"How did you get in here, Derek?" Clara demanded, forcing her voice to remain steady. She didn't retreat another step. She stood her ground, her chin tilted up, though her heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs.

Derek offered a crooked, humorless smile, stepping fully out of the shadows.

The elevator ride up to the penthouse was suffocatingly silent.

Clara stood rigidly in the corner of the glass car, staring blankly at the city lights blurring past as they ascended into the sky. Her mind was a chaotic storm of legal jargon, lines of code, and the echoing sound of Derek’s bloody l

The lingering heat of the kiss hung in the air, thick and electric, long after Julian finally pulled back. He didn't step away. His chest rose and fell against hers, his hands still anchored firmly at her waist, grounding her in the quiet sanctuary of the penthouse.

Clara opened her eyes, her puls