Chapter Ninety One

Chapter Ninety One
Eros
A week later 
The call came just after midnight.

“Seems you’ve lost your little angel,” Lysander's voice oozed smug satisfaction. “Athena’s gone, Eros. Vanished. And you’ll never see her again.”

My blood went cold.

I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reply. Just hung up and stared at the blinking location dot on my tablet—the necklace. I had the chain custom-built with a tracker after our first scare. She’d insisted it was unnecessary. I told her I’d rather be paranoid than bury her.

The signal was faint but steady.

Serena Sanderson’s apartment.

Of all the people Athena could have turned to… why her? Why the hell would she go to Serena? Unless—God forbid—Scarlett was pulling the strings again. Could she be behind Athena’s disappearance this time too?

I didn’t waste time thinking.

Fifteen minutes later, I was standing outside Serena’s condo. No knocking. No waiting. I raised my foot and kicked the door in, the wood cracking as it slammed hard against the wall.

Serena shrieked, stumbling back and clutching the front of her silk robe. Judging by the way she scrambled, I’d just interrupted something indecent—but I didn’t care. She wasn’t my concern.

“What the hell, Eros?!” she shouted, eyes wide. “Have you completely lost your mind?”

“Where is she?” My voice was low, lethal.

“Wh-who?”

“Athena,” I growled, stepping toward her. “Her necklace is here. I know she’s been here. Where is she now?”

Serena hesitated, and I saw the flicker of guilt in her eyes. “I—I didn’t want to get involved. Scarlett said she just wanted to talk—”

“You handed her over to Scarlett?”

“I didn’t know they were going to—look, I didn’t have a choice. They threatened to destroy my family’s reputation. You know what she’s capable of.”

I grabbed her arm. “Then you’re going to fix it.”

We reached the harbor just before dawn.

The yacht loomed in the soft fog like a sleeping beast—sleek, white, and silent.

Scarlett’s signature taste.

Serena was shaking beside me. “This is suicide.”

“Then pray I’m immortal,” I muttered, pulling my jacket tighter around me.

We stepped aboard. The deck was deserted. No crew. No noise.

“Scarlett!” I called out. “You wanted to see me? Show yourself!”

Then—pain. Blunt and fast. Something slammed into the back of my skull.

Darkness.

I woke up bound to a chair in the yacht’s opulent lounge. Leather cushions. Crystal decanters. A ridiculous oil painting of a swan above the fireplace.

And Scarlett. Dressed in crimson, perched on the chaise like a serpent on a throne.

“You never disappoint,” she purred, rising. “Always so noble. So predictable.”

My mouth tasted blood. I licked my lips. “Where’s Athena?”

“She’s safe. For now. That depends on you, Eros.” She circled me like a predator. “Break up with her. Publicly. Tell the world she was a fling. Date me instead. The Belmonte name deserves a queen, not some foster girl with daddy issues.”

I stared at her. For a moment, I let the silence stretch, watching her drink in what she thought was victory.

Then I laughed.

Not a polite chuckle. A full, deep, mocking laugh.

Scarlett stiffened. “What’s so funny?”

“You are,” I said between chuckles. “God, you really think I’m Eros Belmonte?”

Her brow furrowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

I leaned forward, the ropes digging into my wrists as I met her gaze head-on. “My name is Kairos Almonte. I was never Eros. I was hired to play him—a double, a stand-in. The real Eros? He’s probably already with Athena as we speak.”

Scarlett’s eyes narrowed, her voice a low hiss. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” I tilted my head, eyes narrowing. “Tell me, Scarlett—has Eros ever come to you of his own free will? Has he ever looked at you like he wanted you? Smiled like you meant something? And didn’t it ever strike you as odd that a man who’s right-handed suddenly started writing with his left? Didn’t you ever wonder?”

Her lips parted, color draining from her face. She took a step back.

I pressed on. “You’ve made a fool of yourself, Scarlett. You kidnapped a decoy. The real Eros has probably already found Athena.”

It was a gamble. A bold one. But Scarlett thrived on ego, and nothing shattered her more than being tricked.

“You’re bluffing,” she said shakily.

“You’re desperate.” I smirked. “And you’ve just made the worst enemy imaginable.”

Her expression twisted, the realization creeping in like rot. She turned away, swearing under her breath.

I tugged at the ropes, subtly testing them. My wristwatch was missing—damn. But they’d missed the tracker in my shoe.

Good. That means rescue wasn’t far.

Scarlett turned back. “If you’re not Eros, you’re disposable.”

“Then dispose of me,” I said. “But when the real Eros finds out what you’ve done, there won’t be a country far enough to hide in.”
\~~~~~
Kairos – Flashback

It all started in Greece—Santorini, to be exact. A tourist had mistaken me for a man named Eros Belmonte. At the time, I didn’t know the name, but I’d gotten used to people confusing me for someone else. Apparently, I had a face that belonged to someone richer, sharper, and far more dangerous.

I laughed it off until the real Eros tracked me down that evening at a cliffside café. He was sharper dressed, wore arrogance like a crown, and looked at me like I was a puzzle he hadn’t expected to enjoy solving.

“I’ve never seen my face smirk back at me until now,” he said, sliding into the chair across from mine. “You must be Kairos.”

“And you must be the man who owes me a drink,” I shot back.

He laughed. I didn’t know then that this man—Eros Belmonte, heir to the Belmonte empire—would become the closest thing I had to a brother.

We stayed in touch, helping each other out in ways only men with too much money and too many enemies could. But nothing compared to the call I got a week ago.

“Athena’s missing,” Eros said, his voice tight with panic. “I need you.”

That was all he had to say.

We spent two sleepless nights devising a plan—one that would draw Scarlett out, expose her obsession, and keep Athena safe. I would pose as Eros, bait Scarlett into revealing where Athena was being kept. It was risky, but if it worked, we’d end two problems at once.
\~~~~
Scarlett – Present

He was too calm for a man tied to a chair.

I paced across the sleek, teakwood floor of the yacht, the distant hum of the waves doing nothing to calm the storm inside me. My eyes drank in every detail—the line of his jaw, the tilt of his mouth, the eyes that dared to defy me. He was him. He had to be. And yet… something was off.

“You’re not Eros,” I hissed. “Where is he? Where’s the real one?”

He didn’t answer.

“Tell me, damn you!” I snapped, reaching into my coat and pulling out the gun. “Do you think this is a game?”

He finally spoke, voice low and steady. “You’ll pull that trigger, and you’ll never get what you really want.”

“Try me.”

Click.

I aimed the gun squarely at his chest, finger trembling over the trigger. He didn’t even flinch.

“Go ahead,” he said coolly. “You kill me, and you’ll never know where Eros is. Or Athena.”

His name on her lips had always sounded like silk. On his, it was a weapon.

I hesitated.

He tilted his head, the ghost of a smile teasing the edge of his mouth. “What’s the matter, Scarlett? Afraid you’ve finally lost?”

I snarled and pulled the trigger…

But before the shot could ring out, I heard it.

The heavy thud of boots against the metal stairs. Shouting. The yacht shuddered slightly as it was boarded.

“Drop the weapon!” someone yelled.

Flashlights exploded through the shadows of the lounge. Chaos. Voices. Guns. Too many footsteps.

“No, no, no—” I backed away, still holding the gun. “This isn’t what it looks like!”

Hands grabbed me. Cold metal snapped around my wrists.

I screamed as they forced me onto the floor, cheek pressed against the wood.

And through it all, he watched me.

Still tied to that damn chair, smiling like he’d won.

Because he had.