The Éternelle boardroom gleamed like a temple of power. Polished glass walls framed Chicago's skyline in molten gold, the late afternoon sun washing the room in firelight. Executives in tailored suits shifted nervously in their seats, their pens and watches suddenly meaningless under the heavy silence.
Then, the doors opened.
Lucinda Morreti entered, and the room bent to her.
She wore white silk that caught the light like armor, her heels striking the marble like war drums. The flare of her perfume expensive jasmine threaded with something darker curled into the air like smoke from a holy incense. She didnt need to say a word. Grown men, old enough to be her father, straightened instantly, some even bowing their heads as though acknowledging a queen.
She was breathtaking, yes, but more than that she was untouchable. Eyes the color of liquid amber scanned the room with surgical precision. To be seen by her was to be weighed. To be found wanting was to be destroyed.
This was her empire. Éternelle. The largest unisex fashion powerhouse Chicago had ever seen. And she, its sovereign.
Gentlemen. Ladies. Her voice carried like fire wrapped in velvet. Let us begin.
The meeting moved numbers, expansions, international markets. She fielded questions with cutting brilliance, her tone a blade of ice dipped in honey. Every objection was disarmed, every challenge buried beneath her flawless strategy.
But then
The air shifted.
The glass doors opened again, and a new presence entered.
Hades Slayer.
The shadows lengthened as though the building itself acknowledged him. Tall, impossibly handsome, his black suit looked poured onto him, sculpting the lines of muscle underneath. His features were carved sharp as obsidian, his mouth cruelly perfect, and his eyesGods. Those eyes. Dark, ancient, commanding without ever trying.
He walked like someone who owned the ground, like a king accustomed to watching mortals bend in his wake.
Lucindas pulse jumped before she could leash it.
Their eyes locked.
Fire met shadow.
Her amber gaze blazed; his obsidian eyes consumed. The entire boardroom fell silent, not daring to breathe. The two of them radiated such force that everyone else seemed like children playing at power.
Hades Slayer, she said coolly, her tone dripping venom. What a surprise.
Lucinda. His voice was low thunder, smooth but edged with something dangerous. It rumbled through the marrow of those who heard it. You look radiant. Like always.
Her nails curled into her palm under the table. He was mocking her, she knew it. And yet, his stare lingered too long. The kind of stare that burned, the kind of stare that tasted.
Damon, seated across the table, bristled visibly. His jaw tightened, his eyes flicking between Lucinda and Hades with open jealousy. Damon Morrell might have been handsome in his own right, but in the presence of Hades Slayer, he was reduced to ash.
And then Ixora made her entrance tall, sinuous, dressed in crimson silk that clung to her curves. Her gaze found Hades instantly, smoldering with unhidden desire. She smiled like she was already his, like Lucindas presence was an inconvenience.
The room had become a battlefield, though no one dared name it.
Lucinda leaned forward, her smile dangerous. Youre here on behalf of Seraphinas company, I assume? How fitting.
Hades lips curled, not into a smile, but something sharper. Business is war, darling. I thought youd appreciate that.
The word darling hissed through her veins like poison. She wanted to slap him. She wanted to kil him. She wanted to burn him alive.
Instead, she laughed, a sound that echoed like crystal shattering. Try not to choke on the pieces when I crush you.
Gasps rippled across the table. Executives shifted uncomfortably, eyes darting like prey caught between predators.
And then, as if the tension wasnt enough, Cassian stepped forward from the shadows of the room. His eyes burned with something more than loyalty, more than protection something that hinted at secrets, betrayal, revenge. Lucinda caught it, just for a second, and the hairs at the back of her neck rose.
Her empire. Her allies. Even her protectors. She couldnt trust anyone completely.
Not even herself. Not with the way her body betrayed her whenever Hades Slayer was near.
The meeting descended into veiled barbs and subtle power plays. Damons interruptions grew desperate, Ixoras smiles more poisonous, Cassians silence more dangerous. And yet, the entire time, Lucinda and Hades gazes clashed across the table, fire and shadow circling each other like predators deciding who will be the boss
When the meeting adjourned, no one dared rise first. They waited.
Lucinda stood, her white silk blazing in the dying sunlight. Hades followed, black suit drinking in the light, his shadow falling over hers. They passed each other at the door, so close her shoulder brushed his chest.
He leaned in, lips barely grazing her ear.
You cant fight me forever, Lucinda.
She froze, breath catching, before spinning to face him but he was already walking away, every inch a god descending back into shadow.
And then Seraphinas voice rang like a bell of betrayal from behind her:
Darling sister, your empire is not as untouchable as you believe. Shadows are already bleeding through your golden walls."
Lucinda's stomach dropped. The room tilted. For the first time, she felt the sun dim and she forgot how to breathe
🔥End of chapter four 🔥