The silence in the elevator was so heavy it felt like a physical weight pressing against Verina's chest. Silas stood beside her, his hands tucked into his pockets, his gaze fixed on the digital floor indicator. He didn't look at her, yet she could feel his awareness of her like a magnetic pull.
"You're shaking," he said, his voice flat.
Verina gripped her handbag tighter, her knuckles white. "I'm not shaking. I'm cold."
"Liar," Silas murmured as the elevator doors slid open to the executive garage. "You're terrified because you realized that the door you just kicked open doesn't have a lock on the other side. You wanted the truth, Verina. Now you have it. Does it feel as good as you thought it would?"
He stepped out of the elevator, and Verina had no choice but to follow. The underground garage was filled with black SUVs and men in dark suits who bowed their heads as Silas passed. He led her to a sleek, armored sedan and opened the door himself, a gesture that looked like chivalry but felt like a command.
"Where are we going?" she asked, hesitant to enter the dark interior. "You said I was staying at the office."
"Plans change," Silas said, his eyes finally meeting hers. There was a flicker of something dark and restless in his gaze. "I have a meeting at the docks. An arrival that requires my personal attention. And since I clearly can't leave you alone for five minutes without you digging through my private life, you're coming with me."
Verina climbed in, the leather seat cool against her skin. Silas slid in beside her, the space suddenly feeling too small. As the car pulled out into the midday traffic, Verina looked out the window, watching the city blur into a smudge of grey and glass.
"Who was she, Silas?" Verina asked softly, her voice barely audible over the hum of the tires. "The girl in the photo. She looked... happy."
Silas didn't answer for a long time. He leaned his head back against the headrest, his eyes closing. For a moment, he looked almost human, the lines of tension around his mouth softening.
"She was my sister," he finally said, his voice a low, jagged rasp. "She was the only person who saw me as something other than a weapon for the Vane name. And your father's car turned her into a memory on a rainy Tuesday night. So, if you're looking for sympathy, Verina, you've come to the wrong man."
"I'm not looking for sympathy," Verina snapped, turning to face him. "I'm looking for justice. If my father did that, he should be in prison, not in debt to you. Why keep me? Why the marriage? Why this sick game?"
Silas opened his eyes, and the warmth she thought she saw was gone, replaced by a cold, predatory fire. He reached out, his hand sliding behind her neck, pulling her toward him until their noses were inches apart.
"Because prison is too kind for a Vance," he whispered, his thumb grazing the pulse point in her neck, which was thudding frantically. "I want to see the Vance legacy crumble in my hands. I want to see you realize that the man you spent your life protecting is the reason you're trapped in this car with me."
He leaned in closer, his lips ghosting over hers, a touch that was both a threat and a promise. "And most of all, I want to see you try to hate me while your body betrays you every time I touch you."
Verina gasped, her breath hitching as his hand tightened slightly. She wanted to pull away, to scream, to tell him he was wrong. But as his gaze dropped to her mouth, she felt a terrifying surge of heat that had nothing to do with anger.
The car slowed to a halt. One of the bodyguards opened the door.
"We're here, sir," the man said.
Silas let go of her, his expression instantly smoothing into a mask of professional indifference. "Stay in the car, Verina. If you step a foot out of this door, the deal for your father's medical team is revoked."
He stepped out, the heavy door thudding shut behind him. Verina watched through the tinted glass as he walked toward a group of men standing by a massive shipping container. But her mind wasn't on the docks. It was on the photo in her pocket—the one she had managed to slip away with.
She pulled it out, looking at the girl's terrified handwriting again. "He's coming for us."
If Silas's sister was hiding from someone, and that person wasn't Verina's father, then Silas was chasing the wrong ghost. And if she could prove it, she wouldn't just be free of the contract. She would be the only one who could save Silas from himself.