The apartment smelled like old smoke and loneliness. Gross poured himself a drink, didn't offer her one. He sat, gesturing for her to do the same.
"I remember Dave," he said, voice calm
"Bright kid. Too loyal. That's what got him killed."
Luna's heart stopped. "So he was murdered?"
"Not in the way you think." Gross leaned back. "He found something he wasn't supposed to. A shipment routed through offshore accounts. Drugs. People. Money. Take your pick. He brought it to Lucien's father."
"Alaric Roth?"
Gross nodded. "The old devil himself. And do you know what he did? He told Dave to keep his mouth shut. Told him he'd protect him. But someone else found out. And then, two days later, boom. Dead in a construction site 'Botched work' That's what they called it."
Luna swallowed hard, her hands fists in her lap. "You're sure?"
"I was there, girl. I worked security. I cleaned up the messes. Until one day I became one."
He looked her dead in the eyes.
"They'll come for you next if you dig too deep."
"I'm already in the mansion," she whispered.
His eyes widened.
"You're braver than your brother."
"Or more foolish."
He didn't argue.
When she returned, the mansion was shrouded in late afternoon gold. Lucien stood at the front balcony, watching her walk up the steps.
He didn't speak until she was close.
"How was your mother?"
Luna nodded. "Resting."
"You look pale."
"She's not getting better."
A lie. Her mother is very healthy and she didn't visit her but Lucien couldn't know that.
He searched her face for the truth, but this time, she was careful. Her expression unreadable.
"I had someone follow you," he said casually.
Her stomach lurched. "What?"
"Relax." He smirked. "I didn't. But that reaction tells me enough."
She bristled. "Do you always play games with people's lives?"
"Only when I don't trust them."
"You hired me."
"I watched you."
She stepped past him, voice sharp. "Then watch more carefully, Mr. Roth. I'm not the one hiding skeletons."
Lucien grabbed her wrist.
She froze.
"Luna," he said softly. "Tell me who you are. Please."
For a moment, the mask slipped. She saw not the heir to a criminal empire, not the cold man with sharp suits and sharper eyes, but a boy searching for something real.
But she couldn't give it to him.
"I'm just a maid," she whispered.
She pulled her hand free and walked away, leaving him standing on the steps, alone, watching, and more certain than ever that she was a storm in disguise.
Luna stood in the servants' hallway, her hands pressed flat against the cool wood of the wall as if grounding herself. The echo of Michael Gross's voice still clung to her mind.
"He found something he wasn't supposed to. And then he died."
She had imagined the truth for years. But hearing it? It made it real. It made her brother's ghost louder, more demanding.
Her stomach twisted as she remembered Lucien's voice on the balcony.
"Tell me who you are. Please."
That please had startled her more than the accusation.
Because it wasn't just suspicion in his eyes.
It was longing.
And it terrified her.
She turned sharply when she heard footsteps. But it wasn't Lucien.
It was Marla, the head maid.
"You're late for the dining room, Luna," she snapped. "Mr. Roth requested tea."
Of course he did.
Lucien was alone in the dining hall, seated at the end of the long table like some emperor in exile. The late afternoon light washed his sharp features in gold, softening the usual steel in his jaw.
Luna entered carefully, head lowered, keeping her posture perfect.
He didn't look up from his tablet. "Took you long enough."
"My apologies, sir."
"You visited your mother today."
He glanced at her then, eyes narrowing slightly. "What's her name again?"
Luna didn't flinch. "Margaret."
"And she lives...?"
"Brooklyn."
"Where in Brooklyn?"
Her hands froze mid-pour.
He was testing her.
She met his gaze head-on this time. "Why do you care?"
Lucien set his tablet down slowly. "Because ever since you walked into this house, I've had the feeling you weren't here just to clean silverware."
Luna's voice tightened. "And what do you think I'm here for, Mr. Roth?"
His answer was too quiet.
"To break something."
Their eyes locked ,an electric current passing between them. Tension thick and unspoken.
Luna couldn't breathe.
"I don't know what kind of game you're playing," he continued, standing now, stepping closer, "but if you think I won't figure it out..."
"Then what?" she cut in, her voice sharp. "Will you fire me? Threaten me? Lock me in this mansion like your secrets?"
Lucien's face darkened. "You know nothing about my secrets."
"I know enough," she hissed.
Silence fell between them.
Then suddenly ,he laughed. Bitter and low.
"You think you're the first girl who's tried to spy on me?"
"I'm not spying"
He stepped closer. Too close.
"You're doing more than spying. You're searching."
She could smell him now. Dark cologne and heat.
She hated the way her body noticed.
"I don't care about your empire," she said, her voice trembling with fury. "I care about the people it's crushed."
Lucien's jaw flexed. "Like your brother?"
Everything stopped.
Her blood turned cold.
"What did you say?" she whispered.
Her heart thundered.
He knew.
He didn't know everything, but he was close. Too close.
She turned to go, but he caught her wrist again, gently this time.
"Why didn't you just ask me?" he asked, voice suddenly different ,soft, raw. "If you wanted to know what happened to him?"
"Because I don't trust liars," she snapped. "And you come from a whole family of them."
She yanked her hand back.
But she didn't leave.
Because something in his eyes kept her there.
Not pity. Not arrogance.
Regret.
"I don't know what part my family played," Lucien said quietly. "But I promise you ,if they had him killed, I wasn't part of it."
Luna didn't answer. Couldn't.
Because for the first time… she wanted to believe him.
Later that night, Luna paced her tiny room, emotions tangled. She hated that Lucien made her feel seen. That he reached places in her with words and glances that had nothing to do with the plan.
She had a mission. She couldn't afford distractions.
But when the knock came on her door, she already knew it was him.
Lucien stood in the hall, hands in his pockets, looking like a man tired of pretending.
"I shouldn't be here," he said.
"Then don't be."
But neither of them moved.
"I just..." he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I've seen people fake loyalty. I've seen liars. But you… you confuse the hell out of me."
Luna crossed her arms. "Good."
He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "You looked heartbroken when I mentioned your brother. That wasn't an act."
"It wasn't."
"Then tell me the truth. About why you came here."
She stepped forward, her voice a whisper: "Would you believe me if I said I don't know anymore?"
He blinked.
"I came to destroy you," she admitted. "To find the truth. To make you pay. But now…" She looked away. "Now you're not the monster I expected."
Lucien stepped closer, brushing a loose strand of hair from her cheek.
"I am a monster," he whispered. "Just not the one who killed your brother."
And before she could stop it, before she could remind herself why she hated him...
His lips brushed hers.
A ghost of a kiss.
She didn't kiss back.
But she didn't pull away.
"I'm not your enemy," he said against her lips. "But if you keep running from me… I might become one."
He left then, silent as he came.
And Luna stood there, shaken, her heart pounding with something far more dangerous than vengeance.
Something terrifying.
Something like desire.