Chapter 13
VALERIA’S POV
The rich aroma of wine filled the air as I leaned back against the plush leather couch, my legs crossed lazily. Across from me, Evander swirled the deep red liquid in his glass, a smirk playing on his lips.
Donovan sat on the edge of the penthouse balcony, brooding as usuall, nursing a whiskey. His sharp gaze flicked between me and Evander, but he stayed quiet
I raised an eyebrow at my brother. “For someone who spent a decade dead, you drink like a man who hasn’t missed a single year.”
Evander chuckled, tilting his glass toward me. “Some habits don’t fade, sister”
I clinked my glass against his. “To new beginnings.”
“To old endings,” he countered, taking a slow sip.
We both laughed. But Donovan didn’t. Instead, his jaw clenched–just slightly. It was a small thing. Barely noticeable. But I noticed.
I turned my gaze to him, my amusement fading into something sharper. “What’s with the tension, Donovan? You look like you’ve got something stuck in that calculated brain of yours.”
Donovan’s fingers tightened around his glass. He exhaled sharply, then leaned forward. resting his forearms on his knees. “I should’ve told you Evander earlier,” he muttered. “There was an… incident tonight.”
Evander stilled.
I merely tilted my head, feigning curiosity. “Oh?”
Donovan’s sharp eyes flickered to me. He knew I was playing dumb.
He sighed. “Someone tried to take your sister out, Evander.”
Evander’s entire body locked up. The shift in the air was immediate. Cold, Dangerous. His wine glass shattered in his grip. He didn’t even flinch.
“Who?” Evander’s voice was calm–too calm. The kind of calm that came before a storm.
Donovan leaned back. “A hired hitman. He’s handled.”
Evander’s icy gaze snapped to me. His jaw clenched. “And you didn’t tell me?”
I shrugged. “Why? So you could go on a murderous rampage and blow our entire operation?” I leaned forward, resting my chin on my palm. “No offense, brother, but you’re still impulsive.”
Evander exhaled harshly, shaking his head. “You should’ve told me, Valeria.”
“You weren’t ready for it.”
His eyes burned with fury. “I wasn’t ready? After everything-”
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wed,
Evander exhaled harshly, shaking his head. “You should’ve told me, Valeria,”
“You weren’t ready for it.”
His eyes burned with fury. “I wasn’t ready? After everything-”
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I held up a hand. “That’s exactly why.” My voice softened, just a fraction. “You just got your
past back. You don’t need more weight to carry.”
Evander looked like he wanted to argue. But he didn’t. Because he knew I was right. Silence stretched between us.
Then, quietly, he murmured, “I lost ten years of my life.”
The laughter from earlier had faded. The wine forgotten. Evander wasn’t looking at me anymore. He was staring at his hands–his scarred hands.
“I don’t remember much,” he admitted, voice rough. “One moment, I was bleeding out, barely breathing. The next… I woke up in a hospital. No memory. No past. Just a name that didn’t feel like mine.”
I swallowed. Donovan stayed silent, watching carefully.
Evander let out a humorless laugh. “For years, I lived as someone else. A ghost with no past. Then, one day, I started dreaming.” He exhaled, rubbing his forehead. “Memories started coming back in pieces. Faces. Voices. But I couldn’t make sense of them.”
I clenched my fingers around my glass. “Who helped you?”
Evander’s gaze darkened. “A benefactor. A man who… knew who I really was before I even did.”
A chill crawled up my spine. “And?”
Evander smirked, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “He gave me what I needed. Money. Power. Resources. He told me, ‘When you remember everything, come find me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And did you?”
Evander’s jaw tensed. “Not yet.”
That sent a new kind of unease through me. Whoever this man was–he had been watching Evander. Waiting.
And I didn’t trust that.
Evander took a deep breath, shaking off the weight of the past. “But that’s not what matters right now.” His gaze sharpened. “Leticia. That’s what matters.”
Ah. Back to business. I straightened. “I assume you did some digging?”
Evander gave me a wicked grin. “Oh, sister. I dug deep.” He pulled out his phone and slid it across the table.
I picked it up, eyes scanning the files. And my blood boiled. Leticia wasn’t just Benjamin’s plaything. Her entire family had been involved in the Romano Massacre. My grip on the phone tightened.
Evander’s voice was cold. “It wasn’t just Benjamin. He may have been the one who pulled
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14:46 Wed, 2 Apr across the table.
I picked it up, eyes scanning the files. And my blood boiled. Leticia wasn’t just Benjamin’s plaything. Her entire family had been involved in the Romano Massacre. My grip on the phone tightened.
Evander’s voice was cold. “It wasn’t just Benjamin. He may have been the one who pulled the trigger on Father, but Leticia’s family? They orchestrated the entire thing.”
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to stay calm. So this wasn’t just revenge anymore. This was personal.
I set the phone down. “Well,” I murmured, swirling my wine. “That just makes this more fun.”
Donovan gave me a sharp look. “Valeria.”
I turned to him, smiling sweetly. “What?”
His jaw ticked. “I know that look.”
Evander smirked. “Oh, you’re in for a show, Donovan.”
I leaned forward, “I’m going to destroy Leticia, piece by piece. Not just her reputation. Not just her status. Her very existence.”
Donovan exhaled. “You’re playing with fire.”
I met his gaze, my smile widening. “No, Donovan.” I lifted my glass. “I am the fire.”
Donovan groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “Evander, your little sister is shaving years off my life.”
Evander laughed loudly, clearly entertained. “That’s because you’ve got a huge crush on her.”
Donovan scoffed, taking a deep sip of his whiskey, but I didn’t miss the way his eyes flickered toward me. “Shut up.”
Evander smirked. “I like you for her, so be it. Watch her do her crazy revenge.”
Donovan shook his head, but there was a hint of a smirk at the corner of his lips as he took another drink. I stared at him, my own amusement growing. He really was handsome. More than Benjamin. Benjamin was polished, cold, and calculating. But Donovan? He was rugged, dangerous, and effortlessly powerful. And the way he looked at me–like he was trying to decipher me–made something in my chest tighten. Interesting. I took a slow sip of my wine, never breaking eye contact. Yes. Very interesting.
