His thumb dragged roughly across my cracked lips, the corner of his mouth curling upward.
"Lucky for you, I have a weakness for picking up feral cats. Especially the bleeding ones."
Pain shot through my jaw, bone grinding against bone. I didn't struggle.
My dead eyes met his dangerous gaze head-on.
Not only did I refuse to flinch—I closed the distance myself, letting my warm breath fall against his throat.
"If Mr. Finley is brave enough to take in a feral cat, isn't he worried I'll tear his throat out?"
I tugged at the corner of my mouth. The movement pulled at the bruise on my cheek.
"Lend me your power. I'm taking back the East District."
A low laugh rumbled from Christian's throat.
He wasn't angry. Not even close. Those long fingers traced down my neck, then wrenched open the thin collar of my prison uniform in one sharp motion.
The sound of tearing fabric was deafening in the sealed cabin.
His gaze darkened as it traveled over the scars scattered across my collarbone and abdomen—souvenirs from prison. Carved into me by people Dennis's rivals had paid off to deliver their revenge.
I'd nearly had my uterus ruptured during a beating that lasted three hours.
"All right. I'll give you everything you want."
Christian pressed his fingers down hard on a wound that hadn't yet healed.
Agony ripped through me. My whole body convulsed, cold sweat soaking through to my spine in an instant.
But he leaned into my ear, his voice tender, his words merciless.
"In return, from this moment on—your life, your bloodline, even every single breath you take—belongs to me."
I bit down on my lower lip so hard it split, swallowing the pain whole.
"Deal."
The Maybach climbed the hillside and pulled through the gates of the Finley estate.
This was the vantage point that overlooked the entire Capital—and the gilded cage Christian Finley had built just for me.
The car door opened. Two rows of bodyguards in black stood at perfect ninety-degree bows.
"Welcome home, Mrs. Finley."
Their voices rang out in unison, echoing across the grounds.
I dragged my battered body onto the red carpet. Every step sent a tearing pain ripping through my abdomen.
Christian didn't offer a hand. He watched me struggle with the detached interest of a man observing something beneath him.
That was when my old phone buzzed.