Kade's POV
"It's a trap," Marcus said, staring at the photo of our kidnapped parents on my phone. "Obviously. Damien's people want revenge, and they're using your father and Serena as bait."
"I know it's a trap." I paced Aria's hospital room like a caged animal. "But that doesn't change anything. We're going."
"We?" Aria tried to sit up in her hospital bed, wincing with pain. "You mean you're going. I'm staying here."
I turned to face her. "Read the message again. They want you, Isabella. If I show up without you, they'll kill our parents immediately."
"So we call the police. The FBI. Those agents were just here—"
"And give them time to execute Victor and Serena the second they see cop cars?" I shook my head. "No. We do this my way."
"Your way almost got us killed last time," Aria shot back, fire in her eyes despite her injuries. "Damien had you completely fooled with that fake evidence. How do we know this isn't another setup?"
She was right, and I hated it. I'd spent months thinking I was outsmarting Damien, when really he'd been playing me like a puppet. The humiliation burned.
"Because this time, I'm not playing detective," I said quietly. "I'm going in with one goal: get our parents out alive. Everything else is secondary."
"Including staying alive yourself?" Aria's voice cracked. "Kade, you just killed a man. You're covered in bruises. You need to think clearly—"
"I am thinking clearly." I moved to her bedside. "My father is all I have left. He might be emotionally distant, he might not understand me, but he's my dad. I'm not losing him."
Aria's expression softened. She understood. She'd already lost her father. She knew what I was fighting to prevent.
"Okay," she said finally. "Then we go together. Both of us."
"No—"
"You just said they want me. If you show up alone, they'll assume it's a trick. But if I'm there, willingly..." She paused. "They might actually let our parents go."
Marcus cleared his throat. "I hate to agree with the girl who just got a concussion, but she has a point. They want Isabella. Give them what they want."
"So we can both get killed?" I snapped. "Great plan."
"Better than you going in alone and getting killed anyway," Aria retorted. "At least together we have a chance."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to lock her in this hospital room and go handle this myself. But she was right. They wanted her. And I needed leverage.
"Fine," I said through clenched teeth. "But we do this smart. Marcus, I need your team ready as backup. They stay far enough away that they won't be spotted, but close enough to move in fast."
"Already on it." Marcus was typing on his phone. "I'm also calling in a favor from my friend at the NYPD. Off-the-books, but reliable."
"Good." I checked the time. One hour and forty-three minutes until the deadline. "Aria, you need to get discharged now."
"She can't leave," a nurse said, appearing in the doorway. "The doctor hasn't cleared her yet. She has a serious concussion—"
"I'm leaving," Aria interrupted, already pulling out her IV. "Against medical advice, whatever. I'll sign the papers."
The nurse looked horrified. "You could have brain swelling, internal bleeding—"
"Then I'll die saving my mother instead of lying here useless." Aria swung her legs off the bed and immediately swayed. I caught her before she fell.
"Easy," I murmured, steadying her. Her body was warm against mine, and for a second, I forgot about everything except how perfectly she fit in my arms.
"I'm fine," she lied. She wasn't fine. She was barely standing.
But I understood stubborn. I'd invented stubborn.
"Get her discharged," I told the nurse. "Now."
Twenty minutes later, we were in Marcus's SUV, speeding toward the address from the email. Some abandoned factory in Queens. Of course it was abandoned. Bad guys always picked abandoned buildings.
"Here's the plan," I said, checking my weapons. Two guns, three knives, and a backup pistol strapped to my ankle. "We go in, confirm our parents are alive and unharmed. We negotiate their release. Once they're safe, Marcus's team moves in and we take down everyone in that building."
"And if they refuse to release them?" Aria asked quietly.
"Then things get messy."
She was silent for a moment. Then: "Kade, if something goes wrong... if we don't make it out..."
"Don't." I couldn't hear her say goodbye. "We're both walking out of there with our parents. That's the only acceptable outcome."
"But if we don't—"
"We will." I grabbed her hand, squeezing hard. "I didn't pull you out of that warehouse just to lose you now. You're stuck with me, Sinclair. Deal with it."
She almost smiled. "Moretti. My name is Isabella Moretti."
"I know. But I like Aria better. It suits you." I kept holding her hand, knowing I should let go but unable to. "The girl on the balcony. The one who ran from me. That was Aria, not Isabella."
"And you like the girl who ran?"
"I like the girl who's brave enough to walk into danger to save someone she loves, even after that person rejected her." My thumb traced circles on her palm. "Your mom will come around. When she's had time to process everything, she'll understand why you lied."
"Maybe." Aria didn't sound convinced. "Or maybe I've lost her forever."
"Then you'll have me."
The words came out before I could stop them. Too honest. Too revealing.
Aria's eyes widened. "Kade—"
"We're here," Marcus announced, pulling up to a chain-link fence. Beyond it, a massive brick factory loomed against the night sky. Every window was dark.
My phone buzzed. New message from the same unknown number.
Come to the main entrance. Both of you. Hands where we can see them. Any tricks and your parents die screaming.
"Cheerful," Marcus muttered.
I checked my weapons one last time, then looked at Aria. "Last chance to stay in the car."
"Not happening." She opened her door and stepped out, wavering slightly but staying upright.
We walked toward the factory entrance, hands raised. The door was already open, a rectangle of darkness waiting to swallow us.
"Remember," I whispered to Aria. "Whatever happens in there, stay close to me. Don't be a hero. Don't do anything stupid."
"Says the man walking into an obvious trap," she whispered back.
Fair point.
We stepped inside.
The factory was one giant open space filled with ancient machinery and shadows. Spotlights suddenly blazed to life, blinding us.
When my eyes adjusted, I saw them.
Victor and Serena, tied to chairs in the center of the room, tape over their mouths. They looked terrified but unharmed.
And surrounding them were at least twenty armed men.
"Welcome!" a voice called out. A man stepped into the light—young, maybe thirty, with a cruel smile. "I'm Diego, Damien's nephew. Thanks for accepting my invitation."
"Let them go," I said. "You have us. That's what you wanted."
"Oh, we want more than just you." Diego gestured, and two men grabbed Aria, dragging her away from me. "We want justice. My uncle is dead because of you two. So here's how this works: you're both going to die. Slowly. Painfully. While your parents watch. Then we'll kill them too, just to make sure there's no one left to testify against our organization."
"Or," I said calmly, "you could let them go and just kill us. Less witnesses to your crime. Cleaner."
Diego laughed. "Why would I make it clean? Where's the fun in that?"
He pulled out a knife and walked toward Aria.
"Wait!" I shouted. "You want me to suffer? Fine. But not like this. Give me a chance to fight for her life."
Diego paused. "What are you suggesting?"
"A deal. You and me. One-on-one. If I win, everyone walks free. If you win, you get whatever revenge you want."
"Kade, no!" Aria struggled against her captors. "Don't do this!"
Diego considered it, then smiled. "Deal. But when I win—and I will win—I'm going to make you watch while I carve her up piece by piece."
"Then you better hope you win," I said coldly.
Diego handed his gun to one of his men and cracked his knuckles. "This is going to be fun."
We circled each other. Diego was bigger than me, but I was faster. And I had something he didn't—everything to lose.
He lunged first. I dodged, landing a solid punch to his ribs. He grunted and swung back, catching me in the jaw. Stars exploded across my vision.
We traded blows. Brutal. Vicious. No rules.
I was winning. Slowly, painfully, but winning.
Then Diego pulled a second knife from his boot—a violation of his own deal—and stabbed me in the side.
Pain exploded through my body. I stumbled backward, blood soaking my shirt.
"Kade!" Aria's scream echoed through the factory.
Diego smiled and raised the knife for a killing blow.
A gunshot rang out.
Diego collapsed, a hole in his forehead.
Everyone froze, looking around for the shooter.
Then the factory lights went out completely, plunging us into darkness.
Gunfire erupted. Shouting. Chaos.
Someone grabbed my arm in the dark. "Move!" Marcus's voice. "I've got you!"
"Aria—" I gasped, blood pouring from my side.
"We've got her! Go!"
But through the darkness and gunfire, I heard her scream.
Not fear. Pure terror.
"KADE!"