The confrontation with Brooks had left fractures in the carefully constructed facade she had built. Even Zayden, for all his unreadable stares and carefully measured words, seemed unsettled.
Loreley had seen the way his jaw tightened when Brooks accused her, the way his eyes flickered with something close to guilt.
But guilt for what?
He had chosen Brooks. He had humiliated Loreley in front of the entire mafia elite. And yet…
He kept looking at her like he wished he could undo the past.
Loreley should have been satisfied watching Brooks unravel, but there was something in the way the blonde clung to Zayden—something desperate, something frantic.
And desperation led to mistakes. Mistakes she would be ready to use.
The following night, Luka left the estate again.
Loreley had been watching him closely since their tense conversation, noting his restless movements, the way his fingers twitched whenever their father spoke.
Luka was hiding something. And Loreley intended to find out what.
She slipped into her car, trailing him through the darkened streets of the city, her hands steady on the wheel.
It didn't take long to realize where he was going. A private hotel on the outskirts of town.
She parked discreetly, keeping her distance as she watched Luka step inside. A few minutes later, another figure emerged from a black car, moving swiftly into the same entrance.
Brooks. Again.
Loreley's pulse spiked.
What the hell was her brother doing meeting Brooks Bellini in a hidden hotel?
She moved carefully, slipping out of her car and making her way around the side of the building. The room Luka had entered was on the ground floor, and Loreley pressed herself against the wall, listening.
Muffled voices. Then—Luka's voice, low and sharp.
"You can't keep avoiding this."
Loreley's breath stilled.
Brooks' reply was quieter, more frantic. "I have to."
A pause.
Then—Luka again, voice tight with frustration. "What if it's mine?"
Loreley's stomach dropped.
Her blood turned to ice, her fingers pressing against the rough brick of the wall to steady herself.
The baby. Brooks' baby.
It wasn't Zayden's.
It was Luka's.
Inside the hotel room, Brooks' breath came in shallow gasps. "It doesn't matter," she hissed. "Zayden believes it's his. That's all that matters."
Luka ran a hand through his hair, pacing. "That's all that matters to you."
Brooks clenched her fists. "You don't understand what's at stake here."
Luka let out a harsh laugh. "No? Enlighten me."
Brooks' eyes flashed with desperation. "If this gets out, if Zayden ever finds out, I'll lose everything."
Luka's expression darkened. "So you're just going to lie to him for the rest of your life?"
Brooks exhaled shakily. "I have no choice."
Silence.
Then Brooks' voice dropped to a whisper. "You have to stay quiet."
Loreley could almost hear the unspoken threat in her tone.
Luka, to his credit, wasn't stupid. "Or what?"
Brooks stepped closer, lowering her voice further. "You don't want to know."
Loreley had heard enough. She slipped away from the window, heart pounding.
Brooks was trapped. And people who were trapped made for easy prey.
That night, Loreley sat in front of her vanity, brushing out her hair with slow, deliberate strokes.
She stared at her reflection, at the woman she had become.
For so long, she had fought to keep her emotions from clouding her judgment. To see the world for what it was—a ruthless game where only the strongest survived.
But this? This was personal.
She set the brush down, reaching for her phone. She scrolled through her contacts until she reached the name she had been avoiding.
Victor Solano.
Her finger hovered over the screen for half a second. Then—she pressed the call. The line rang twice before his smooth, controlled voice filled the silence.
"Loreley."
She exhaled slowly, leaning back in her chair. "I've made my decision."
A pause at first.
Then Victor chuckled, low and pleased. "I knew you would."
Loreley smiled, slow and deadly. "It's time we burned the Xandros empire to the ground."