The entire tower buzzed with rumors, but none louder than the ones Sabrina Knox carried in her stilettos as she descended the lobby staircase like a serpent in couture.
“Look who crawled out of Wolfe’s shadow,” she purred.
Aria stiffened. She should have kept walking. She should have ignored the venom dripping from Sabrina’s voice. But something inside her refused to bow anymore.
Sabrina stepped directly into her path, smile razor-sharp. “You must be exhausted,” she crooned sweetly. “Keeping Damian’s attention is… a full-time job. Especially for someone who doesn’t even understand the rules.”
Aria forced her breathing to stay even. “I’m not playing any game.”
“You’re in one whether you want it or not.” Sabrina lifted a manicured hand and tapped Aria’s collar with a precise flick, like she’d touch a pet. “I saw how he looked at you. Pity is a currency too, princess.”
Aria’s jaw tightened. “What Damian does is none of your business.”
Sabrina’s laugh was sharp enough to cut glass. “Everything Damian does is my business. Or did you really think a single kiss meant you’d won something?”
Heat rushed to Aria’s cheeks—not shame, but the violent memory of Damian’s mouth against hers, his breath breaking against her skin, the world shattering around them.
Sabrina saw the blush and leaned in, delighted. “Thought so. You think he wants you? Sweetheart, Damian Wolfe doesn’t want. He uses. He breaks. He punishes.” Her voice sank into a vicious whisper. “And you’re not built for the places he’ll drag you.”
Aria swallowed hard. “You don’t know anything about me.”
Sabrina’s smile died. Her eyes turned cold and ancient. “I know he will ruin you. He ruins every woman he lets close.” She stepped even closer, the tip of her heel nearly on Aria’s toes. “And when he’s done, I’ll be the one standing beside him while they scrape what’s left of you off the floor.”
Aria’s heart hammered—but she didn’t back away.
“I’m not afraid of you.”
For a split second, Sabrina froze. As if she couldn’t believe the little trembling girl she tormented weeks ago was standing in front of her with steady eyes and a spine made of fire.
Then Sabrina smiled, slow and chilling. “You should be. Because the Syndicate isn’t the only one who wants you gone.” Her gaze flicked toward the elevators. “There are other players. Older grudges. Hungrier monsters. And every single one of them knows Damian will burn the world to keep you. That makes you a weapon… or a target.”
Aria’s breath trembled, but her voice didn’t.
“Whatever Damian feels—fear, rage, hate, want—that’s between him and me. Not you.”
Sabrina’s jaw twitched.
There it was—the crack. The jealousy she tried so hard to bury.
She leaned in, lips brushing Aria’s ear.
“You think you’re winning?” Sabrina whispered. “You’re not. You’re drowning. And Damian is the one pushing your head under the water.”
Aria forced herself not to flinch.
Sabrina pulled back with a cruel grin. “Good luck, princess. You’ll need it. He always destroys what he keeps.”
She turned and walked away, perfume trailing behind her like poison.
And for the first time, Aria didn’t shake.
She burned.