In my first life, I was Adrian Cole, the invisible hand that shielded the powerful Damaris empire for fifteen loyal years. I cleaned their scandals. I carried their sins. I protected their heirs. And when my loyalty was no longer convenient… they repaid me with betrayal, a gunshot that stole the life of the man I loved, and an unmarked grave meant to erase us both. But fate refused to let our story end there. I opened my eyes twenty years earlier… reborn as Kairo II Damaris, the quiet, overlooked fifteen‑year‑old grandson of the very dynasty that destroyed me. This time, I rise with everything they never counted on the memories of their treachery, the knowledge of their future crimes. Now I have one purpose: bring down the Damaris empire from within and make every one of them answer for the lives they shattered. But fate has its own cruel design. Zarai Kane, the brilliant forensic journalist who was the only person I ever trusted, the man whose loss still follows me is also reborn. And he remembers everything. In his eyes, I’m still the man who couldn’t save him. The man he believes is tied to his death. We stand on opposite sides of vengeance, both scarred by the same past, both pulled toward a future neither of us can outrun. And even as I move toward the empire I plan to destroy, there is one truth that decides every step I take: I will protect Zarai Kane even if it costs me my second life. My name is Kairo II Damaris. This is my second chance. And the dynasty that made me a weapon will fall by the hand they once controlled.

"You have until the end of the day to decide. If you do not sign, the offer is off the table, and all further communication will cease. The time is now 12:00 PM. Make your decision fast or we'll find someone else to take your place." I nodded, my legs trembling slightly as I rose from his chair. As I took the contract folder from the desk, his fingers brushed mine. I hesitantly met his eyes and it felt like one look from him could pull all the air from my lungs. His eyes held something dark and intense, something I wasn't going to think too much off. For my sake at the least. I yanked my hand back, adrenaline flooding my system. I turned, unable to hold his gaze any longer, and walked towards the massive doors of his office. I heard his final words just before I pulled the handle: “Miss Hayes. Choose wisely. Your time is running out.” I stumbled back into the silent, oppressive hallway, clutching the contract as if it were a bomb that would explode at any time if I didn't hold tight enough. I had the means to save Maya, but at what cost exactly. ~~~ Elara Hayes is brilliant, defiant, and ever so desperate. Her sister’s life or death medical bills have forced her to accept a massive salary and an impossible contract as the Executive Assistant to the city's most dangerous man, Dante Russo. Dante, the ice cold CEO of Russo Global Assets, is the legitimate face of a criminal syndicate who sees Elara not as an employee, but as a rare asset he has been waiting for years to claim. The moment she signed that NDA, her financial problems were solved, but her life has now been bound to his.