Chapter 6
It shattered against the pavement, fragments scattering at my feet like the glass lodged in my chest. The officers flinched, but no one spoke. No one dared
I wasn’t a man who lost control. But something in me cracked that night. A part of me went up in flames with her.
And for the first time in my life, I felt something I didn’t recognize
Regret.
NEVAEH’S POV
There’s a strange kind of freedom in being dead.
For the first time in years, I wasn’t bound to Benjamin Willoughby’s rules, wasn’t suffocated by the weight of his control. The world believed Nevaeh Willoughby had burned to ashes in that car explosion. And that meant Violet Romano–my true self–could finally rise from the grave.
But just because I had a new name didn’t mean my past had disappeared. The scars were still there, carved deep into my soul, whispering reminders of everything I had lost
I sat in the backseat of Donovan Cross’s car, staring out the tinted windows as we drove through Midnight Syndicate territory. It was an entire world away from the polished halls of the Willoughby estate. The streets here were ruled by power and reputation, by the kind of men who didn’t hesitate to kill if you so much as breathed the wrong way.
And yet, I felt safer here than I ever had in Benjamin’s arms.
Donovan pulled into a gated compound, the kind that screamed untouchable. High walls, armed guards, and a security system so advanced it could probably detect a person’s sins before they even stepped inside.
The moment the car stopped, the front doors of the massive estate swung open.
Evander.
He stood at the top of the steps, his posture relaxed but his sharp gaze missing nothing. He looked different from the boy I had known–his once–playful eyes were cold now, his jaw set in hard lines that spoke of years of survival. He was no longer just my older brother.
He was a king in the underworld.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then, in a voice rough with years of absence, he murmured, “Violet.”
And just like that, the last of Nevaeh shattered.
I stepped out of the car, my movements slow, cautious. The weight of everything I had been through pressed against my chest, but I refused to break. Not now. Not in front of him.
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Then, in a voice rough with years of absence, he mwmured, “Vigles?
And just like that, the last of Nevach shattered.
I stepped out of the car, my movements slow, cautious. The weight of everything I had been through pressed against my chest, but I refused to break. Not now. Not in front of
him
“Evander,” I said, my voice steady, “You’te… you’re alive?
“So are you” His gaze raked over me, searching, “I thought I lost you?
i swallowed hard. “You almost did”
For the first time, something flickered in his cold expression–pain. He didn’t ask what happened. He didn’t need to. He already knew. Instead, he opened his arms.
And after years of pretending to be strong, I let myself fall into them.
***
“You want revenge.”
Evander sat across from me in his study, fingers steepled, eyes unreadable.
I didn’t hesitate, “Yes”
His lips twitched, like he wasn’t surprised in the slightest. “Good. Because I’ve already started laying the groundwork.”
I raised a brow, “Oh?”
He leaned back in his chair, smirking slightly, “Benjamin thinks he won. He thinks he got rid of me and secured his empire. But I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, Violet. And now that you’re here, it’s time to teach him what happens when you underestimate a Romano.”
I smiled, slow and sharp.
He had no idea.
For years, I had been forced to play the role of the perfect wife, the docile queen beside him. But that version of me was gone.
Now, I was ready to burn his world to the ground,
The next few weeks were brutal,
Evander wasn’t interested in coddling me, and I didn’t want him to. If I was going to take down Benjamin and Leticia, I needed to be more than just a woman scorned. I needed to be untouchable.
So I trained.
I studied the world of business, learning the intricacies of power plays and hostile takeovers. I memorized the weaknesses of Benjamin’s empire, mapped out every crack in his foundation.
I sat through meetings with crime lords and socialites, charming them with my name and silencing them with my presence. Evander introduced me to powerful allies–the kind of
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be untouchable.
So I trained.
I studied the world of business, learning the intricacies of power plays and hostile tekeovers. I memorized the weaknesses of Benjamin’s empire, mapped out every crack in his foundation.
I set through meetings with crime lords and socialites, charming them with my name and silencing them with my presence. Evander introduced me to powerful allies–the kind of people Benjamin would never suspect were working against him.
And when I wasn’t training, I was remembering.
The way Benjamin’s voice had dripped with amusement as he told Leticia I was never meant for this world.
The way he had touched her, kissed her, in the same office where he had once vowed to
love me.
The way he had stolen my freedom, my family, and still had the audacity to think he had
won.
I would make him regret ever laying his hands on me.
“You need a new face and a name,” Evander said one night, studying me from across the
room.
1 arched a brow. “Violet Romano isn’t good enough?”
“It’s a name tied to revenge,” he said. “You need one tied to power.”
I smirked. “And what do you suggest?”
He leaned back, considering. “Valeria Lancaster.”
I let the name roll through my mind. It was sharp, commanding. The kind of name that belonged to someone who was untouchable.
“I like it,” I said,
Evander’s smirk deepened. “Good. Because in three weeks, Valeria Lancaster is going to walk into Benjamin’s world and make him regret every single choice he’s ever made.”
I tipped my head. “And how exactly am I supposed to do that?”
He slid a folder across the table.
I opened it–and my breath caught.
Inside were documents. Business contracts. Ownership transfers. Bank statements. Everything linking Benjamin’s empire to illegal dealings. Everything that could destroy him in an instant.
A slow smile curled my lips.
“Oh, brother,” I murmured. “You really have been busy.”
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He slid a folder across the table.
I opened it–and my breath caught.
Inside were documents. Business contracts. Ownership transfers. Bank statements.
Everything linking Benjamin’s empire to illegal dealings. Everything that could destroy him
in an instant.
A slow smile curled my lips.
“Oh, brother,” I murmured. “You really have been busy.”
He chuckled. “You have no idea.”
I closed the folder, my pulse thrumming with anticipation. Benjamin thought he had buried
- me.
But he forgot–ghosts always come back.
And I was going to haunt him until there was nothing left of his empire but ash.
Chapter 7
