The message burned like acid in her palm.
"If Kian finds out the rest, he won't be asking for your forgiveness next time."
Talia stood in Kian's bathroom, barely dressed, the imprint of his hands still hot on her skin. But her blood had gone cold. She read the message again, fingers trembling.
He can't find out.
Not yet. Not like this.
She deleted the message and tossed her phone onto the counter.
From the other room, Kian's voice drifted in warm, low, safe. He was humming. Humming. She hadn't heard him do that in years.
She closed her eyes.
Don't ruin this.
She splashed cold water on her face, straightened her blouse, and rebuttoned every lie into place. When she stepped out, he was standing by the window, shirtless, a cup of coffee in his hand and the New York skyline glowing behind him like gold and ash.
"You okay?" he asked, without turning.
"Yeah," she lied. "Just needed a minute."
He turned to her then the softness in his eyes was a knife.
She didn't deserve it.
And if he knew—
He walked over, reached for her, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You don't have to be strong all the time, you know." She nodded, even though it was the only thing she knew how to be.
"I have to meet with the board in thirty," he said. "But tonight…" He brushed his knuckles down her cheek. "Come back here. No games. No collars. Just us."
Her heart ached.
"Okay."
He kissed her once, slow and warm, then left leaving her alone with her guilt and the weight of the secret she swore she'd never tell.
TWO YEARS AGO
Chicago Winter.
Talia had just stepped out of the courthouse, her breath fogging the frozen air. Luca waited in the black car, engine running, window cracked.
"It's done," she said, sliding in beside him. He didn't look at her. Just handed her the manila envelope. She stared down at it. "It's real?"
Luca nodded once. "The contract. The deed. The blood test. The NDA. All airtight. Your name's not on anything."
She opened it anyway. Inside was the confirmation.
A trust fund. A sealed birth certificate. A clinic report. All tied to one secret. One life. She touched her stomach instinctively.
"Are you sure about this?" Luca asked.
"No one can ever know," she said, voice flat. "Especially not Kian."
PRESENT DAY
Talia sat frozen on the edge of Kian's bed, the silence pressing in. She couldn't stay in this penthouse. Not now. Not while her body still sang from his touch and her past curled like poison beneath her ribs. She needed air. She grabbed her things and left. Outside, the sky was turning a sickly shade of dusk. She walked fast with no direction. Just away. Her phone buzzed again and it was another blocked number.
"He won't forgive you if he learns about the child. Just like your father didn't."
Talia stopped mid-stride, heart slamming against her chest.
Her fingers hovered over the screen. She typed back: Who is this?
No reply.
Just silence.
She looked around suddenly aware of how alone she was or not alone enough.
That night, she didn't go back to the penthouse. She went to the only place no one would look for her the abandoned Voss family estate on the outskirts of the city.
The place where her father made the deal. Where she signed Kian's downfall into being. Where everything died. The power was long gone. The gates rusted. But she still had a key.
Inside, the house smelled of dust and ghosts. She wandered through the remains of her childhood, past broken photo frames and shattered crystal until she found the room, the one with the safe hidden in the wall behind the bookshelf. She opened it with shaking hands.
Inside: one old flash drive, and a tiny photograph in a sealed envelope.
A little girl. Curly dark hair. Eyes that could burn the world.
Her daughter.
Kian's daughter.
She hadn't seen her in eighteen months and it was the only way to protect her to keep her hidden from both her family's enemies and Kian's.
If he ever knew…
Would he hate me again? Or worse try to take her? She said to herself.
Behind her, the floor creaked. She whirled around but no one was there. Then a soft voice echoed through the darkness:
"You should've buried that secret deeper."
Talia spun and heart pounding.
"Who's there?"
Footsteps. A shadow. A man just beyond the doorway.
She recognized the voice and the smirk.
Luca.
He stepped into the light. "Still keeping secrets, Talia?" he asked, voice calm, cruel.
"I told you never to come here."
He held up his hands. "Just checking in. You've been… sloppy."
"I deleted the message."
"Not fast enough. You're being watched."
She clenched her jaw. "Why are you really here?"
He stared at her for a long beat.
"Because Kian's enemies are watching him again. And this time, they won't go through his father or his money."
He stepped closer.
"They'll come for what they don't know he has." His eyes dropped to the photo in her hand.
Talia's stomach dropped.
"No," she breathed. "No one knows about her."
"They will."