Cain's POV
I break every traffic law getting to the hospital.
Elara's beside me, loading bullets into a gun with hands that won't stop shaking. Nate's in the back seat, on the phone with someone—FBI, hospital security, anyone who might help.
"Three minutes," I say, checking the dashboard clock.
Three minutes to save Lily and myself from assassination.
My grandmother wants us dead. My own grandmother.
The woman who raised me. Who taught me chess and business strategy. Who held me when my parents died and promised everything would be okay.
She killed them. She's been lying for thirteen years.
And now she's going to kill me and my baby sister unless we stop her.
"There!" Elara points. "Emergency entrance."
I slam the brakes, and we're out before the car fully stops.
Inside is chaos—nurses running, alarms blaring. Someone's already discovered something's wrong.
"Fourth floor," Nate says. "Both rooms."
We sprint for the stairs. Elevators are too slow, too vulnerable.
My gunshot wound screams with every step. The stitches pull. I ignore it.
We burst onto the fourth floor.
Two men in scrubs stand outside my room. Not medical staff. Mercenaries.
They see us. Reach for weapons.
Elara shoots first.
The sound is deafening. One man drops. The other dives for cover.
"GO!" she yells at me. "Save Lily!"
I run.
Lily's room is at the opposite end. The door's closed. Through the window, I see a figure leaning over her bed.
I don't think. Just act.
I crash through the door like a battering ram.
The "nurse" spins around, syringe in hand. A woman, middle-aged, cold eyes.
"Step away from my sister," I say, gun raised.
She smiles. Presses the syringe against Lily's IV line. "One more step and she dies."
Lily's awake. Groggy from medication but aware enough to be terrified. "Cain—"
"It's okay," I say, though it's not. Nothing's okay. "Just stay calm."
"Your grandmother said to give you a message," the woman says. "This is what happens when you choose the wrong side."
She starts to push the plunger.
I shoot her in the shoulder.
She screams, dropping the syringe. I tackle her, slamming her against the wall. The gun presses against her temple.
"Who else?" I demand. "How many others did Victoria send?"
She laughs through the pain. "Enough. You can't stop all of us."
Security pours in—real security this time, with Nate behind them.
"Restrain her," I order, moving to Lily.
My sister's crying, shaking. I pull her into a hug, gentle around her injuries.
"You're safe now," I promise. "I've got you."
"Where's Elara?" Lily asks.
My blood goes cold.
I left her alone with an armed mercenary.
I run back to my room.
The hallway's empty. One body. No Elara.
"ELARA!" I shout.
"In here!" Her voice comes from inside my room.
She's standing over the second mercenary—unconscious, zip-tied with IV tubing. She's breathing hard, a bruise forming on her cheek.
"You okay?" I ask, checking her for injuries.
"He's a better fighter than the other one." She winces. "But I'm fine. Lily?"
"Safe. The assassin's in custody."
We look at each other, the reality crashing down.
We survived. Barely. But we survived.
"Victoria's going to try again," Elara says.
"I know." My jaw clenches. "We end this. Now."
Two weeks later.
The gallery opening is packed with Seattle's elite—the same people who mocked Elara months ago, now scrambling for her attention.
Because she's not just Mrs. Cain Ashford anymore.
She's the legitimate Winters heiress. Worth half a billion dollars. Owner of a pharmaceutical empire.
The woman they tried to destroy just became more powerful than all of them combined.
"This is surreal," Elara whispers, champagne glass in hand, wearing a dress that costs more than her old car.
"You deserve it," I say, hand at her waist. Possessive. Protective. "Every piece of this."
Artists she supported before the scandal showcase their work. Critics who blacklisted her now praise her "vision." Society women who insulted her now seek her friendship.
Elara handles it with grace and a smile that has teeth.
"Mrs. Ashford!" A reporter approaches. "How does it feel to reclaim your family's legacy?"
"Vindicating," Elara says smoothly. "My grandmother always believed truth prevails. She was right."
"And the allegations against Patricia Winters and Marcus Chen?"
"They're facing justice. As they should."
Each interview is a declaration. Each smile is warfare. She's not hiding anymore.
We're sending Victoria a message: We're not afraid. We're ready.
But I'm terrified.
Because every success makes Elara a bigger target.
That night, back at the penthouse, I find her in my office, studying Eleanor's journals.
"We have everything we need," she says. "Financial records, testimonies, evidence of Victoria's involvement in every crime. The FBI wants to move forward with charges."
"Good."
"But they can't find her. She's vanished. No credit card activity, no phone records, no sightings." Elara looks up. "She's planning something."
"Let her plan. We'll be ready."
But I'm lying. I won't be ready. Not for what's coming.
Because the next morning, Lily doesn't show up for breakfast.
I call her apartment. No answer.
I call her roommate. "She left early," the roommate says. "Said she had a meeting. With you?"
Ice floods my veins. "I didn't call any meeting."
I try Lily's phone. It goes straight to voicemail.
Then a text comes through.
From Lily's number.
A photo of my sister, unconscious, tied to a chair in a dark room.
The message: "Final offer, Cain. The journals and Elara's inheritance rights signed over to Vivienne, or Lily dies. You have 24 hours. Come alone to the Ashford warehouse on 5th. Bring anyone—police, FBI, even Elara—and I'll know. Lily dies. Choose. - Victoria"
My hands shake so badly I almost drop the phone.
Not again. Not my sister. Not the last family I have left.
Elara appears in the doorway. "What's wrong?"
I can't tell her. If she knows, she'll insist on coming. Victoria will know. Lily will die.
"Nothing," I lie. "Lily's fine. Just running late."
"Cain." She crosses her arms. "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not—"
"Your tell is that muscle in your jaw. It twitches when you're lying. What happened?"
I show her the photo.
Her face goes pale. "We call the FBI. Get a tactical team—"
"No." My voice is harsh. "She'll kill Lily the moment she sees police. I'm going alone."
"That's suicide."
"That's the only way to save my sister."
"Then I'm coming with you."
"No." I grab her shoulders. "Elara, listen to me. Victoria wants you dead. If you show up, she'll kill Lily anyway just to hurt us both. Your best chance—Lily's best chance—is if I go alone."
"I'm not letting you—"
"This isn't a negotiation!" I'm shouting now, fear making me cruel. "You know what? The contract year is almost up anyway. Take the money. Take the inheritance. Walk away from this war before it kills you."
She steps back like I slapped her. "You're pushing me away."
"I'm keeping you alive."
"By breaking my heart?" Her voice cracks. "You don't get to do that. You don't get to protect me by destroying us."
"There is no 'us' if you're dead!"
"And there's no 'us' if you walk into that warehouse alone and never come back!" Tears stream down her face. "I'm not leaving you. We're partners. We fight together or not at all."
"Elara—"
"I love you, you idiot." She grabs my face, forcing me to look at her. "I love you more than I'm afraid. So we do this together, or I follow you anyway and ruin whatever stupid hero plan you're making."
I pull her close, burying my face in her hair. "I can't lose you. Not like I lost my parents. I can't survive that again."
"Then don't send me away. We're stronger together. We've always been stronger together."
She's right. I know she's right.
"Together," I finally say. "But we do this smart. With a plan."
"What kind of plan?"
Before I can answer, my phone rings.
Unknown number.
I answer on speaker. "Victoria."
"Cain, darling." Her voice is poison honey. "I hope you're making the right choice. For Lily's sake."
"What do you really want?" I ask. "The journals? The inheritance? Or just to hurt us?"
"I want what I've always wanted. Control. Legacy. The Ashford pharmaceutical patent that should have been mine. And I want you to understand that family loyalty goes both ways." Her voice hardens. "You chose that girl over your own blood. Over me. So now you get to choose again. Save Lily, or save Elara. You can't have both."
The line goes dead.
Elara and I stare at each other.
"She's going to force us to choose," Elara whispers. "Between Lily's life and something else."
"We save both," I say. "I don't care what it takes."
My phone buzzes again.
Another text. Another photo.
This time it's not Lily.
It's Sage. Also tied up. Also unconscious.
The message: "Change of plans. Two hostages. One warehouse. You AND Elara come, or they both die. No FBI. No backup. Just you two, walking into the trap. See you at midnight. Don't be late. - V.A."
Elara reads it and goes white. "Sage. She has Sage."
"It's a trap," I say. "Obviously a trap."
"I don't care." Elara's voice is steel. "We're going."
"They want us both dead."
"Probably. But we're not letting them win." She meets my eyes. "Whatever happens tonight, promise me something."
"Anything."
"If it comes down to me or Lily and Sage—you save them. Promise me."
"No."
"PROMISE ME."
"I'm not promising to let you die!"
"And I'm not letting your sister and my best friend die because we're too afraid!" She grabs my hands. "We go in smart. We plan. We survive. But if it goes wrong—if there's a choice—you save them. That's the deal."
I pull her into a desperate kiss. Hard. Claiming. Terrified.
"We all survive," I say against her lips. "That's my deal."
"Deal."
We have twelve hours until midnight.
Twelve hours to plan how to walk into an ambush and somehow walk back out.
Twelve hours before Victoria's final game.
As we start planning, my phone buzzes one last time.
A video this time.
Victoria's face fills the screen. She's smiling.
"Hello, my dear grandson and his lovely wife. By now you know the rules. Midnight. Warehouse. No backup. But I wanted to show you one more thing. One more player in our game."
The camera pans.
And sitting beside Victoria, very much alive, very much conscious—
Is Richard Winters.
Elara's father.
Who was supposed to be in jail awaiting trial.
"Surprise," Victoria says. "Richard and I made a deal. His testimony against you both in exchange for immunity. Turns out he's quite motivated when his daughter's inheritance is at stake. See you soon."
The video ends.
Elara's father. Working with Victoria. Betraying her again.
The warehouse isn't just a trap.
It's a massacre.