Chapter 95 War in the Shadows

Chapter 95 War in the Shadows

The helipad fell into a suffocating silence once more.

Only the hundreds of candles, bent by the ocean wind, kept burning with stubborn little flames. The wreckage of our ruined date felt like a cruel joke etched into the night.

The wet tablecloth wrapped around me lifted in the wind, the cold cutting through my skin and sinking into bone. I shivered, unable to stop it.

Arthur turned, stripped off his own soaked shirt, and without hesitation scooped me up in his arms.

"Arthur..." I whispered, my arms tightening around his neck.

He didn't answer. He carried me across the chaos, each step deliberate, heading for the cabin.

His chest was hot, like a furnace in the middle of winter. I pressed my face into it, greedy for that single source of warmth.

"He's right." My voice was hoarse when I finally spoke, after he set me down on the soft carpet of the suite.

Arthur had a towel in his hands, clumsy as he tried to dry my dripping hair. His hands stilled.

I lifted my head, meeting the deep amber of his eyes in the dim light. "A war is coming."

He didn't reply. He tossed the towel aside, crouched down, and cupped my face in both hands. His thumbs brushed over my chilled cheeks.

After a long moment, his mouth curved. The smile carried no mockery now—only the madness and resolve of someone ready to stand beside me.

"No, Sophia." He lowered his head, pressing his lips to my forehead in a searing mark. "It's our war."

The tablecloth still clung to me, damp with champagne, but I no longer felt cold. Heat spread through me, setting my veins alight.

War. The word was not unfamiliar. I'd fought countless battles without smoke—at negotiation tables, in the arena of public opinion. But this time was different.

This time, the stake was life itself.

"Allen said they're going to purge the Five Families." My gaze locked on his, those eyes deep as midnight waters. "His intel is almost always right."

"I know." Arthur showed no surprise. He strode to the bar, pulled a surviving bottle of whiskey from the ice bucket, and poured two glasses.

He handed one to me. The chill of the glass bit into my palm.

"So what's your plan?" I asked bluntly. "Like Allen said, going back to Asteria City in full view is painting a target on your back."

My mind was already racing. I was Sophia—Asteria City's top crisis strategist. And right now, my client... my boyfriend... was facing the biggest threat of his reign.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out at the endless black of the sea.

The yacht had already turned, cutting through the water at full speed toward that city of danger and unknowns.

"Sophia," he said, turning back to me, "if there's a shark that's been starving for a long time, and you throw a bloody piece of meat into the water... what does it do?"

"It goes for it. No matter the risk. Tears it apart." The answer came without thought.

"Exactly." His lips curved, the smile cold and laced with lethal intent. "I'm going back to Asteria City. And I'm going to make sure my return is impossible to ignore."

My stomach tightened. "You're going to make yourself the meat?"

"No." He shook his head, coming closer, his height casting a shadow over me. "I'm going to be the one throwing the meat."

He took the glass from my hand, set it aside, and reached for the tablecloth wrapped around me.

The fabric slid from my shoulders, hitting the carpet with a heavy thud.

I stood naked before him, the salt and chill of the sea still clinging to my skin.

He didn't look at my body. His eyes locked on mine, mirroring my own calm and madness.

"I'm going to make the whole of Asteria City know I'm back," he said, voice low and magnetic. "I'll go to the Nightfall Club, make them think Allen's warning rattled me, that I'm too proud to admit it, hiding in my own territory to posture."

I understood instantly. "A feint."

"Exactly." He looked at me with the satisfaction reserved for a perfect ally. "When every eye is fixed on the Nightfall Club, my blade will strike where they least expect it."

"What do you need me to do?" I asked.

The most critical part wasn't the fight—it was the story. How to make those sharks in the dark believe the meat is real, tempting enough to lower their guard.

This was my battlefield.

"I need you to make the act convincing," he said, fingers brushing my cheek, the rough calluses grazing my skin. "I need you, as Sophia, to send one message to the outside world."

He paused, lips curling in a hint of wicked amusement.

"Tell them the new head of the Russell family is so obsessed with you that he's willing to risk the family's safety just to finish the date in Asteria City that got interrupted."

My heartbeat stumbled. We were going to use ourselves as bait? Cloak the attack in a ridiculous love story?

The man was insane. And I... I thought the plan was perfect.

"Deal." My smile was sharp. "But my fee isn't cheap, Mr. Russell."

"Give me myself in payment—will that cover it?" His voice dropped to my ear, hot enough to burn.

I didn't answer. I simply looped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

This time there was no lust, no testing. Only the cold, whiskey-laced kiss of two warriors.

By the next day, when the yacht docked at Asteria City's port, the entire high society and underworld erupted over one piece of news.

#CrisisQueen Sophia's Dangerous Engagement to Arthur, Head of the Russell Family