Damian's POV
The elevator doors slid open with a metallic hiss.
Damian stepped out first, followed closely by Amara and two of his top security agents. The atmosphere on the third floor was tense-too quiet for this time of night. The lights overhead flickered slightly as they walked toward the server room.
No one spoke.
He could feel Amara's eyes on him, searching for some version of the man who used to defend her. But right now, he had no space for emotion. Only control.
The server room door was unlocked.
That was the first red flag.
Damian signaled for his men to sweep the room. He stepped in last, his eyes scanning the equipment. Everything looked normal... but that was the problem.
It looked too normal.
"Sir," one guard called, pointing at a small panel beneath the main server unit. "This shouldn't be open."
Damian crouched and took a look. A small black device was tucked behind the cooling fan-almost invisible.
A signal interceptor.
Whoever had planted this had access to employee phones, emails... maybe even live camera feeds.
Amara stood frozen behind him.
"They were watching us?" she asked quietly.
"Not just watching," Damian said darkly. "They were recording. Tracking."
He straightened slowly, turning to her.
"Is there anything else about your past I should know?"
She blinked, startled by his tone. "No. Damian, I swear-"
Before he could respond, one of the security guards' radios crackled. A voice came through, urgent.
"Sir, there's movement in the east stairwell. Camera 3 just went out. Someone's still inside the building."
Damian's jaw clenched. "Seal all exits. I want this building locked down. Now."
---
Amara's POV
Panic crawled up her spine like ice.
This wasn't just about her anymore. Someone was inside the building-tonight-messing with Damian's company, his people... maybe targeting her again.
She turned to Damian. "What if this is connected to Cruz?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out his phone again and made a quick call.
"Send an image capture from stairwell camera 3. Now."
A moment later, the image popped up on his screen.
It was grainy, low-res.
But the silhouette was clear.
A man in a dark hoodie.
No face.
No ID.
But in his hand... was Amara's old apartment keychain. The one she'd lost months ago.
Her blood ran cold.
"That's mine," she whispered. "How does he have that?"
Damian looked at her, his eyes narrowing.
"Because this isn't just about Knight Industries anymore, Amara. Whoever this is... they're after you."
Amara's POV
She couldn't stop staring at the blurry image on Damian's phone.
The intruder.
The keychain.
Her keychain.
"How is that even possible?" she whispered. "That key was in my old apartment... I lost it months ago."
Damian stood stiffly beside her, his face unreadable. But she knew that look-it was the calm before a storm.
"That means this isn't just someone stalking you now," he said slowly. "They've been watching you for a while."
The idea made Amara's skin crawl.
"You don't think it's Cruz, do you?" she asked.
Damian didn't answer right away. He turned to his security team.
"Check every access card used in the last six hours. I want building-wide camera scans. Don't stop until you know how that man got in."
One of them nodded and walked off.
Finally, Damian turned to her. "You need to tell me everything you remember from five years ago. No matter how small."
Amara hesitated.
"I've already told you most of it. My mom worked for him. When the investigation started, she was afraid. We went into hiding. She... she didn't make it through the relocation. I was left alone."
Damian's eyes softened just slightly. "How old were you?"
"Eighteen. I was barely surviving."
"And Cruz?"
"No one ever found him. Rumor was he disappeared overseas... but no one ever confirmed it. I thought he was gone."
Damian stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"He's not gone."
She looked up sharply.
"You're sure?"
He nodded. "That device we found in the server room-Cruz used the same kind of tech years ago during the KnightTech breach. It's his signature."
Amara felt her stomach twist.
"So he's back..."
Damian's gaze darkened. "And this time, he's using you as bait."
---
Later That Night – Damian's Penthouse
Amara sat curled up on the leather couch, her thoughts racing.
Everything was unraveling.
Her past.
Her peace.
Her relationship-if she could call it that-with Damian.
He walked in, two glasses of water in hand, and set one down beside her.
"You're staying here tonight again," he said. "I'm not taking any chances."
She nodded, too tired to argue.
Then she looked up at him. "You don't think I led him to you, do you?"
Damian paused.
"No," he said at last. "But I think your past is bleeding into mine. And we're running out of time to stop it."
Before she could reply-
his phone rang.
He picked it up quickly. "Yeah?"
A beat of silence. Then his face changed.
He ended the call and turned to her.
"They just found something."
"What?"
"Cruz isn't just watching. He's inside the Knight Industries system... and he left a message."
Amara's heart dropped. "What did it say?"
Damian looked her dead in the eye.
"He said: 'You stole something from me, Damian. Now I'm stealing her.'"
Amara's POV
The words echoed in her head long after Damian read them aloud.
"You stole something from me, Damian. Now I'm stealing her."
She couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
She wasn't just in danger-she was the target.
"Why would he want me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Damian's expression was carved from stone. "Because hurting you hurts me now."
The silence stretched between them-too heavy, too loud.
"You think this is about revenge?" she asked.
"It always was." Damian's voice was low, serious. "I destroyed Cruz's empire. He wants to tear down everything that matters to me. And right now... that's you."
Her heart skipped a beat.
Everything that matters.
But there was no time to dwell on it. Not when someone was coming for her.
Damian turned sharply and tapped his phone.
"Get a unit watching every entry point. I want facial scans running every twenty seconds. If Cruz gets within fifty feet of this building, I want to know before he breathes near her."
Amara stood slowly, her body trembling.
"I don't want to hide forever," she said. "I want to fight."
Damian looked at her, his jaw tightening. "Then you need to be honest with me about everything Cruz ever touched in your life. Even if it hurts."
She hesitated.
"There's one thing," she said, her voice catching. "It's something my mom gave me before she died. She said to keep it safe... but I never knew why."
"What is it?" he asked.
"A USB drive. I've kept it locked away ever since."
Damian's entire body tensed.
"Where is it?"
Amara swallowed. "At my old apartment. I hid it behind the false panel in the closet wall."
Before she could finish, Damian was already giving orders.
"Gear up," he told his team. "We're going to get that drive. Now."
---
Twenty Minutes Later – Amara's Old Apartment
The building was quiet. Too quiet.
Damian moved ahead first, hand on his weapon. Amara followed close behind, her heart pounding.
They reached the door. It was unlocked.
He held a hand out, signaling her to stay back.
Slowly, he stepped inside-
Carefully checking each room-
Until-
"Damian..." Amara's voice trembled.
She pointed at the floor.
The closet was open. The panel removed. The wall... empty.
The drive was gone.
Suddenly, Damian's phone buzzed with a single image.
A photo of Amara.
From tonight.
Taken through the window.
The message below it read:
"Too late."
Damian's POV
He stared at the photo on his phone-Amara, standing in his penthouse, taken through the glass window.
Cruz had been watching. Tonight.
That close. That bold.
He could practically hear the message behind the silence.
"You can't protect her."
Damian turned, his voice hard and sharp. "We're done playing defense."
Amara stood frozen, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her past, her secrets, the stolen drive-it was all crashing back.
"I'm sorry," she said shakily. "I didn't think he'd find it."
"This isn't your fault," he said quickly. "But if he has that drive, we need to know what's on it. Now."
She nodded. "There's a second copy. Hidden. My mom... she was smart. She said never to trust just one."
His eyes lit up. "Where?"
She hesitated. "With someone I haven't seen in years. Her friend... I only knew her as Aunt Naya. She disappeared after my mom died."
Damian pulled out his phone again. "We'll find her."
As he made the call, Amara paced.
But something felt off. Her pulse raced-not just from fear... but instinct.
She turned toward the window and stopped cold.
Outside. Across the street.
A man was standing beneath a streetlight.
Still. Watching.
The shadows covered his face-but she knew it was him.
"Damian," she said breathlessly. "He's here."
Damian rushed to her side, eyes scanning the street-
But the man was gone.
Disappeared into the night.
---
Later – Back Inside
The apartment was locked down. Armed guards at every door. Security screens flickering nonstop.
But neither of them felt safe.
Damian paced as he replayed the surveillance footage.
He was trying to stay calm, trying to think like Cruz.
But the game had changed.
This wasn't just revenge.
This was a warning.
And Cruz was daring him to make the next move.
Damian stopped and turned toward Amara.
"When we find him," he said, voice quiet but deadly, "I'm not turning him in."
She looked at him, startled.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," he said, his eyes like steel, "he's not walking away this time."