CHAPTER FOURTEEN Burn It Down The confrontation exploded inside a private airfield hangar. Gunfire. Chaos. Rain is hammering metal roofs. Dante arrived just in time to pull Aria out of the line of fire. “You came back,” she whispered. “I never left.” Together, they exposed the syndicate publicly. Governments intervened. Arrests followed. Empires collapsed overnight. But none of it mattered to Aria in that moment. Because Dante was bleeding. And suddenly, power meant nothing. CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Cost of Love Hospitals humbled everyone. Even billionaires. Aria sat beside Dante’s bed for two straight days. No meetings. No calls. No empire. Just him. When he finally opened his eyes, she almost cried. Almost. “You look terrible,” he murmured weakly. Aria laughed unexpectedly. The sound broke something open inside her. “I hate you,” she whispered. “No, you don’t.” He was right. Again.