Zara left the penthouse before dawn.
No words. No breakfast. No lingering glances.
She just walked.
Through the still-sleeping city. Through her own bruised thoughts. Through the truth that now lived in her bones:
Damian Wolfe had built his empire over the bones of hers.
And she'd loved him anyway.
Still did.
That realization alone made her feel weak and nothing terrified Zara Lancaster more than weakness.
---
7:22 A.M. Lancaster Global HQ
Her office felt colder this morning. Sleek, clean, powerful but wrong.
Everything she'd built here was rooted in pain. Survival. Vengeance.
She looked out over the city and made a decision.
If Damian wanted to keep secrets, fine.
But Zara wasn't playing defense anymore.
She was going to hunt.
---
Wolfe Tower, Executive Conference Room.
"Where the hell is she?"
Damian's voice cracked across the conference room as the board sat, silent and stiff. Cameras were prepped for a press briefing, lights glaring under the tension in the air.
Bridget cleared her throat. "She said she'd be here on time."
"She's late."
And Damian never waited.
He was pacing when the glass doors slid open.
Zara walked in, wearing the sharpest gray suit anyone had ever seen, her chin high, lips neutral, and a black folder tucked under her arm.
"I hope you weren't starting without me," she said smoothly.
Every head turned.
Even Damian looked briefly shaken.
She walked straight to the front of the room, laid the folder on the table, and opened it.
Inside:
A background dossier
Digital footprints
Financial trails
VPN traces
All leading to one name.... Harrison Vance.
"Your former CFO," Zara said, locking eyes with Damian. "And the man blackmailing us both."
---
Flashback Into Zara's Private Search (the night before).
She hadn't slept.
Instead, she'd logged into a ghost server her father once used for off-book investigations. Dug into Damian's corporate files. Cross-referenced offshore transfers. Analyzed server pings from the anonymous messages.
And the name that kept coming up?... Harrison Vance.
The same man who'd helped Damian take over Lancaster IP.
The same man who vanished after the scandal.
Now? He was back. The reason still behind all this still remaind unknown.
---
Back to Present
"This is why the photo leaked," Zara said calmly. "Why the threats keep coming. Harrison's been hiding offshore, but his latest shell company sent funds to a digital asset firm in Manhattan. I traced it."
She threw a USB on the table. "And that's all the evidence we need to bring him down."
The room was silent.
Damian stared at her like he'd never seen her before.
"Zara," he said quietly. "You did this alone?"
"Yes," she said. "Because I don't trust anyone else anymore."
He stepped forward. "You should've told me."
"You should've told me everything years ago," she snapped.
Damian's jaw clenched. He looked… wounded.
But he didn't argue.
Not this time.
---
Press Briefing ( Conference room).
They stood together, shoulder to shoulder, behind the podium.
The room buzzed with reporters, cameras, whispers. Everyone hungry for drama. For scandal. For blood.
Zara leaned into the mic.
"There have been rumors. And yes, some truths," she said. "But what matters is this: Wolfe International and Lancaster Global are not built on lies. We are built on survival. Innovation. And the brutal kind of loyalty that turns enemies into partners."
She looked at Damian.
"We've made mistakes. But we clean our messes ourselves."
Then she pulled the pin.
"Effective immediately, we are pursuing legal action against Harrison Vance for cyber crimes, corporate sabotage, and blackmail."
Flashes went off like fireworks.
Zara smiled.
Power looked good on her.
---
Later That Evening – Penthouse Balcony
The city shimmered below as Damian poured two glasses of bourbon and handed her one.
"You stole my thunder," he said, almost admiringly.
"You should thank me," she said. "I saved your empire today."
"I noticed," he murmured, sipping.
They stood in silence for a moment.
Then he asked it.
The question that mattered.
"Do you hate me now?"
Zara didn't look at him.
"No," she whispered. "But I don't trust you either."
He nodded once. "Fair enough".
She turned to face him. "You hurt me, Damian."
"I know."
"And I'm not sure I can forgive you."
"I don't expect forgiveness," he said. "Only a chance."
Pause.
Then Zara stepped forward, took the glass from his hand, and set both down.
"Tonight," she said. "No lies. No masks. Just you and me."
And then she kissed him, soft, slow, and dangerous.
This was her choosing him.
Despite it all.