Lena sat at the marble dining table, her fingers wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee, though she had barely touched it. The Blackwood estate was unnervingly quiet, as if the walls themselves were waiting for the storm Damian had warned her about.
Elias Vaughn.
The name was a whisper of menace, an echo of a past Damian had never spoken of before last night. And now, she was part of it.
She wasn't naïve. A man like Damian Blackwood didn't rise to power without making enemies. But the fact that Vaughn had resurfaced now after their marriage felt deliberate.
Which meant she needed answers.
Pushing back from the table, she set down her untouched coffee and made her way toward the study. She had spent enough time in this house to know where Damian kept his files.
If he wasn't going to tell her everything, she would find out herself.
Damian's office was as meticulous as the man himself. Dark wood shelves lined the walls, filled with books, ledgers, and neatly organized folders. She knew he kept sensitive information locked away, but she also knew he wasn't careless.
Lena ran her fingers along the rows of documents before stopping at a section labeled Blackwood Holdings Archives.
Her heart pounded as she pulled out a leather-bound folder and flipped it open.
Reports. Contracts. Financial records. And then—
A name.
Elias Vaughn – Redmont Project
Lena's breath hitched. She skimmed the pages, scanning for anything that could tell her what had happened between them.
A deal. A failed partnership. A betrayal.
And then, at the bottom of the final page, a single line sent a shiver down her spine:
Status: Declared Deceased.
Yet here he was, very much alive.
"You should know, wife—snooping has consequences."
Lena spun around, her pulse spiking. Damian stood in the doorway, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
"I wasn't snooping," she countered, straightening. "I was researching."
A hint of amusement flickered in his gaze, but it didn't reach his voice. "And what exactly were you hoping to find?"
She lifted the file. "The truth."
Damian exhaled, stepping into the room. "That truth is dangerous, Lena."
She held his gaze. "So is ignorance."
Silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken words. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, Damian took the file from her hands and tossed it onto his desk.
"If you want answers," he said, his voice low, "you should have come to me."
"I did," she shot back. "And you gave me half-truths and warnings. I need more than that, Damian. If I'm going to stand beside you in this, I need to understand why Vaughn wants to destroy you."
His jaw tightened.
Then, after a long pause, he nodded toward the leather chair across from his desk.
"Sit."
Lena did.
Damian leaned against the desk, arms braced at his sides. "Elias Vaughn and I were business partners once. We were both young, ambitious, willing to cross lines others wouldn't. But he was reckless. He didn't care who he destroyed in the process, and eventually, it caught up to him."
Lena swallowed. "And you?"
His expression darkened. "I made a choice. One that left him with nothing."
She didn't miss the way his fingers curled into his palm.
"People assumed he was dead," Damian continued. "I let them. It was easier that way." He exhaled sharply. "But Vaughn isn't the kind of man who stays buried."
Lena's mind raced. If Vaughn had lost everything because of Damian, then his return wasn't just about revenge. It was about reclaiming power.
And now, she was caught in the crossfire.
"What happens next?" she asked.
Damian met her gaze, his voice cold and unwavering.
"We don't wait for him to make the next move."