Ava's POV
Her phone trembled in her hand.
Unknown Number.
One message.
RUN.
Her pulse slammed against her ribs.
Rain soaked through her dress as the stranger stood only a few feet away, his expression unreadable. He wasn't smiling. He wasn't threatening.
He was certain.
"She doesn't know yet?" the man had asked.
And then—
"You're already too late."
Too late for what?
The black SUV behind him idled softly.
Ava took one step backward.
Then another.
Damien noticed first.
"Get behind me," he said quietly.
"I am not getting behind anyone," Ava snapped, though her voice shook.
Ethan's jaw tightened. "This isn't a debate."
The stranger's eyes flicked to her phone.
"She received it," he murmured.
"Received what?" Ava demanded.
But something in Damien's posture changed — subtle, controlled, lethal.
"Ava," Damien said carefully, "when I tell you to move, you move."
The SUV engine revved.
And that was it.
Instinct took over.
Ava ran.
She didn't know which direction she chose. She only knew she couldn't stay between three powerful men who clearly knew more than they were saying.
Her heels hit wet pavement. She slipped, caught herself, kept running.
Behind her—
Voices.
A car door slamming.
Footsteps.
"Ava!" Ethan shouted.
She didn't look back.
Her lungs burned as she turned the corner toward the main street, neon lights reflecting off puddles like fractured mirrors.
Her phone buzzed again.
Another message.
They can't protect you.
Her stomach twisted violently.
Who was texting her?
How did they know what was happening in real time?
A car screeched nearby.
She froze—
But it was Damien's.
He stepped out quickly, rain sliding down his face, eyes sharp and furious.
"Get in."
"No!"
"Ava," he said through clenched teeth, "this is not the time for independence."
"Then explain something!"
Another vehicle turned the corner behind them.
Not Ethan's.
Not Damien's.
The SUV.
Damien's eyes darkened.
He grabbed her wrist — firm but not painful — and pulled her toward his car.
"I don't know what's happening!" she yelled.
"Neither do I," he admitted quietly.
That stopped her.
For a man like Damien Blackwood to admit uncertainty—
That was terrifying.
The SUV slowed.
The window rolled down.
The same stranger leaned slightly forward.
"No more games," he called calmly. "Bring her."
Bring her?
Ava's heart pounded violently.
"Like hell," Damien muttered.
Ethan's car suddenly blocked the road from the opposite side.
He stepped out, rain drenching him again.
"You want her?" Ethan called sharply. "Come through me."
The stranger sighed.
"You're both still arrogant."
Still.
That word hit Ava harder than anything.
Still?
As if this wasn't the first time.
The SUV door opened again.
But this time—
Two more men stepped out.
Ava's breath caught.
"This isn't corporate," she whispered.
"No," Damien said lowly. "It's personal."
Ethan moved closer to them.
"We split," he said urgently.
"I'm not leaving her with you," Damien snapped.
"This isn't about ego!"
The stranger's voice cut through the rain.
"You're running out of time."
Ava's phone buzzed again.
She almost didn't look.
But she did.
And her blood ran cold.
A photo.
Of her apartment.
Taken from outside.
Lights on.
Curtains slightly open.
Timestamped.
Ten minutes ago.
"They know where I live," she whispered.
Damien's expression turned lethal.
Ethan went still.
"They've always known," the stranger said quietly.
Ava looked at him sharply.
"What does that mean?"
The man studied her.
"You really don't remember."
The world tilted.
"Remember what?" she demanded.
Ethan stepped in front of her slightly. "Don't answer him."
Damien's voice dropped to something darker than she'd heard before.
"If you say another word, I won't be responsible for what happens next."
The stranger smiled faintly.
"You're already not responsible."
Ava's heart felt like it was splitting open.
Nothing made sense.
Invitation. Gala. Job. Rivalry.
Now this.
She pulled her wrist from Damien's grip.
"Someone explain what I'm supposed to remember!"
Silence.
Rain poured harder.
Ethan looked at Damien.
Damien looked at Ethan.
And in that split second—
Ava saw it.
Guilt.
Not rivalry.
Not hatred.
Guilt.
The SUV engine roared louder.
The stranger straightened.
"You had years," he said calmly. "Now we take her."
Her stomach dropped.
Take her?
Ethan moved first.
Damien moved second.
The men from the SUV advanced.
Everything happened at once.
Shouting.
Rain.
Footsteps splashing through water.
Ava stumbled backward.
Someone grabbed her arm—
But it wasn't Damien.
It wasn't Ethan.
It was one of the strangers.
She gasped, trying to pull free.
"Let go of me!"
The grip tightened.
Suddenly—
A fist connected with someone's jaw.
A grunt.
The hold loosened.
She spun—
Damien.
His expression wasn't calm anymore.
It was fury.
Ethan was fighting off the second man.
The stranger by the SUV didn't intervene.
He just watched.
Like this was inevitable.
Ava's breathing turned ragged.
She didn't belong in this world.
She didn't belong between two billionaires and whatever war this was.
She tried to step away—
But the stranger's voice stopped her.
"Your mother would be disappointed."
The words sliced through her.
Everything froze.
Damien stopped mid-step.
Ethan went rigid.
Ava's heart stopped.
"My mother?" she whispered.
The stranger tilted his head.
"You think tonight was random?"
Her vision blurred.
"My mother died ten years ago."
A beat of silence.
Then—
"No," the stranger said softly.
"She disappeared."
The rain seemed to mute.
Damien's face had gone pale.
Ethan looked like he'd just seen a ghost.
Ava's breath came shallow and uneven.
"You're lying."
"Ask them," the stranger said.
Slowly…
She turned.
Ethan didn't meet her eyes.
Damien looked like he wanted to destroy something.
The realization crept in, slow and horrifying.
They knew.
They had always known.
And no one told her.
Her voice broke.
"What did you do?"
Neither man answered.
The stranger stepped back toward the SUV.
"It begins now," he said calmly.
The engine roared.
The vehicle pulled away.
Leaving silence.
Rain.
And betrayal hanging in the air.
Ava stared at Ethan.
Then at Damien.
Her entire world cracking open.
"You knew," she said.
Damien stepped forward carefully. "Ava—"
"You knew."
Ethan's voice was low. "We were trying to protect you."
"From what?"
Neither answered.
And that was the worst part.
Her phone buzzed one final time.
Unknown Number.
Welcome back to the game.
Ava's hands trembled.
"What game?" she whispered.
Damien's voice was barely audible.
"The one your mother started."