Some hours later,

Lily's pulse raced in her ears as she sat up on the plush bed, her hands trembling, though she couldn’t tell if it was from the lingering effects of her crash or the overwhelming confusion swirling in her mind. 

Everything was wrong. She was supposed to be dead. 

Or so they thought.

But how did she get here? 

Where was she? 

This place was luxurious - far too luxurious for someone in her situation. 

The expensive, minimalistic décor and soft, dim lighting made it feel like a dream... or a trap.

A soft knock broke her thoughts, and Lily’s head snapped toward the door, her heart rate quickening. 

It opened to reveal a pretty blonde teenager. She stood with her usual air of confidence, her pale skin gleaming softly in the light, her sharp eyes calculating but not unkind.

"Hello, Lily. I'm Cassandra, Brother Damien’s younger sister." she said, her voice low, as if she were unsure of how to approach Lily. 

"Hi, Cassie! Nice to meet you." Lily smiled back.

"I’m sorry about everything you’re going through."

Lily sat up, the room spinning slightly, but she steadied herself. 

“Sorry?” 

She shook her head, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. “How can you be sorry for something you didn't cause?”

To her surprise, Cassandra’s lips curled into a tight, almost knowing smile. 

"I know I didn’t cause anything, Lily. But I do know what you're feeling." 

Suddenly, her gaze flickered to the window, as though making sure no one else could hear. 

"Do you know they’ve confirmed it. The police. Your death. The press is all over it.”

Lily felt a surge of panic. 

"No," she whispered, almost to herself. "No, I’m right here."

Cassandra’s eyes softened with a mixture of sympathy and cold detachment. 

"I know it’s hard to understand right now, but... everyone believes you’re dead. They’ve even made the announcement. Your family’s already grieving you, or so they say."

Lily’s knees buckled slightly as she sank back onto the bed. She felt like the world was slipping out from under her. 

Her father. 

Her stepmother. 

Her step siblings. 

Emma.

Her friends.

The thought that they believed she was dead, that they hadn’t bothered to check on her… it shattered something deep inside her.

The door opened again, and Lily looked up sharply. Damien stepped into the room, his tall, imposing figure framed by the doorway. His eyes, icy and detached, scanned her with an unreadable expression. She tensed, but there was no warmth in him. He was a storm contained in human form.

Behind him was the elderly woman who had been quietly keeping watch since Lily arrived. She didn’t speak, but her presence was steady and grounding, like an anchor in a sea of uncertainty.

Damien’s cold, emotionless voice broke the silence. 

"Nanny Esther, please escort my sister out, so Miss Carrington and I can have some privacy."

With a slight bow, the old lady led Cassie out and the atmosphere became tense as he watched Lily silently hyperventilating.

"Lily," he began, his gaze fixed on her, but it was more like he was looking through her than at her. 

"Get it together. What my sister said is true. The world believes you’re dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can move forward."

Lily stood up abruptly, her heart pounding in her chest. 

"What the hell is going on? Why would they lie about something like that?" Her voice was sharp, raw. “And why am I here, with you? Why would you save me?”

Damien didn’t flinch at her outburst. His eyes remained steely, locked on hers. 

“Because I have plans for you. You have something I need. And in return, I’ll give you exactly what you want.”

Lily’s eyes narrowed, suspicion and anger swirling in her gut. 

“And what’s that? Revenge?” 

She was almost breathless with the force of her own fury. “I want to know why my life has been ripped apart, Mr. Hawke? Why they did this to me. Why you did this to me?"

Damien took a single step forward, and the air between them thickened. His voice remained as cold and implacable as ever.

 

“Because you are part of a much bigger game now, Lily. And you're either in or you're out. But I don’t have time to explain it all to you, not yet. Just know that you’re alive for a reason. And that reason isn't about your past. It’s about what you’ll become.”

Lily recoiled at his words, but there was a sick, gnawing curiosity inside her that she couldn’t ignore. He had saved her - he had brought her here. 

But why? 

What did he expect from her?

"You think I’m just going to fall in line with your 'plans'?" she spat, her voice trembling with fury and fear. "I don’t even what you want. You don’t even care about me, do you?"

Damien’s lips tightened into a thin line, but he said nothing. He simply turned away, walking toward the door. 

“Rest. When you're ready, we’ll talk again. I won’t explain everything now, but you’ll understand soon enough.”

Lily opened her mouth to shout at him, to demand answers, but the words died in her throat. She didn’t even know where to begin. She was stuck, trapped in a web of lies and secrets, and Damien Hawke was at the center of it.

As he reached the door, he paused and turned his head just enough to look back at her over his shoulder.

"By the way," he said in that cold, clipped tone. "Cassandra will be here to check on you. Don’t make her regret it."

With that, he left, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. Lily stared at the closed door for a long moment, her heart racing. What had just happened? 

What had he meant by “you’ll understand soon enough”? 

She wasn’t sure if she should be grateful or terrified.

A sudden knock at the door jerked her out of her spiraling thoughts. She didn’t have to guess who it was. Cassandra entered without waiting for an invitation, her expression unreadable.

“Brother Damien's right, you know?" Cassandra said, folding her arms across her chest. 

"You need to rest. Things are moving fast, and you have no idea what’s coming. But if you want to survive in this world, you need to accept one thing: you’re no longer the same person you were before the accident. This new life isn’t something you can simply walk away from.”

Lily was silent, her mind whirling. The world thought she was dead, but she was very much alive, and the man who had saved her wasn’t some random stranger. 

Damien Hawke wasn’t just any businessman. He was something far more dangerous.

Lily had no choice but to play along, for now. But as her gaze met Cassandra’s, something inside her hardened. She wasn’t going to let anyone control her, not Damien, not Cassandra, not anyone. 

She just had to figure out how to play the game.

As she turned back toward the window, a shiver ran down her spine. The distant sound of a car engine growling somewhere outside echoed into the room. The softest voice inside her head whispered a single word: 

Danger.

What had she gotten herself into?