. No more running.”
I turned in the small space he allowed, chest brushing his. “This isn’t protection. This is ownership.”
His hand came up, fingers threading through my hair, tugging just enough to tilt my head back. “Call it whatever helps you sleep at night, Elena. But understand this — every time you fight me, every time you try to pull away, someone you love gets pulled deeper. First Noah. Now Sophia. Who’s next?”
The threat hung between us, velvet-wrapped steel.
I wanted to slap him. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to scream.
Instead, I whispered, “I hate you.”
His lips brushed mine — not quite a kiss, just enough to remind me how easily he could take everything. “Good. Hate keeps you honest.”
He stepped back, leaving me breathless against the railing.
“Get some rest,” he said as he walked away. “Tomorrow we attend the merger gala together. All of us. One big, happy family.”
The terrace door clicked shut behind him.
I stared out at the city, fists clenched.
He hadn’t just saved Sophia.
He’d used her to build higher walls around my cage.
And the worst part was… I was starting to wonder how long I could keep pretending I wanted to escape.
—
To be Continued……