Chapter 35 Chapter 35
Victor knows you are here and he is coming for you tonight.
The words echoed in my head like a death sentence. I stared at Damien and watched the fear transform into something harder. Something more dangerous. He pocketed his phone and turned back to me with ice in his eyes. "Get dressed. We are moving you to a safe house."
"No." The word came out before I could stop it.
"This is not a negotiation, Lisa."
"I am not running anymore." My voice shook but I held my ground. "I am tired of being moved around like a chess piece. Tired of hiding while everyone else fights my battles."
"You think staying here makes you brave?" Damien's voice rose. "You think refusing protection makes you strong? It makes you dead."
"Then maybe that is what Victor wants. Maybe if I am gone, this whole war ends."
Damien crossed the room in three strides and grabbed my shoulders. "Do not ever say that again. Do you hear me? Do not ever suggest that your life is worth less than this conflict."
"But it is the truth. You said it yourself. I am the leverage. I am what he uses to control you."
"Which is exactly why I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive." His grip tightened. "Even if you hate me for it. Even if you never forgive me. I will lock you in the deepest vault in this city before I let Victor take you from me."
Tears burned behind my eyes. "You cannot save everyone, Damien. You could not save Maria. You could not save your own sister."
The slap of my words hit him like a physical blow. He released me and stepped back. For a moment I saw something break in his expression. Something raw and wounded. "I know," he whispered. "I know I failed them. But I will not fail you."
"You already did. Two years ago when you rejected me. When you chose your empire over everything else."
"I chose wrong." His voice cracked. "I have been choosing wrong my entire life. But if you give me a chance, Lisa, I will spend the rest of my existence making it right."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to let myself fall into the promise in his eyes. But trust was a luxury I could not afford. "The flash drive. What is really on it?"
Damien hesitated. The silence stretched between us like a chasm. "Information that could destroy Victor's entire operation. Financial records. Names. Transactions. Everything we need to end this war."
"Then why have you not used it?"
"Because some of those names belong to people on my side. People I trusted. People who have been working for Victor this whole time." He ran a hand through his hair. "Using that information means exposing my own weaknesses. Admitting that my empire has been compromised from the inside."
"So you were just going to sit on it? Let Victor keep operating while your own men betray you?"
"I was trying to figure out who I could still trust before I made my move." His eyes met mine. "But then you came back into my life and everything changed. Suddenly I had something more important to protect than my reputation."
"Me."
"You." He moved closer. "And I realized that keeping you safe mattered more than keeping my secrets. So I planned to use the flash drive. I was going to burn it all down and rebuild from the ashes. But then you took it."
Guilt twisted in my stomach. "I did not know."
"I am not angry that you took it. I am angry that you did not trust me enough to ask me about it first." He cupped my face in his hands. "We are supposed to be partners in this, Lisa. Equals. But you keep treating me like the enemy."
"Because sometimes you are."
"And sometimes I am the only thing standing between you and death." His thumb brushed across my cheek. "So tell me. What do I have to do to earn your trust? What do I have to prove?"
Before I could answer, his phone rang again. He answered it without breaking eye contact with me. "What is it?" His expression hardened. "How many?" A pause. "No. Keep her here. I am handling this myself."
He hung up and looked at me with something close to regret. "I have to go. Victor's men are hitting one of my warehouses across town. I need to contain this before it spreads."
"You are leaving? Now?"
"I do not have a choice. But you stay in this room. Do you understand? You do not open this door for anyone but me or Marcus."
"Damien, wait."
But he was already gone. The door closed behind him and I heard the lock click into place. I was alone again. Trapped again. The silence pressed down on me like a physical weight. I moved to the window and looked out at the dark grounds below. Somewhere out there, Victor's men were closing in and Damien was walking straight into a trap.
Hours passed. I tried to sleep but every sound made me jump. Every creak of the old mansion felt like a threat. Finally, around midnight, I heard footsteps outside my door. Heavy. Unfamiliar. I grabbed the lamp from my bedside table and held it like a weapon.
The lock clicked. The door opened. But it was not Damien. It was Marcus. He looked exhausted and there was blood on his shirt. "We need to talk," he said quietly.
"What happened? Where is Damien?"
"He is fine. The warehouse situation is contained." Marcus stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "But we have a bigger problem. I know about the flash drive, Lisa. I know you have been holding onto it this whole time."
My stomach dropped. "How did you know?"
"Because Damien told me. He searched your room while you were gone earlier. Found the envelope under your mattress. Saw everything." Marcus crossed his arms. "So I am going to ask you once. Where is the flash drive now?"
"Damien already took it back."
"Do not lie to me. Damien had the envelope but the flash drive was not inside. Which means you moved it. Which means you knew he would come looking." His eyes narrowed. "So where is it, Lisa?"
"I do not have it anymore."
"Then who does?"
I opened my mouth to answer but no words came out. Because the truth was I did not know. I had moved the flash drive from the envelope two days ago and hidden it somewhere else. But when I went to check on it this morning, it was gone. Someone had taken it. Someone who knew exactly where to look.
"I do not know," I whispered. "Someone took it from me."
Marcus stared at me for a long moment. Then he pulled out his phone and made a call. "We have a problem," he said. "The flash drive is in the wind. Someone else has it now." He listened. "No, I believe her. She is telling the truth." Another pause. "Understood."
He hung up and looked at me with something like pity. "Damien is not going to be happy about this. He is going to think you gave it to someone. Sold it. Used it as leverage."
"But I did not. I swear I did not."
"Then you better figure out who took it and fast. Because lying to Damien again will result in consequences you cannot imagine."
Marcus left and locked the door behind him. I sank onto the bed and tried to think. Who could have taken the flash drive? Who even knew I had it? The only person I had told was Elena and she was too scared to get involved in any of this. Unless she was not as innocent as she pretended to be.
I needed help. I needed someone I could trust. I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Elena. "I need to talk to you. Please. It is urgent."
No response. I waited ten minutes. Twenty. Nothing. My hands were shaking. My mind was racing. Then my phone buzzed. But it was not Elena. It was an unknown number. One message that made my blood run cold.
"Damien has ordered someone to watch your every move."