The shattered remnants of glass still littered the floor of Adonis' penthouse office when Juliet stepped inside. Her boots crunched against the sharp edges, but she didn't flinch. The storm between them had calmed, yet the air remained heavy, thick with words neither of them had spoken.
Adonis stood by the window, his silhouette outlined by the bleeding sunset. The warm hues painted him in gold and crimson, but Juliet saw only the shadows beneath his eyes.
He didn't turn when he spoke. "I never wanted you involved in this."
Juliet crossed her arms. "That's convenient. Because I never wanted to be involved with you either."
His jaw tensed. "Then why are you still here?"
She hesitated. A breath. A heartbeat.
Because she needed answers. Because beneath the hate, there was fascination. Because walking away from Adonis felt like surrendering a piece of herself.
She didn't say that.
Instead, she walked further in. "You left before I could ask. What happened at the warehouse? Giorgio's men were there. Why?"
Adonis finally turned. His hazel eyes weren't cold—not entirely. They flickered with something else. Guilt, maybe. Or fear.
"I went looking for answers," he said quietly. "About Giorgio. About what happened to your parents."
Juliet's heart stopped. "And?"
"There's a ledger," he said. "Hidden somewhere in the city. A record of bribes, orders… names. If I can find it, I can prove Giorgio ordered the hit on your parents. And I can bring him down."
Juliet felt the weight of her gun holster at her hip. "You should've told me."
"I didn't want you to get hurt."
"Too late for that," she snapped. "You think I've made it this far by being protected? I've been chasing ghosts for years, Adonis. And now you're telling me the man who framed you… is the same man who murdered my family?"
Adonis stepped closer, his voice low. "I'm telling you we're not enemies."
Juliet's breath hitched. She hated how close he stood. How his presence made the room feel smaller, like gravity itself was bending toward him.
"You want me to trust you now?" she whispered.
"No," he said. "I want you to fight with me."
They stood there, tension pulsing between them like electricity in a live wire. Juliet's fingers twitched at her side, torn between drawing her weapon or closing the space between them.
"Say it," she demanded. "Say what you're not telling me."
Adonis looked away, his voice strained. "My father... he didn't just frame me to protect the mafia's secrets. He traded me to Giorgio."
Juliet's eyes widened.
Adonis continued, "He made a deal. My prison sentence in exchange for a contract. A blood oath. One that let him keep his business and expand the De Luca legacy."
"And your mother?" Juliet asked, her voice brittle.
Adonis' hands clenched into fists. "She didn't know. But after I was sent away… she got sick. I wasn't there. She died without ever seeing me free again."
Juliet's anger faltered, replaced with a strange ache. She thought she had carried pain alone—but Adonis' story was carved from the same steel.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because if we're going to survive this," he said, stepping even closer, "you need to know what kind of man I've become. What I've done. And what I'll do to end Giorgio's reign."
Their eyes locked. And for a moment, neither of them were police nor fugitive, detective nor criminal. Just two broken people—haunted, hardened, still standing.
Juliet finally broke the silence. "I'll help you find the ledger."
Adonis nodded once. "It's hidden beneath the old opera house. There's a tunnel system. My crew is already preparing a sweep. But it's dangerous. Giorgio's men are everywhere."
Juliet's voice was steel. "Good. Let them come."
Before he could respond, Juliet turned, walking toward the door. But halfway there, she stopped. Her hand hovered above the knob, and then slowly, she looked back.
"I don't forgive you yet," she said. "But I don't hate you anymore."
Adonis said nothing. He didn't need to.
As Juliet stepped out into the hallway, she felt it—the pull toward him, no longer powered by rage, but something slower… more dangerous.
Down the hall, Antonio waited by the elevator, arms crossed, jaw tense. "You okay?" he asked.
Juliet didn't answer right away. Her mind was already racing with maps, strategy, escape routes.
"Tell the team to gear up," she said. "We're heading to the opera house. Tonight."
Antonio narrowed his eyes. "And Adonis?"
She glanced back toward the door.
"He's with us. For now."