The wind on the rooftop turned cold.
Lydia felt Jaden's heart pounding against her chest — steady, heavy, real.
But the peace lasted only seconds.
A faint crack split the night.
A sound too sharp, too sudden.
Jaden's eyes widened — instinct kicking in before thought.
He yanked Lydia down behind a marble table, glass shattering above them.
"Get down!"
The next shot rang out, and a chunk of tile exploded beside her. Lydia gasped, adrenaline surging through her veins.
"Jaden—what's happening?"
He scanned the rooftops across the street, voice low but fierce.
"They found me."
"Who?"
He met her gaze — and she saw it then: fear, buried beneath control.
"The same people I've been hiding from. The reason I left New York. The reason I distanced myself from you."
He tore off his jacket, revealing a holstered gun. Lydia froze.
"You carry—?"
"Always," he said coldly, eyes locked on the opposite building.
He fired twice — precise, controlled. A dark figure collapsed in the distance.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Lydia's hands trembled. "You just—"
He turned to her, voice soft but urgent. "We need to leave. Now."
They raced through the stairwell, sirens wailing in the distance.
Down through the hotel's glittering halls, past startled guests, out to the waiting Rolls-Royce.
As the driver hit the gas, Lydia turned to him. "You can't keep running like this, Jaden. Tell me the truth."
He exhaled — long, tired, like a man who'd been holding his breath for years.
"My father's death wasn't an accident," he said finally. "He was murdered by the same organization that's been laundering money through Steele Industries."
Lydia blinked. "And you…?"
"I found out. Tried to expose them. They silenced me — blacklisted me, destroyed my reputation, and now they want me dead."
Her throat tightened. "Why didn't you tell me?"
His gaze dropped to her hand — still clutching his sleeve.
"Because I couldn't risk losing you too."
For a long time, neither spoke. The hum of the city surrounded them, but inside the car, it was just them — two broken souls caught between love and danger.
Then Jaden's phone buzzed.
One message.
From an unknown number.
> "You should have stayed away from her."
The blood drained from his face.
He crushed the phone in his palm.
Lydia whispered, "Jaden, what does that mean?"
He turned toward her s
lowly, his voice shaking with fury.
"It means they know who you are."