Chapter One

London, England

Leila Carter gripped the strap of her bag so tight her fingers ached.

The elevator hummed softly as it carried her to the top floor of Beaumont Tower, but the sound did nothing to calm the storm inside her chest.

She shouldn't be here.

Scratch that—she didn't want to be here.

But when your editor calls you into his office at eight in the morning, throws a legal notice on your desk, and says, "Cassius Beaumont wants to see you. Fix this, or you're finished," you don't argue.

You go.

The article she had written—an exposé on London's untouchable elite—was meant to be her breakthrough. She hadn't even directly named Cassius Beaumont, just hinted at his business empire's ruthless tactics.

But apparently, Cassius didn't do hints. He did pay back.

The elevator doors slid open with a quiet chime. The reception area was like something out of a billionaire's fever dream—black marble floors, steel accents, a panoramic view of the London skyline. The kind of place that screamed, You don't belong here.

A woman in a sharp grey suit barely glanced up from her desk. "Mr. Beaumont is expecting you."

Leila forced her feet to move.

Her stomach twisted as she stepped into the lion's den.

Cassius Beaumont sat behind a sleek black desk, perfectly poised, perfectly untouchable.

The man was ridiculously put together—navy suit tailored to perfection, dark hair tousled in a way that probably cost a fortune. But it wasn't his money or his looks that made her throat dry up.

It was his presence.

Cassius Beaumont didn't just own the room—he owned everything in it. Including, if he had his way, her fate.

For a moment, he just watched her, cool and unreadable. Then, with terrifying calm, he said:

"Miss Carter."

His voice was like a blade—smooth, sharp, and designed to cut.

He leaned back, his fingers steepled in front of him. "Tell me, are you suicidal, or just incredibly stupid?"

Leila's breath caught. "Excuse me?"

Cassius tilted his head, his icy blue eyes assessing her like she was a puzzle missing its most important pieces.

"You wrote an article that could cost me millions. A story built on whispers and half-truths." His voice was maddeningly calm. "Do you understand the concept of consequences, Miss Carter?"

Heat flared in her chest. "I wrote the truth. If that bothers you, maybe you should take a look in the mirror."

The corner of his mouth twitched, but it wasn't a smile—it was something far more dangerous.

"The truth?" he murmured. "How very noble of you."

He stood.

It wasn't a dramatic move, but somehow, it shifted everything. One second, there was a desk between them. The next, he was standing in front of her—close enough that she could smell his cologne, crisp and clean with something undeniably expensive.

"Let me make something clear." His voice was lower now, quieter. "You're playing a game you don't understand. And I don't lose."

Leila swallowed hard. "So what? You dragged me up here to intimidate me?"

Cassius exhaled a quiet laugh. "If I wanted to intimidate you, Miss Carter, you wouldn't be standing."

Her stomach twisted.

His confidence wasn't arrogance. It was a certainty.

He wasn't threatening her.

He was stating a fact.

Her mind screamed at her to walk away, to leave before she got pulled any deeper into whatever this was. But then Cassius spoke again.

"I have a proposal."

Leila blinked. "A what?"

"A deal." He tilted his head slightly. "You want to expose corruption? Fine. Do it for me. Under my terms."

Her breath hitched. "That's insane. I would never—"

"Then you'll lose everything." His voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it now, razor-sharp. "Your career, your credibility, your future. All gone."

Leila's hands trembled.

She had two choices—walk away and let him bury her, or step into Cassius Beaumont's world.

A world where he made the rules.

And breaking them?

Wasn't an option.

The Offer She Can't Refuse

Leila's pulse thundered in her ears.

The room felt too big, too cold, too dangerous.

Cassius Beaumont leaned against his desk, his suit crisp, his expression unreadable. The black folder between them felt like a loaded gun, its pages filled with words that could change her life—or destroy it.

"Take a look."

His voice was calm. Too calm.

Leila hesitated, but her fingers moved on their own, flipping the folder open.

The first thing she saw?

Her own name, printed in bold, unforgiving letters.

She scanned the document, her stomach twisting with every line.

Cassius wasn't offering her a job.

He was offering her a contract with the devil.

Work for him. No byline. No recognition.

Expose the people he wanted to be exposed to.

Bury the ones he wanted buried.

Be his weapon.

Leila swallowed hard. "You're serious."

Cassius tilted his head, his blue eyes watching her like a predator watching its prey struggle. "I don't make jokes, Miss Carter."

Her chest tightened. "And if I refuse?"

He let out a slow breath like he was almost bored with the question. Then, with terrifying certainty, he said:

"Then you'll spend the next five years trying to rebuild a career I can destroy in five seconds."

Silence.

Heavy, suffocating silence.

Leila felt the weight of his words presses into her bones.

She wanted to believe he was bluffing. That her career—her life—wasn't something he could just wipe out with a phone call.

But men like Cassius Beaumont?

They didn't bluff.

She had seen this kind of power before. The kind that didn't raise its voice. The kind that didn't need to.

Her hands trembled as she shut the folder. "This is blackmail."

Cassius smiled. It wasn't warm. "This is reality."

Her breath hitched. "You want me to do your dirty work."

His eyes darkened. "I want you to do what you're good at. Only this time, you'll be protected."

Protected.

Like she was a thing he had already claimed.

Leila's mind raced. She had two choices.

1. Walk away, and watch everything she built go up in flames.

2. Step into Cassius Beaumont's world.

A world where he made the rules.

And breaking them?

Wasn't an option.

She looked up at him. "If I do this, I have my own conditions."

Cassius raised a brow, amused. "Do you?"

Leila swallowed. "I won't destroy innocent people."

Something flickered in his eyes—something dangerous.

Then, slowly, he leaned in, his voice a whisper of steel. "Miss Carter, in my world, no one is innocent."

Her heart pounded.

She was in deep.

And there was no turning back.