Chapter : A Kiss of Poison

Brandy Owens lived in the kind of place that made it easy to forget who you really were.

Perched atop a glass high-rise in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, her penthouse screamed luxury—sleek marble floors, towering windows, and a faint scent of white lilies that didn’t belong to her. The kind of space designed to distract from the darkness it hid.

Lucien stood next to me in the private elevator, hands clenched at his sides. He hadn’t spoken much since we left the penthouse. I didn’t press him. I knew what this visit meant for him. Brandy wasn’t just a name in the Kingmaker’s file—she...