Rain lashed against the tall glass windows of the Skycore Tower, streaking like tears across the building that once bore her name. Somewhere inside, among hollow boardroom echoes and whispered betrayals, Alina Hart stood motionless, her heart shattering louder than any storm outside.
Just hours ago, she was the youngest CEO in the city's history. Confident. Unshakable. Untouchable. But tonight, the empire she'd built from the ashes of her parents' legacy had crumbled in the most unforgivable way—at the hands of her own brother.
Caden Hart.
She had raised him, protected him. Loved him more than life itself. But all it took was one forged signature, a few bribes, and a betrayal so sharp it nearly split her soul.
Now she stood on the rooftop, wind biting into her skin, memories blurring behind the rain. The sky offered no comfort—only the sick hum of city lights below, waiting like vultures.
Then it happened.
Footsteps.
She turned—but too late.
A shove.
A whisper.
A masked figure—face hidden in shadows—pushed her off the edge.
Glass shattered around her like falling stars. Time slowed as her body spiraled downward. The world turned into a smear of light and wind and terror. She didn't scream.
She couldn't.
She was falling—and this was how her story would end.
But fate had other plans.
Suddenly, the air thickened. A force ripped through the storm, scorching the sky with black flame. Alina felt something powerful wrap around her—arms like steel, heat like fire—and she stopped falling.
No.
She was flying.
Cradled in the arms of a man—or something like a man—who hovered effortlessly above the world.
His presence was terrifying. Wings, vast and shadowed, beat against the wind, sending ripples through the rain. Horns curved from his dark hair like a crown forged in hellfire. His eyes, a haunting violet, locked with hers—cold, ancient, and aching.
He wasn't human.
But he had saved her.
Alina's voice trembled. "What… what are you?"
He stared down at her, emotionless. "You saw nothing. Forget me."
She shook her head slowly. Even through the shock, her mind was sharp. "You caught me mid-air. You're not a man. You're something else."
"I said forget."
"No."
Her fingers curled around his black coat, steadying herself. The storm still raged, but something inside her clicked—survival.
She didn't know what he was. A monster? A devil?
But Alina Hart knew one thing: in this city, power protected power. And if this devil had wings strong enough to break gravity, maybe he could help her take back everything her brother stole.
And she would make sure of it.