Xavier's private suite was a sanctuary of dark wood and tempered glass. Aurora sat on the edge of the massive bed, watching the moonlight reflect off the ocean waves through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The adrenaline was fading, replaced by a crushing exhaustion.
Xavier was at his bar, pouring a stiff drink. He had discarded his jacket and tie, his white shirt unbuttoned at the collar. He looked less like a king and more like a warrior taking a momentary breath.
"Why didn't you let me fall, Xavier?" Aurora asked suddenly. "In the casino, at the office, tonight on the balcony... why keep saving me?"
Xavier walked over, handing her a glass of water. He sat down beside her, the mattress sinking under his weight. "Because for the first time in ten years, I found something more interesting than numbers on a screen."
He looked at her, his stormy eyes reflecting the moonlight. "I started this to settle a score with your father. But watching you... watching you rise from the ashes of prison, watching you take down Richard with nothing but your mind... it changed things."
Aurora felt her breath hitch. "I can't trust you, Xavier. My father trusted people, and look where it got him. I trusted Richard, and I ended up in a cell."
"I don't want your trust yet, Aurora," Xavier whispered, leaning in until their foreheads touched. "I just want you alive. The rest... we have a whole year to figure out."
Suddenly, his phone buzzed on the nightstand. He glanced at it, and his jaw tightened. "It's started."
"What?" Aurora asked, fear cold in her chest.
"The news of the fire," Xavier said, showing her the screen. It wasn't a public news site; it was an encrypted underworld forum. 'The Key is gone. The Thorne girl lives. Bounty: 100 Million.'
Xavier stood up, his eyes turning back to ice. "Burning the code didn't stop the war, Aurora. It just made you the only prize left. Everyone thinks you have the code memorized."
Aurora realized then that her nightmare wasn't over. She hadn't just burned a file; she had turned herself into a living, breathing target. And the only man standing between her and a world of predators was the very man she had tried to stay away from.