The rest of the day was spent in strategy sessions. Cain's security team headed by a terrifying man named Marcus who looked like he ate bullets for breakfast briefed us on the break-in investigation.
"Professionals," Marcus said, pulling up enhanced footage. "Ex-military, probably. They knew exactly what they were looking for and how to avoid leaving evidence."
"Whitmore's people?" Cain asked.
"Possible. Or…" Marcus hesitated. "There's been chatter. Your name came up in some circles."
"What circles?"
"The kind that remember the Moretti family business."
The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. Cain's expression went absolutely cold.
"I've been out for five years."
"Blood doesn't care how long you've been out." Marcus met his gaze steadily. "Someone might see this as an opportunity to remind you where you came from."
"Then they're about to remember why I left." Cain's voice was ice. "Increase security on Raven. I want eyes on her 24/7. And find out who broke into her apartment. I don't care what it takes."
Marcus nodded and left, leaving me staring at Cain with a thousand questions.
"Moretti family business?" I asked carefully.
"Old history."
"The kind that involves people breaking into apartments?"
His jaw ticked. "The kind I left behind when I decided I'd rather build empires than inherit them."
"Cain"
"Not now, Raven." He stood, tension radiating off him in waves. "I need to make some calls. Stay here. Don't answer the door for anyone but Marcus or me."
He left before I could argue, and I was alone in a penthouse that suddenly felt more like a gilded cage.
I pulled out my phone and did what any reasonable person would do I googled "Moretti family business."
What I found made my blood run cold.
The Morettis weren't just wealthy. They were legacy. Old New York money with roots that went back generations. But buried in the society pages and business articles were hints of something darker. Connections to organized crime. Rumors of money laundering. A father who'd died under suspicious circumstances five years ago.
And Cain the heir who'd walked away from it all to build his own empire.
No wonder he understood revenge. No wonder he knew how to hire professionals, how to manipulate situations, how to move through the world like he owned it.
He'd been born into power and violence. He'd just learned to wear a better suit.
My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.
Unknown: You should ask your boyfriend about what really happened to his father. About why he really left. About what he's really capable of.
Unknown: He's using you, Raven. And when he's done, you'll be just another casualty.
My hands shook. Someone was watching. Someone knew about me and Cain. Someone wanted me scared.
It was working.
I didn't tell Cain about the text.
I should have. I knew I should have. But something held me back maybe pride, maybe fear, maybe the sick curiosity of wanting to know what he was hiding before confronting him about it.
So I deleted the messages and pretended everything was fine.
Two days passed in a strange domestic rhythm. Cain worked from home, taking calls in his study while I memorized the Whitmore dossier. We had breakfast together. Lunch.
He'd order dinner from restaurants that didn't deliver to normal people. We'd review strategy, go over scenarios, plan every detail.
And at night, we'd end up in each other's beds, like gravity pulling us together despite every logical reason to stay apart.
It was comfortable. Terrifying. Addictive.
On the third morning, I woke to find Cain already dressed, standing at the window with his phone pressed to his ear. His voice was low, dangerous.
"I don't care what it costs. Find them."
He ended the call and turned to find me watching.
"Morning." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "Sleep well?"
"Who are you trying to find?"
"The people who broke into your apartment." He came to sit on the edge of the bed. "Marcus has some leads. We'll know soon."
"And then what?"
"Then I make sure they understand that touching what's mine has consequences." He said it casually, like discussing the weather. Like threatening violence was just another Tuesday.
"Cain, I need to ask you something."
His expression shuttered. "Do you?"
"The Moretti family. Your father. What really happened?"
Silence stretched between us, taut as a wire. His jaw clenched, and for a moment I thought he might not answer. Then:
"My father built an empire on fear and blood. Legitimate businesses on the surface, but underneath" He stood, pacing to the window. "Loan sharking, protection rackets, things I'm not proud of. I was supposed to inherit it all. Become the next don."
"But you didn't."
"No. I wanted something different. Something clean." His laugh was bitter. "He said I was weak. That I'd disgraced the family name. That real Morettis didn't walk away."
"How did he die?"
"Heart attack. In his study. Surrounded by ledgers documenting every illegal transaction he'd ever made." Cain turned to face me. "I was there when it happened. Watched him clutch his chest and fall. And I didn't call 911 until it was too late."
My breath caught. "Cain"
"I didn't kill him, if that's what you're asking. But I didn't try very hard to save him either." His dark eyes met mine. "So you tell me, Raven. Does that make me a monster?"
I should've been horrified. Should've packed my bags and run.
"It makes you human," I said quietly. "And complicated. And someone who chose a different path even when it cost you everything."
Something shifted in his expression surprise, maybe, or relief.
"You're not scared?"
"Of you? No." I stood, closing the distance between us. "Of what we're doing? Of what I'm becoming? Terrified. But of you? Never."
He pulled me against him, holding tight like I might disappear. "You shouldn't trust me."
"I know."
"You should leave. Take the money and run."
"I know that too."
"Then why are you still here?"
I looked up at him at this man who'd offered me vengeance and money and protection, who'd kissed me like I was oxygen, who'd just confessed to letting his father die.
"Because maybe I'm a monster too."
His smile was devastating. "Then we're perfect for each other."