Sienna sat in the dim glow of her apartment, Damian's words still echoing in her mind.
"We have a problem. Nathaniel Voss is digging."
She knew Voss's reputation—ruthless, calculating, a man who saw the world as a chessboard. If he was after Damian's past, it meant only one thing: he had found a crack in the empire Damian built.
And cracks were meant to be exploited.
A sharp knock pulled her from her thoughts.
Sienna's pulse spiked as she moved to the door. She knew who it was before she even opened it.
Damian stood on the other side, dressed in all black, his face shadowed by the streetlights.
"We need to talk," he said.
Without waiting for an invitation, he stepped inside.
Sienna closed the door behind him. "You could've called."
Damian turned, his expression unreadable. "I don't trust phones right now."
The weight of that statement settled between them.
Sienna folded her arms. "How bad is it?"
Damian's jaw tightened. "Voss has people watching us."
Her stomach dropped. "Watching… us?"
His eyes darkened. "You're in this now, Sienna. He knows you're looking for answers, and that makes you a threat."
A chill ran down her spine.
"So what do we do?" she asked, forcing her voice to stay steady.
Damian exhaled, stepping closer. "We give him something to chase."
Her brow furrowed. "You want to feed him false leads?"
He nodded. "If he's hunting a ghost, let's make sure he keeps chasing shadows."
Sienna swallowed. "And if he doesn't stop?"
Damian's gaze flickered. "Then we make sure he has no reason to keep looking."
Something about the way he said it made her breath hitch. Cold. Calculated. Dangerous.
She studied him. "What aren't you telling me?"
A long silence stretched between them. Then, finally—
"He's not just after my past," Damian said quietly. "He wants to destroy everything I've built. He thinks I took something from him years ago."
Sienna's chest tightened. "Did you?"
Damian's expression was unreadable. "No. But the truth won't matter to him."
Her stomach twisted. This was bigger than she had realized. She wasn't just chasing a story anymore—she was caught in a war.
And the man standing in front of her…
He wasn't just a billionaire hiding secrets. He was a man fighting to keep his world from burning down.
A Moment of Weakness
Sienna should have told him to leave.
She should have reminded herself that Damian Blackwood was a story, nothing more.
But when she looked at him now—tired, on edge, barely holding it all together—something inside her shifted.
"Damian," she said softly. "Are you okay?"
His head tilted slightly, as if he wasn't expecting the question.
For a moment, the mask slipped.
"I don't know," he admitted.
The words sent a shock through her. She had never heard him sound vulnerable.
Before she could stop herself, she reached out, placing her hand lightly on his forearm.
Damian went still.
The tension between them shifted—became something else.
Sienna's breath caught as he slowly turned his hand, his fingers grazing against hers. A quiet touch. A silent question.
Her pulse raced. This was a mistake. It had to be.
But when she met his gaze, she saw it—the same war raging inside him.
And this time, neither of them moved away.