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Chapter 97 

Chapter 97 

Nico’s POV 

“Indeed… what is tonight, Dominic?” I asked, swirling the wine in my glass, eyes casually on the dark red liquid instead of his face 

He didn’t respond right away. 

Typical. He liked silence when he was trying to assert power. Liked dragging it our so you’d squirm. But I didn’t squirm 

anymore. 

Not with him. 

Aria sat still between us, her hands folded neatly in her lap. She hadn’t touched her food. Her wine was mostly full. But! noticed the way her fingers twitched. Her eyes weren’t on the plate. They were watching him. 

Like a girl trapped in a room with a predator she used to trust. 

Dominic finally looked at me. “Dinner.” 

“That’s the answer?” I laughed. “You dragged all this tension to the table for… dinner?” 

Aria didn’t laugh. She was already suspicious. I could see it in the way she sat–spine too straight, breath too shallow. 

“You’re pushing.” Dominic said calmly, setting down his knife. “Why?” 

“Maybe I’m just uncomfortable,” I replied. “It’s not every night I sit across from a man who nearly beat me to death.” 

Aria flinched. 

Dominic’s expression didn’t change. “Then maybe you should’ve stayed away.” 

“Maybe I should’ve,” I echoed. 

The guards behind us didn’t move, but I felt their eyes too. Everything in this mansion had eyes. The walls. The halls. Even the damn chandeliers. 

I leaned slightly toward Aria, speaking just loud enough for both of them to hear. “You okay?” 

She looked at me. Only for a second. 

But it was long enough. 

Long enough for Dominic to notice. 

“She’s fine,” he said, voice sharp. “She doesn’t need you to babysit her.” 

“Could’ve fooled me,” I muttered. “You hover like a ghost that can’t move on.” 

His chair creaked slightly as he sat back. “Watch your words.” 

“Or what?” I asked, lifting my glass. “You’ll finish what you started last time?” 

Aria stood suddenly. “Stop. Both of you.” 

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the tension like a blade. 

“I don’t want this,” she said. “Whatever this is.” 

Neither of us replied. 

Because she wasn’t wrong. 

Dominic wanted to own her. 

I wanted to free her… and maybe own a part of her too. 

We all wanted pieces of Aria. 

Dominic’s voice was colder when he spoke again. “This dinner is over.” 

He stood and walked to the door, pausing just once to look back at her. “Go to your room.” 

Not our room. 

Your room. 

The separation wasn’t lost on any of us. 

Aria nodded and left without a word, brushing past me with her gaze fixed to the floor. The hem of her dress whispered against the marble. 

When the doors closed, Dominic turned back to me slowly. 

“You’re lying to me,” he said flatly. 

1/4 

Chapter 97 

I smiled. “I’ve lied to you before. What’s different now?” 

“You’re sloppy” he said. “And worse, you’re sentimental” 

1 let the smile fade. “That a problem?” 

He stepped closer. “It is if it clouds your judgment.” 

“I think the only one with clouded judgment is the man building a golden cage for a woman who cries herself to sleep” 

His eyes didn’t flicker. “Get out of my house, Nico.* 

“I can’t,” I said evenly, holding my ground. “I have reports.” 

Dominic stared at me for a long second, the silence thick enough to strangle. Then he turned and poured himself another drink. 

“Make it quick.” 

I followed him back into the study. The chandelier above us swung slightly, casting shadows across the floor like claws. He didn’t sit. Just stood by the bar, swirling that overpriced scotch like it was the only thing keeping him from drawing blood. 

I kept my voice neutral. “There’s been talk around the east docks. Movement. Namnes floating around that haven’t been used in years.” 

“What names?” 

“Thorne. Galetti. Romanov.” 

He raised an eyebrow at that last one. 

“Thought Mikael was done with the docks,” he muttered. 

I shrugged. “That’s what everyone thought.” 

He said nothing. Which meant I was close. 

“You think he’s moving something?” 

“I think,” I said carefully, “he’s planning something. And if he is… you’re the target. Again.” 

Dominic downed the drink in one long swallow. “He always aims for what he can’t control.” 

His voice was low. Distant. The kind of tone a man used when he was thinking about war. 

I stepped closer. “Then tell me something.” 

He looked at me, eyes narrowed. 

“Why keep Aria so close?” 

He didn’t answer. Not right away. 

So I pressed again. “If she’s really leverage… why treat her like a queen in a castle? Why risk so much for someone who might burn the whole kingdom down?” 

“She’s mine,” he said simply. “That’s all there is to it.” 

Mine. 

There it was. 

Not love. Not protection. Not guilt. 

Possession. 

Aria excused herself from the dinner not long after that, claiming she was tired. The room cleared fast, as if everyone knew to make themselves scarce. 

I waited a few minutes, then slipped out too. 

Not to be suspicious. 

Just curious. 

She was heading down the hallway, her dress clinging to her waist, steps quiet like she didn’t want to be heard made two of us. 

“Aría,” I called, catching up just before she reached the stairs. 

She turned, startled. “Nico?” 

“You left fast.” 

“I didn’t feel like sitting between two wolves pretending not to bite.” 

I smiled faintly. “You’ve always had good instincts.” 

2/4 

Chapter 97 

She folded her arms. “What do you want?” 

I stepped a little closer, but not too close. “To warn you.” 

Her eyes narrowed. “About what?” 

“Be careful who you give your heart to,” I said quietly. “Not every cage looks like one.” 

She froze. 

I could see the war in her eyes. Part of her didn’t want to believe it. Part of her already knew. 

“Is that a threat?” she whispered. 

“No.” I leaned in slightly. “It’s the last favor I’ll give you.” 

I didn’t wait for a response. 

I just walked away slow, steady, my pulse kicking harder in my throat than I’d ever admit. 

Because the next time we stood face to face, I might be wearing a different name. 

And she might be wearing chains for real. 

And this? 

This was my only warning. 

I walked the hallway slowly, each step echoing quieter than the last. My palm itched where the folded paper burned against my skin. I’d written it the moment I returned from the docks. The location. The security shift schedule. The vault codes Dominic trusted only a handful of us to know. 

I had memorized it all. 

I reached my room and locked the door behind me. My hand hovered over the burner phone on the desk. The one Mikael gave me. It blinked, waiting. 

Send it. That was the deal. 

Give him the vault, the weak points. And in return? 

Power. 

Land. A crew. Control of East Beldova. And Aria. 

Not like a prize. Not exactly. But… mine. If I wanted her. 

And I did. God help me, I did. 

But my fingers didn’t move. 

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the screen. One swipe and it was done. 

Dominic would never see it coming. 

He trusted me like a brother. Raised me. Trained me. Bled beside me in too many wars to count. 

But somewhere along the line, I realized I was always the one bleeding more. Taking the hits. Fixing the mess. And what 

did I get? A scar, a title, and a front–row seat to watch him spiral for a girl who barely looked at me. 

I clenched my jaw. 

My phone vibrated once. 

Mikael: “We have an opening. Clock’s ticking.” 

Still, I didn’t hit send. 

Not yet. 

Instead, I grabbed my jacket and walked to the balcony. The city stretched out below me like a secret waiting to be broken. 

Dominic’s men moved like shadows down there. 

Controlled. Obedient. Fearless. 

All of them would fall. One by one. 

If I sent this. 

I lit a cigarette and watched the ash trail down like snow. 

I thought of Aria’s face when I warned her. That tiny flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. Not fear. Not hate. Just doubt. 

She didn’t trust him. 

Not fully. 

That meant something. 

3/4 

Chapter 97 

Maybe not enough to save her. Maybe not enough to save me. But it was something. 

The cigarette burned down to the filter. I flicked it off the balcony. 

Then I walked back inside. 

The phone was still blinking. Still waiting. 

I pressed my thumb to the screen. Typed out the message slowly. Line by line. 

Vault access. South corridor entrance. Quietest window. Best time: Sunday, 3:15 am. Only two guards. 

I stared at it. 

Then deleted it. 

I’d send it tomorrow. 

Not because of guilt. Not because of loyalty. 

Because sometimes the real power isn’t in what you destroy. 

It’s in what you delay. 

For now. 

Let him think I’m still on his side. Let her keep wondering. 

Let the city sleep a little longer. 

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