Bound by fate and the billionaire

Chapter9

Elena's POV

I didn't get in the car.

"Thanks for the bail, but I'll find my own ride."

Lucian's smile didn't waver. "I paid three hundred thousand dollars to get you out. The least you can do is hear me out."

"I don't owe you anything."

"No, but you owe Aiden everything. And right now, Cassandra's lawyers are preparing emergency custody papers. They'll file at nine AM claiming you're an unfit mother with a criminal record."

My blood turned to ice. "You're lying."

"Am I?" He held up his phone, showing me a legal document. Petition for Emergency Custody. Cassandra's signature at the bottom.

I got in the car.

"Smart choice," Lucian said as the driver pulled away. "There's a diner two blocks from here. Public enough to be safe, private enough to talk."

"Why are you helping me?"

"I'm not. I'm helping myself. But our interests align at the moment."

The diner was nearly empty. We took a corner booth. Lucian ordered coffee. I ordered answers.

"Cassandra doesn't want Aiden," he said. "She wants leverage over Dante. The custody suit is a threat. She'll drop it if you disappear again."

"I'm not running."

"Then you're gambling with your son's future. Cassandra has money, connections, and a clean record. You have a faked death and an arrest for attempted murder. No judge will side with you."

"Dante won't let her take Aiden."

Lucian laughed. "Dante doesn't know he's Aiden's father. Not officially. And even if he did, he's married to Cassandra. In the eyes of the law, that makes her the boy's stepmother with potential custody rights."

"They're divorcing."

"The papers aren't signed. Until they are, she has standing." He leaned forward. "But I can make this go away. I have information Cassandra doesn't want public. Offshore accounts, falsified tax returns, an affair with Marcus that started six months before she claimed Dante was unfaithful."

"Why would you burn your sister-in-law?"

"Because she's trying to destroy my family's company. Marcus is using her to destabilize Dante, create chaos, and force a hostile takeover. Once he controls Blackthorne Industries, Cassandra gets half in the divorce settlement. They've been planning this for over a year."

The pieces clicked together. The timing of the attack, Elena's arrest, the custody threat—all designed to keep Dante off-balance.

"What do you want in return?"

"Help me prove Marcus orchestrated the hit on Dante. He hired the shooters, set up the ambush. But he used intermediaries. I need evidence."

"I'm a surgeon, not a detective."

"You're the woman who faked her death and disappeared without a trace. You know how to dig up secrets." Lucian slid a thumb drive across the table. "This contains financial records linking Marcus to a security firm that specializes in corporate espionage. One of their contractors was arrested near the site where Dante was shot. Connect the dots, and we both get what we want."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then Cassandra files at nine AM, and you lose your son by noon."

I pocketed the thumb drive. "I'll look at it. But if you're playing me—"

"I'm not. I want Marcus gone and Cassandra neutralized. You want your son safe and Dante alive. We help each other, or we both lose."

He stood, dropped cash on the table. "One more thing. Dante's meeting someone at the Fifth Street warehouse. Midnight. Whoever called him claims to have information about the attack."

"How do you know that?"

"I've been tracking his phone since the shooting. Someone has to keep him alive." Lucian checked his watch. "It's eleven-forty. If you leave now, you might get there before he does something stupid."

***

The warehouse was dark, abandoned. I parked a block away and approached on foot. Dante's car was already there.

I found him inside, standing in the center of an empty floor. No one else in sight.

"It's a trap," I said.

He spun around. "Elena? What are you doing here?"

"Lucian told me. We need to leave."

"Not until I find out who called me."

"There's no one here, Dante. Whoever it was wanted you isolated, vulnerable—"

The lights cut out. Emergency exit signs provided the only illumination, casting long shadows across the concrete.

"Move!" I grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the door.

Gunfire erupted. Bullets sparked off metal beams. We ran, ducking behind a stack of crates.

"How many?" Dante asked, breathing hard.

"At least two. Different angles."

He pulled a g*n from his jacket. I stared at him.

"You carry now?"

"After the last time? Yes." He checked the magazine. "Stay behind me."

"I'm not hiding while you play hero."

"Elena—"

"We go together or not at all."

More gunshots. Closer this time. We moved along the wall, staying low. I spotted a fire exit fifty feet away.

"There," I whispered.

We made a break for it. The door was locked. Dante shot the handle, and we burst through into an alley.

A car screeched around the corner, headlights blinding. I braced for impact, but it stopped inches away.

The passenger door flew open. "Get in!" Izzy screamed.

We didn't hesitate. The car was moving before the doors closed. Behind us, two men emerged from the warehouse, weapons raised. Izzy floored it, tires smoking.

"Who the hell were they?" she demanded.

"Marcus's people," Dante said. "Had to be."

"Or Cassandra's," I added. "Lucian thinks they're working together."

"Lucian?" Dante's head snapped toward me. "When did you talk to my brother?"

"He posted my bail. Had some interesting theories about your almost-murder."

"He's not wrong," Dante said grimly. "I've been tracking Marcus's movements. He was in the city the day of the shooting. Left town an hour after."

Izzy pulled into a hospital parking garage. "We need somewhere safe to regroup. My place is compromised. So is yours, Elena."

Dante pulled out his phone. "I know where we can go. Somewhere Cassandra doesn't know about."

"Where?" I asked.

He met my eyes. "The house where we used to meet. Before everything fell apart."

My heart stopped. The beach house. Our secret place.

"It's still yours?"

"I never sold it. Couldn't." His voice was quiet. "Figured someday you might come back."

Izzy looked between us. "Am I missing something?"

"Long story," I said. "Drive.”