Diana's fingers tightened around the police report until the edges cut into her palms.
The ink blurred under her grip, but the headline screamed in her mind.
Teen Heir Questioned in Brother's Disappearance.
Cassie stood to the side like a viper coiled and ready to strike, eyes flicking between them as if feeding off the tension.
Damien's boots made almost no sound on the greenhouse floor as he closed the distance.
Step by deliberate step.
The heat in the air thickened with his presence, but it wasn't the greenhouse making her sweat.
"Put. The papers. Down."
Each word was slow, lethal.
Diana's pulse roared in her ears. "Is it true?"
A muscle jumped in his jaw.
"That depends," he said. "Do you trust me enough to hear the answer?"
Her voice was steady even though her knees felt weak. "I'm not sure I trust you at all."
His eyes darkened. "Good. Then you might survive me."
Cassie let out a sharp laugh. "Oh, please. Enough with the riddles, Damien. Tell her the truth. Tell her how Rhys begged before—"
"Shut your mouth."
Damien didn't raise his voice, but the air seemed to drop ten degrees.
Cassie tilted her head, mocking. "Or what? You'll do to me what you did to him?"
Diana's breath hitched. She stepped forward. "What did happen to him?"
Damien looked at her for a long, dangerous moment… then reached out.
Not to hurt her.
Not yet.
But to take the papers from her hands.
She didn't let go.
Something passed between them then—like a blade drawn between two stubborn hands.
A silent dare.
Finally, he ripped the folder from her grip and tossed it onto a nearby bench.
His movements were sharp, controlled, but his eyes… his eyes were anything but calm.
"You want the truth?" he asked.
"Yes."
"You think you can handle it?"
"Try me."
For a second, she thought he would walk away.
Instead, he took another step toward her until her back met the glass wall.
"My brother," he said quietly, "was the only person I loved. And the only person who could destroy me. One night, he tried. One night, he chose something—someone—over me. And that choice… ended him."
Diana's stomach twisted. "Ended him how?"
Damien's eyes didn't waver. "Enough questions."
"That's not an answer."
His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "Some truths don't keep you warm at night, Diana. They bury you."
Cassie's lips curled. "See? He can't even say it."
Damien's head snapped toward her. "Leave. Now."
Cassie hesitated—just long enough to let the triumph flash in her eyes—before slipping past him and out into the night.
The door clicked shut behind her, but the tension didn't ease.
---
"You shouldn't have come here alone," Damien said finally, his gaze returning to Diana.
"You shouldn't have secrets this big," she shot back.
He stepped closer again, the glass behind her cool against her spine. "You think you've caught me in a lie. But all you've done is put yourself in a place you can't get out of."
"Is that a threat?"
"No," he said, his voice dangerously soft. "It's a promise. You keep digging, Diana, and one day, you'll find yourself on the wrong side of me."
Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely breathe. "Maybe I already am."
For a long moment, he just stared at her.
And then—unexpectedly—he laughed.
Low. Bitter. Almost self-mocking.
"You're braver than I thought," he said.
"Or stupider?"
"Both," he admitted. "Which is exactly why I can't let you go."
His hand came up, fingers brushing her jaw, tilting her face toward him.
She wanted to pull back.
She didn't.
"You should hate me," he said.
"Maybe I do."
"Then stop looking at me like you want to save me."
Her throat tightened. "Because maybe I do that too."
Something raw flashed in his eyes before he leaned in—so close she could feel the heat of his breath—then pulled back at the last second.
"Go back to your room," he said. "Before I change my mind about letting you walk out of here."
She forced herself to step past him, refusing to let him see how much her hands shook.
But as she reached the door, his voice followed her—quiet, dangerous, impossible to ignore.
"Diana… if you ever meet Rhys, don't believe a word he says."