She picks up the envelope. She pulls out the deed.
She reads it. Her eyes widen.
"Silas... this is..."
"15 Central Park West," I say. "The Penthouse. Specifically, Nikolai’s penthouse. I seized it as part of the asset forfeiture before the ink was even dry on his death certificate."
"We’re going to live in his house?" she asks, a shiver running through her.
"No," I say. "We’re going to gut it. We’re going to tear down every wall, rip out every floorboard, and burn every piece of furniture he owned. And then..."
I walk to the bed and crawl onto the mattress, stalking toward her.
"...we are going to build a new fortress. One designed by you."
"By me?"
"You’re an artist," I say, trapping her against the headboard. "Design me a cage, Ivy. Design a place where we can keep the world out. A place worthy of us."
She stares at me. I see the spark in her eyes—the creative fire mixing with the darkness.
"A gallery," she whispers. "I want walls for art. I want light."
"Done."
"And a studio," she adds. "With a lock that only I can open."
I smile. She’s learning.
"Negotiable," I say, leaning in to kiss her. "But the bedroom door stays unlocked."
She wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me down.
"Deal."
I kiss her, and it feels like signing a contract in blood.
We are not just survivors anymore. We are the architects of a new order.
The war is over. The reign has begun.
And as I look at the woman who killed for me, wearing my ring and my tracker, I know that the most dangerous thing in this city isn't the money or the guns.
It’s us.
CHAPTER 27
THE GILDED CAGE
POV: IVY
The champagne in my glass costs three hundred dollars a bottle. It tastes like cold gold—crisp, metallic, and entirely indifferent to the fact that I killed a man four weeks ago.
I stand in the center of the gallery, surrounded by the elite of New York City. They are a sea of black tuxedos and designer gowns, a murmur of polite conversation and fake laughter. They smell of expensive perfume, old money, and desperation.
They are looking at me.
They are whispering about the young artist who came out of nowhere, financed by the disgraced-yet-triumphant CEO Silas Vane. They are whispering about the rumors—the kidnapping, the war, the disappearance of the Russian mob. But they don't dare ask.
