Chapter 2 - The Scent of Old Smoke
The leather interior of the Maybach was warm, smelling of cedarwood and faint cigar smoke. Marcus drove in silence, his tattooed knuckles pale against the steering wheel. Emma pulled his heavy coat closer, feeling small inside its vast warmth. Her heart was a raw wound, beating erratically against her ribs while the city sped past outside the tinted windows.
"Where are you taking me?" Emma finally asked, her voice raspy from crying. "I can't go back to my apartment. Julian has the master keys, and his family controls the board in that building."
"You are never stepping foot near Julian Sterling again," Marcus replied flatly, eyes fixed on the rain-slicked road. "You’re coming to my estate in Hudson Valley. It’s fortified, private, and beyond the reach of his socialite connections."
Emma leaned her head back against the leather headrest, closing her eyes. She and Marcus had a past, one she had deliberately buried three years ago when she chose Julian’s polished, polite facade over Marcus’s ruthless ambition and notorious underworld rumors. Julian was safe—or so she had foolishly thought. Marcus, with his inked throat, relentless empire, and sharp corporate takeovers, had terrified her. Yet here he was, shielding her when her world collapsed.
The car ascended the winding gravel drive of Vance Manor forty minutes later. High iron gates closed automatically behind them with a heavy hydraulic hiss. The house loomed against the pines—a modern fortress of black steel, glass, and limestone. Staff members waited at the entrance, bowing respectfully as Marcus cut the engine and opened Emma’s door.
"Prepare the east wing suite," Marcus instructed his head housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, before turning back to Emma. "You will rest tonight. Tomorrow, we rewrite your future."
May you like
Emma nodded weakly, allowing Mrs. Gable to guide her through the vaulted foyer toward the grand staircase. But as she reached the first landing, a loud chime echoed through the silent manor. A framed tablet mounted to the wall flashed an urgent red alert.
Marcus glanced up at the screen, his dark eyes instantly turning to ice. Julian Sterling’s private security detail was currently breaching the estate’s outer perimeter gates.
