Chapter 2: The Library Upstairs
Upstairs, Harper barely heard the chaos.
Pain had become its own world—thick, consuming, endless.
Grayson’s grip tightened around her wrist. “You think this changes anything?” he hissed. “You think he can save you?”
Before Harper could answer—
The lights flickered.
Then died.
Darkness swallowed the library.
A second later, the door behind them creaked open again.
Not violently this time.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Footsteps followed.
Measured.
Unhurried.
Grayson turned, breath catching.
Dominic Kane stepped into the room like he had always belonged there.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Dominic’s gaze landed on Harper.
And something shifted.
Not softness—never softness—but something far more dangerous.
Control.
He crossed the room without looking at anyone else and crouched beside her.
“Stay with me,” he said.
Harper tried to laugh, but it came out broken. “You took your time.”
A flicker of something almost human passed through his eyes.
“I said five minutes.”
Behind them, Paige took a shaky step backward. “Dad… maybe we should—”
“Be quiet,” Grayson snapped, though his voice no longer carried power—only fear.
May you like
Dominic rose slowly.
Then he turned.
