The Los Angeles air felt heavier than Irina remembered, maybe it was the jet lag or it was what she was walking back into.
Disguised in a dark coat and oversized sunglasses, she slipped out of the airport unnoticed and into the waiting black car Dmitri had arranged. She didn't dare alert anyone she was back, not even few friends she made here before.
But as the city skyline came into view, her pulse quickened. This was where everything had started. Where lies were built and truths buried. And now, she was ready to dig them up, starting with the two women who nearly destroyed her.
Hours later, hidden in a suite at a quiet Beverly Hills hotel, Irina opened Dmitri's email. Inside was an audio file, she plugged in her earphones and listened. Sylvia's voice was unmistakable, sharp as ever.
"Liam doesn't know the clause exists," Sylvia said. "But if May marries him, the trust fund unlocks, all of it."
"Even the shares?" May's voice replied, cool and composed.
"All of it," Sylvia confirmed. "Liam's father added it after the scandal years ago. He never trusted Liam to run the empire alone but if he's legally bound to a 'stable, vetted partner' like you… controls shifts automatically."
May let out a breathy laugh. "He thinks he's drowning, all I have to do is offer him a lifeboat."
Irina's blood boiled, so that was the plan. No love or loyalty, just greed wrapped in marriage vows. Sylvia was selling her own son to the highest bidder and May… May had always been playing a longer game but now Irina had proof and she wasn't backing out easily.
She didn't even realize her hands were shaking until she dropped her phone. She had to see Liam, she has to warn him, if he would even listen.
That night, Irina returned to the estate she once called a battlefield. She slipped past security and into the side entrance she remembered from her days as Samantha, the mansion was quiet, too quiet, only a few dim lights lit the hallway toward Liam's private wing.
The moment she reached his door, she heard voices coming from instead, then she leaned closer to listen.
"I don't want your pity," Liam mumbled.
"It's not pity," May whispered. "It's love, Liam. Real love, something no one else ever gave you."
Irina pushed the door open just a little crack and the sight on the other side crushed her.
Liam sat on the floor by his fireplace, his shirt was half-unbuttoned, and his eyes.… his eyes bloodshot.
A half-empty bottle of scotch dangled from his hand and kneeling beside him was May who was holding a small velvet box in her palm.
A ring.
Her other hand rested on his chest like she belonged there.
Irina couldn't breathe, she'd seen him angry, arrogant and even wounded. But never this... defeated.
May leaned closer. "Say yes," she coaxed, brushing the hair from his forehead. "Let me take care of you, let me fix everything."
Liam didn't respond. He stared at the fire like it was the only thing keeping him from vanishing, he looked nothing like the powerful man the world knew. He looked like a man with nothing left.
Irina stepped back, was this who he'd become? A broken shell molded by May's lies?
But then, his eyes went toward the doorway. Just for a second but that was enough because he saw her.
But he didn't look surprised and he didn't speak either. He just looked at her and turn back his face to May and let May keep talking.