Chapter 20

I sat at my desk, sifting through a stack of documents that demanded my attention. My fingers tapped impatiently against the mahogany surface, but my mind refused to cooperate.

Sophia.

Again, she had ignored my call. If it weren’t for Charlotte keeping me updated, I wouldn’t even know if she was still breathing.

The woman I once knew was gone. In her place stood a stranger—cold, distant, untouchable.

When Isabella announced her return, I had braced myself for chaos. I expected Sophia to be the same reckless storm she’d been in her youth. But she surprised me.

She stayed away.

I should’ve been relieved. Instead, it gnawed at me. The indifference. The silence. The way she haunted my thoughts like a ghost I couldn’t exorcise.

Gritting my teeth, I shoved the papers aside and strode to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The city sprawled beneath me, glittering and indifferent.

A knock.

"Sir, Chief Inspector Gregory is here," Olivia announced.

I hadn’t even heard her enter.

"Send him in."

Gregory stepped inside, his posture rigid despite his age. A retired detective, a former soldier—sharp as a blade, even now. We shook hands, and he took a seat.

"Any leads?" I demanded.

"Nothing concrete." His jaw tightened. "The gang’s vanished. No traces, no connections to the attacks on your ex-wife."

Frustration coiled in my chest. "There has to be something. Why target her?"

It made no sense. With the way things stood between us, if anyone should be in danger, it was Isabella.

Gregory exhaled sharply. "These people are professionals. No evidence, no witnesses. We’re chasing shadows."

The words settled like ice in my veins.

"Will they come for her again?"

His silence was answer enough.

I dismissed him with a terse nod. The moment the door closed, I snatched my phone.

"Send Maxwell up."

Within minutes, my head of security stood before me. His voice, permanently rasped from an old injury, grated against the quiet.

"You called, boss."

"Put two men on Sophia. Twenty-four seven. Close enough to intervene, far enough she won’t notice."

His brow lifted. "She’s still in danger?"

"Assume she is. I want her protected. At any cost."

Maxwell studied me, curiosity flickering in his gaze. He knew better than to question me.

"Consider it done."

As he left, I exhaled. The irony wasn’t lost on me. I’d never assigned her a guard before. Not even when Liam had two.

Hell, she had asked me what the hell was wrong with me.

And I didn’t have an answer.

The club’s private lounge hummed with low chatter. Sebastian scowled into his whiskey, shooting Nathan a look of pure disgust.

"Finally. Deal with him before I lose my damn patience."

Nathan looked like hell.

"I went to see Sophia," he muttered. "She told me to consider her dead. To forget I ever had a sister."

My grip tightened around my glass. "What the hell is her problem?"

Sebastian snorted. "Seriously? After years of treating her like garbage, you expected open arms?"

I shot him a glare. Unlike us, Sebastian had never gone out of his way to hurt her. He’d simply ignored her existence.

"You broke her," he continued. "Now she’s protecting what’s left. Wounded animals lash out. So does she."

The truth settled like a blade between my ribs.

Especially against those who hurt her first.

Silence stretched. Heavy. Suffocating.

Then—

"Isabella’s here," Sebastian announced.

My head snapped up. "Who invited her?"

Nathan shrugged. "She heard we were meeting. Wanted to say hi."

Annoyance flared. The last person I wanted to see.

The irony wasn’t lost on me.

For years, I’d dreamed of having her back. Now that she was here, it felt… wrong.

Forced.

Like a puzzle piece jammed where it didn’t belong.

And I had no idea why.