Elena pov
"You sound defeated."
"I sound realistic." He stood up, his movements precise and controlled.
We stared at each other for a moment. Then I made a decision.
"We need to be honest with each other," I said. If we're going to survive this, we need to trust each other.
"Trust." Damien laughed bitterly. "I'm the man who kidnapped you. Why would you trust me?"
My mother's in hiding. You're all I have." I moved closer. "And whether you like it or not, I'm all you have too."
"We find more evidence. We dig deeper"
"My frustration boiled over. "I'm not going to just give up and let him win!"
"Neither am I." Damien's voice was hard. "But I'm also not going to pretend we have power we don't have. Brighton owns me. Legally. Financially. Completely. And the moment I step out of line, he'll destroy me."
"So you're just going to obey him? Betray me?"
