The city was colder than usual that morning, the sun hidden behind a layer of steel-gray clouds. Elena had learned over the past few weeks that this metropolis could be as cruel as it was beautiful. Its skyline, jagged and imposing, reflected ambition, power, and occasionally, the danger that lurked beneath polished exteriors. And today, that danger had a name: Damian Blackwood.
She first met him at one of Adrian's company events, a formal dinner hosted to welcome some of Blackwood Holdings' new investors. Damian's presence was immediately imposing—not because of his stature, which was average—but because of the aura he carried: sharp, calculated, and undeniably predatory. He had inherited the same keen mind as Adrian, though he lacked the subtlety and emotional restraint that made his brother so formidable.
