The courthouse smelled like stale coffee and despair.
I sat on the edge of the hard bench, clutching my bag like it was a lifeline. My eyes stayed glued to the front where Luke—my little brother—stood in an orange jumpsuit, wrists shackled, looking like he hadn't slept in days.
The judge's voice was ice.
"Bail denied."
The gavel came down, and with it, something in me cracked.
"No—" My protest was drowned in the shuffle of movement, guards pulling Luke to his feet.
His gaze found mine for a heartbeat. I saw it—the fear, the exhaustion, the silent please don't give up on me.
I wouldn't. I couldn't.
"Elena."
My name was a low, deep rumble behind me. A voice I hadn't heard in almost ten years, but one my body recognized instantly. My blood turned to ice.
I turned, slowly.
Damien Black stood there, leaning against the wooden railing like he owned the room. A perfectly tailored black suit clung to his broad shoulders. Dark hair slicked back. Cold, steel-gray eyes locked on me.
He didn't smile. Didn't nod. Just stared.
"What are you doing here?" My voice came out sharper than I intended.
He pushed off the railing, walking toward me. Unhurried. Measured. Like a predator who already knew the outcome of the hunt. "I came to watch."
"Watch?" I bit out. "That was my brother's life they were deciding in there."
"Exactly." His eyes didn't soften. "And now, I'm the only one who can save him.
I actually laughed—short and humorless. "You? Why would you—"
"Marry me."
My heart skipped. "What?"
"Marry me, Elena." He didn't blink. "Say yes, and Luke will be home tonight."
I stared at him, sure I'd misheard. "You're insane."
"No." He stepped closer, so close I could smell his expensive cologne—clean, sharp, intoxicating. "I'm a man who always gets what he wants. And right now, I want you."
I swallowed hard. "Why? Because you think I'm still that stupid seventeen-year-old who—"
"No." His voice dropped, dark as a storm. "Because it's time your family paid for what they did to mine."
The air between us thickened. I didn't need him to explain. I knew the history—how my parents had betrayed his family, stolen their company, destroyed their name. How his mother had taken her own life. How his father had drowned himself in alcohol and pills until it killed him.
All while my parents thrived.
"You want revenge," I whispered.
"I want justice," he corrected, his lips curling into something dangerous. "And you're going to give it to me."
My voice trembled. "And if I say no?"
His gaze hardened into something lethal. "Then your brother rots in prison. And we both know… he won't last long in there."
The floor seemed to drop out from under me.
This wasn't a proposal—it was blackmail.
Damien leaned in, his mouth a breath from my ear. "You have twenty-four hours. But let's be honest, Elena…" His voice turned almost gentle, and somehow that was worse. "…we both know what your answer will be."
He pulled back, those cold eyes sweeping over my face one last time before he turned and walked away.
I stood frozen in the aisle, watching him leave, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.
Ten years had passed since I'd last seen Damien Black. I'd thought I'd buried him in the past along with the memories of first love and shattered promises.
But now he was back. And he wasn't the boy I remembered.
He was a man with a vendetta.
And some how he had just made me his target.
She's left standing in the courthouse, torn between my hatred for him and the knowledge that he's my brother's only hope.