Page 189 of The Owner's Temptation

She belongs in the light—laughing.

She laughed once in the office—really laughed. I don’t even remember what it was about. Probably something Eve said. Something dry and smug that only lands half the time.

But Sienna let out this unfiltered, bright laugh that didn’t match the black-on-black pencil skirt she was wearing or the cold marble floors beneath her heels.

It didn’t belong in my world.

But I wanted to keep it anyway.

Like a thief with something precious he knows he’ll ruin if he holds it too tight.

I remember turning from my desk, pretending to look at the report in my hands, but really just… watching her. Her head tilted back, eyes crinkled at the corners.

That wild auburn hair pulled into one of those lazy knots she thinks passes for professional. Her whole body relaxed for the first time since I brought her into this place.

It only lasted a second. She caught my stare and straightened like she’d done something wrong.

She hadn’t.

She was just being happy.

And I wanted to bottle it. Frame it. Lock it the fuck away.

But I don’t get to keep that.

I don’t get to keep her.

Not when Lorenzo is still out there. Not when someone I trust is leaking blood through the cracks in my empire. Not when the only way to stop this war is to end it on my terms—and I don’t know who I’ll have to bury to do that.

What Idoknow is this:

If I keep her in my world, it’ll chew her up.

And I’m afraid too much damage has already been done.

My phone buzzes on the nightstand.

EVE: I’ll be there in ten minutes.

Ten minutes.

Fuck. I wish I had more time.

More time to hold her. To tell her the truth. To kiss her like it means something—because itdoes.

But the clock’s ticking on all of this.

This war ends one way—me or Lorenzo.And I’m not planning on dying.

Another buzz. This time from Killian. I open the security feed, scan the Masquerade’s recovery footage again even though I’ve already memorized it frame by frame all fucking night long.

LUCIAN: I want a private meeting within the hour. I’ll be at the office soon. We’re ending this.

Because I need answers. I need to know how DeLuca’s men got through my walls. How they slipped past my protocols. How someone I trust opened the door for them.

If they can get into the Masquerade… they can get into the Ledger.

And if they can get into the Ledger…

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