The location pin pulsed on my phone like a heartbeat.
Lucian didn't take his eyes off it as the car sped through the city, streetlights streaking past like warnings we were ignoring.
"She chose the place carefully," he said. "Old industrial zone. No cameras. No witnesses."
I tightened my grip on the seat. "She wants me unsettled."
"She wants you isolated," Lucian corrected. "There's a difference."
I looked at him. "You said you'd come with me."
"And I am," he replied calmly. "Just not visibly."
My chest tightened. "So I walk in alone."
"Yes."
"That wasn't the deal."
Lucian's jaw flexed. "The deal was survival."
The car stopped a block away from the abandoned warehouse. Rusted metal loomed ahead, dark and silent, like it was holding its breath.
Lucian turned to me. His hand lifted, fingers brushing my wrist—brief, controlled, but grounding.
"You don't run," he said quietly. "You don't provoke her. And you don't agree to anything."
"And if she threatens me?"
Lucian's eyes hardened. "Then I end it."
I stepped out into the cold night.
Each step toward the warehouse felt heavier than the last. The door creaked open with a long, painful groan.
Inside, the air smelled of oil and old smoke.
A single light flickered.
She stood beneath it.
My sister.
Alive. Smiling. Unchanged—except for her eyes. They were sharper now. Colder.
"You came," she said softly. "I knew you would."
"Why?" I asked. "Why show yourself now?"
She tilted her head. "Because you're finally worth something."
My stomach twisted. "To who?"
She laughed. "You still don't see it, do you? You were never the target."
She stepped closer, her voice lowering. "You were the leverage."
A sound echoed behind me.
Footsteps.
More than one.
I spun—
And froze.
Men emerged from the shadows, surrounding us. Armed. Organized.
My sister's smile widened.
"I told them you'd come," she said sweetly. "Lucian De Luca doesn't abandon what he owns."
My blood ran cold.
She leaned in, whispering so only I could hear.
"And now," she said,
"we'll see how much you're worth to him."
The warehouse doors slammed shut.Chapter 26: Walking Into the Trap