The silence in the penthouse wasn't peaceful—it was the kind that pressed against the ribs, making breathing feel like a conscious act. Kai stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, one hand buried deep in the pocket of his black slacks, the other clutching a crystal glass that still dripped with the remnants of whiskey. His reflection stared back at him in the glass, sharp, almost predatory, but his mind was far from still.
He'd been replaying the events of last night on a loop.
The betrayal.
The taste of blood—someone else's—still lingering faintly in his mouth.
And her.
No matter how deeply he buried himself in revenge, Ava's presence crawled beneath his skin like a living ember. She wasn't in this room right now, but her absence was louder than her voice could ever be. He hated that. Hated that she could make him feel something beyond the sharp edge of vengeance.
Footsteps echoed from the marble hallway. Low, slow, deliberate. Not hers.
The door slid open, revealing Damon, dressed in his usual dark tailored suit. His hair was perfectly styled, but his eyes were rimmed red from lack of sleep. He closed the door behind him and let the sound click shut like the end of a loaded chamber.
"They know," Damon said without preamble.
Kai didn't turn to face him, but his grip on the glass tightened. "Who?"
"The Board. The leak wasn't contained." Damon stepped forward, his polished shoes barely making a sound on the imported marble. "They're moving faster than we thought. The vote could be as early as next week."
Kai finally turned, his face carved into something unreadable. "Then next week is too late. We'll move tonight."
Damon's brows furrowed. "You're serious."
"When am I not?"
"But Ava—" Damon began, but the glare Kai shot him was sharp enough to cut steel.
"Leave her out of this," Kai said coldly. "She's… not part of the boardroom war."
That was a lie, and they both knew it. Ava had already been dragged into the undertow the moment she crossed paths with Kai. Every move she made, every breath she took in his presence, pulled her deeper.
---
Across the city, Ava wasn't sleeping either. She sat on the edge of her bed, legs tucked beneath her, scrolling through encrypted messages on her phone. Every single one was a warning.
Stay away from him.
He'll destroy you.
You can't save him.
But Ava wasn't naïve enough to believe that salvation was her job—or that Kai was a man who wanted saving. Still, there was something in the way he looked at her that made her think he was fighting something far worse than his enemies. Something inside himself.
Her phone buzzed again. This time, the sender wasn't one of her anonymous informants—it was him.
One hour. Your choice.
There was no location, no explanation. Just the command.
---
When Ava arrived at the location, she was greeted by shadows and the faint metallic scent of rain-soaked asphalt. It was an underground car park, the kind that was half-abandoned, with paint peeling off the walls and water dripping from rusted pipes. Kai stood in the center, his coat draped over his shoulders like a cloak, his eyes glinting with the low light.
"You came," he said, his voice carrying the kind of quiet authority that made her spine straighten without realizing.
"You didn't give me much of a choice," she replied, trying to keep her tone neutral.
"You always have a choice," Kai said, stepping closer, his footsteps echoing. "But tonight, I'm asking for more than your presence. I need your silence."
That sent a ripple of unease through her. "Silence about what?"
"What you're about to see."
---
The roar of an approaching engine cut through the air. A black SUV pulled in, headlights flashing before switching off. The doors opened, and three men stepped out—board members, Ava realized. Their expensive suits looked out of place in the damp, grimy setting. One of them was Elias Trent, a man she recognized from the gala. The kind of man who smiled in public but kept knives hidden behind his back.
"Kai," Elias greeted with a mocking smile. "You could have just sent a calendar invite."
"Why waste time with polite lies?" Kai said evenly.
The exchange was brief, but Ava felt the temperature shift in the air. Words were exchanged, threats veiled behind corporate language, until Kai finally moved with lethal precision. One moment his hands were empty—the next, a gun gleamed under the flickering light.
The shot was deafening.
Elias crumpled without a word, the other two men frozen in shock.
Ava's breath caught, but she didn't scream. Something inside her had already accepted that Kai was a man who didn't bluff. The other two board members tried to retreat, but Damon appeared from the shadows, blocking their escape.
"This wasn't part of the vote," one of them stammered.
"It is now," Kai replied.
The next moments blurred—quick, brutal, efficient. When it was over, the air was thick with the metallic tang of blood and the sound of Kai's breathing. He turned to Ava, his expression unreadable.
"Now you understand why I asked for your silence."
Ava's pulse was racing, but she met his gaze without flinching. "And what if I don't stay silent?"
Kai stepped closer, until the space between them was a razor-thin line. "Then you'll force me to choose between destroying you… or keeping you."
Her heart thudded painfully in her chest, but she didn't step back. "You wouldn't."
"You're right," he murmured, his voice low and dangerous. "I might not. But you wouldn't like the alternative either."
---
Later that night, as Ava walked out of the car park with the image of the three bodies burned into her mind, she knew something fundamental had shifted. This wasn't just business. This was war—and she was already marked as someone worth watching.
Kai, meanwhile, watched her leave from the shadows, the faintest flicker of something dangerous—maybe even possessive—glinting in his eyes.
The game had turned blood red, and there was no going back.