Chapter 42 The Edge of the Blade

Chapter 42 The Edge of the Blade

SCARLETT'S POV

The rain came down in sheets, blurring the lights of the city into trembling gold rivers. My boots splashed through puddles as I walked, faster and faster, as if the storm could wash away the taste of Damien’s name on my tongue.

I didn’t know where I was going, only that I had to keep moving. If I stopped, I’d think about the way he’d looked at me last night, his eyes dark with things I couldn’t read anymore. Love? Regret? Guilt? Or maybe it was all an illusion.

I pulled the hood of my jacket tighter around my face and ducked into a narrow alley, finding shelter beneath a rusted staircase. The sound of the rain softened to a steady whisper. I leaned against the wall, catching my breath, feeling the sting of betrayal crawl up my throat like bile.

He’d lied again.

I’d seen the message on his burner phone before he snatched it away just a glimpse, but enough to burn into my brain. A name I recognized. Kade. The same man who’d tried to kill me three months ago.

And Damien had called him brother.

I squeezed my fists until my nails dug into my palms. “You really don’t know who to trust anymore, do you, Scarlett?” I muttered to myself.

But I knew someone who might.

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through old encrypted contacts, my heart pounding faster as I reached the one name I hadn’t seen in years Rhea Lin. My father’s old ally, a hacker who once helped him uncover corporate corruption before everything went to hell. She owed me one favor.

I sent a coded message.
A sparrow needs a wing.

Seconds later, the reply came.
Fly to 4th and Ash. Roof access. 10 minutes.

I took off running.

The stairwell smelled like rust and rain-soaked paper. When I pushed open the rooftop door, the wind slapped my face, wild and cold. Rhea was there, crouched under a small tarp, fingers flying over a laptop that glowed in the darkness.

“Scarlett Taylor,” she said without looking up. “The last time I saw you, you were running from the police. You’re either braver or dumber now. I can’t tell which.”

“Both,” I said flatly, stepping closer. “I need information.”

Her fingers paused. “You always do.”

I tossed her a flash drive. “I need to know who Damien Black is paying. Every transfer, every account traces it back.”

Rhea plugged it in. The screen filled with scrolling data, green letters dancing like fireflies. “Are you still seeing him?”

The question stabbed deeper than I expected. I looked away, watching the rain slide down the edge of the roof. “Not anymore.”

“Then why are your hands shaking?” she asked quietly.

I didn’t answer.

Minutes passed in silence until she swore under her breath. “Well, well, well. This is interesting.”

I turned. “What?”

“There’s a hidden transfer,” Rhea said, eyes narrowing. “Two weeks ago. Offshore account under a company name that shouldn’t exist anymore. Guess who the recipient is?”

My chest tightened. “Don’t say it.”

“Kade Voss.”

I felt the air leave my lungs. My knees almost buckled, and I grabbed the cold metal railing to steady myself.

“No,” I whispered. “That’s not possible. Damien would never—”

“Never what?” Rhea interrupted. “Never betray you? Never sell information to the man who nearly killed you? Open your eyes, Scarlett. This isn’t a love story. It’s business. You’re just caught in the middle.”

Her words hit like glass shattering in my chest.

But the part that hurt most was that a piece of me believed her.

I left Rhea’s place without saying goodbye. The city streets seemed louder now the hum of engines, the slap of water against tires, the murmur of strangers who didn’t know that the ground beneath them was about to collapse.

I stopped under a flickering streetlight and stared at the reflection of my face in a puddle. Pale, drenched, hollow-eyed.

You were supposed to be smarter than this.

I thought about Damien’s hand brushing mine, the quiet moments where I almost believed we could be something other than broken. I thought about the warmth in his voice when he said my name and the ice in it when I caught him lying.

And I thought about my father. About how easily men like Damien could smile while holding a knife behind their backs.

The rain thinned to a drizzle. I pulled my phone from my pocket, ready to call Rhea back to demand proof, something solid but the screen lit up before I could dial.

An unknown number.

I hesitated, then opened the message.

You’re asking the wrong questions, Scarlett.
Meet me at midnight if you want the truth.

My pulse spiked.

There was no name. Just a location: The Old Railway Station.

Every instinct screamed trap. But something in my chest, a small, dangerous spark of curiosity, refused to let me ignore it.

By the time the clock struck midnight, the station was silent. The old glass dome above was cracked, letting silver moonlight spill across the marble floor. The scent of rust and oil hung heavy in the air.

I stood in the middle of the empty hall, my coat dripping, my fingers tight around the small pistol hidden beneath it.

A soft sound echoed behind me. Footsteps.

“Scarlett,” a voice said, smooth and low.I turned and froze. It wasn’t Damien. It was Kade.

He looked different than the last time I saw him, hair longer, a thin scar cutting through his jaw but his eyes were the same. Cold. Calculating.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” I said, my voice trembling despite myself.

He smiled faintly. “So are you.”

My hand tightened on the gun. “You have ten seconds to tell me why I shouldn’t shoot you.”

“Because,” he said, stepping closer, “you’d be killing the only person who can tell you what Damien really did.”

The words froze me where I stood.

He took another step, his expression unreadable. “You think you know him, don’t you? The man who touches you like he means it. The man who swore he’d protect you. But what if I told you he’s the reason your father is dead?”

My blood ran cold.

“You’re lying,” I whispered.

He smiled again. “Am I? Or did Damien forget to mention the deal he made with your father’s enemies? The same deal that paid for that shiny new penthouse of his?”

My heart was pounding so hard it hurt. “You’re trying to twist me against him.”

“I don’t need to twist you, sweetheart,” Kade said softly. “I’m just reminding you where the blade came from.”

Before I could respond, he turned and walked away, his shadow fading into the darkness.

I wanted to chase him, demand proof but my legs wouldn’t move.

Because deep down, a part of me already knew.

The truth had been bleeding between the lies all along. I’d just been too in love to see it.

That night, as I walked back through the empty streets, the rain started again, gentle this time, almost forgiving.

But there was no forgiveness left in me. Only questions.

And one truth that burned hotter than the rest:

If Damien really had a hand in my father’s death, then everything between us, everyone kisses, every lie, every promise had been built on a corpse.

And I wasn’t going to rest until I made him pay.

Even if it meant breaking what was left of my heart to do it.