Chapter 10:
The Italian sky burned violet when the call came.
Cassian Wolfe answered it with ice in his voice.
Eden stood on the villa's terrace, arms resting on the railing. Her curls were twisted into a soft knot, catching the sea breeze. For one breathless moment, she pretended this life—silk sheets, champagne flights, stolen kisses—was hers.
That the man behind her didn't carry darkness like a second skin.
But then she heard him.
"No. No delays. Move the money now."
His voice—sharp, controlled. But laced with something deeper.
Panic.
She stepped inside. "What happened?"
Cassian slammed the phone shut. "We're leaving. Now."
"Cassian—"
"Malik struck. He hijacked one of our holding companies using forged board signatures. If I don't stop him now, it won't just be assets he's coming for. It'll be loyalty, legacy—everything."
"You think he's after your seat?"
"I know he is."
Eden crossed her arms. "Then what does that make me? Another pawn? A bargaining chip?"
Cassian's jaw tightened. "He'll never touch you. I'll burn the empire first."
They flew to Zurich that night—Cassian, Eden, two bodyguards, and a silence so thick it choked the cabin air.
The Swiss penthouse wasn't like the villa.
It was glass and stone, sterile and cold. Like a place built for war.
Eden changed into a black silk dress for dinner. Her reflection looked sharper now. Less soft. Less naïve.
Cassian waited in the dining room, swirling red wine in a crystal glass.
"I'm attending the board meeting in the morning," he said. "You'll stay here."
"Why?" she asked quietly.
"Because if Malik senses weakness, he'll strike."
"Is that really what I am to you? A weakness?"
He set down the glass. "No. You're the reason I'm still fighting."
Sleep never came.
Eden wandered the halls of the penthouse until she found a door she hadn't noticed before.
Inside, the room was cold. Silent.
One wall was covered in papers—photos, maps, red thread connecting them like a spider's web.
Cassian's war map.
At the center: Malik Wolfe.
To the side: Verena.
And near the bottom… Eden Blake.
A red line linked her to Malik.
Labeled: Target: Leverage.
Her throat tightened. How long had this war been planned? How long had she been part of the battlefield?
Morning came in snow.
Cassian left for the boardroom.
Eden curled up on the balcony, wrapped in a thick robe. The world was quiet—but not peaceful.
The silence pressed against her until she couldn't bear it anymore.
She turned on the TV.
And everything stopped.
BREAKING NEWS: Malik Wolfe Named Interim Head of Wolfe Global
On screen, Malik stood at a podium, flanked by men in tailored suits.
Cassian was nowhere to be seen.
The front door slammed.
Cassian strode in, fury in every step.
"He rigged the board," he said. "Bribed two members. Forged a vote. They've stripped my authority—temporarily."
Eden stood. "So you're not CEO anymore?"
He nodded once. "For now."
She moved toward him, but he stepped back.
"I let it get this far because I got too close—to you. To something real. And now? I've lost my edge."
Her voice cracked. "You think I'm the reason you lost control?"
He looked at her. Really looked.
"No. You're the only reason I want it back."
Later, a private investigator arrived with a flash drive.
Cassian plugged it into the screen.
Footage played: A hotel room in Paris.
Noah sat across from Malik.
Money was exchanged.
Voices low, urgent.
"She was never meant to survive," Malik said.
Eden's hands went cold.
Cassian whispered, "They planned to hurt you. Stage a scandal. Destroy everything. Including you."
Eden turned to him, betrayal etched into her eyes. "And you brought me into this?"
He stepped closer. "I didn't plan to fall in love with you. But I did. And now I'll destroy everything if it means keeping you safe."
Her voice was a whisper. "Even if it means losing everything else?"
Cassian nodded. "Especially then."
That night, they lay in bed, backs turned, bodies inches apart.
The distance between them felt endless.
Eden's voice broke the silence.
"When this ends… will there still be an us?"
He didn't answer.
But in the dark, his hand reached for hers.
A silent vow.
A fragile promise.