07/12/2026
Harper Langford’s last hope was the phone hidden behind the library books. "Mr. Kane... please help me," she breathed, fighting the dizziness from her head wound, her fingers broken from resisting her family's demands.
Dominic Kane, the city's most dangerous underworld boss, listened in absolute silence before answering with lethal precision. "Where are you?"
"Ravenshore. My father's estate in Greenwich. The library. They smashed my cell phone. I don't have much time."
Outside, a heavy thud shook the door frame. Below them, a grand winter party continued, masked by luxury and lies.
"Harper, block the door. Throw your weight against it if your hands are hurt, but stay on the line," Dominic ordered.
"Open the door, Harper," Grayson Langford barked through the wood. "Do not embarrass this family further."
Harper panicked. "He controls the police and the courts, Dominic. He'll fake my medical records and say I lost my mind."
"Let him try," Dominic answered. "Tonight, Ravenshore answers to me."
The wood splintered with a sickening crack. Grayson smiled through the gap. "Who's on the phone, daughter?"
"Get back, Harper," Dominic commanded.
The lock snapped and the door burst open. Grayson stepped in, immaculate in his tuxedo, accompanied by his wife and Paige—the sister currently holding the jagged champagne glass coated in Harper's blood.
"The phone. Now," Grayson demanded. Harper simply shook her head, defying him for the first time in her life.
Grayson lunged forward, grabbing her fractured hand and grinding the broken bones. As blinding pain flared through her, the receiver slipped to the rug.
Dominic's voice rose from the carpet: "Five minutes, Harper."
Grayson felt a sudden chill, then stomped on the phone. "No one is coming for you."
Exactly five minutes later, the massive front doors of Ravenshore were blasted inward, shattering the marble entryway.