CHAPTER 11
ZANE
The warehouse smelled like blood and oil—old stains on concrete that never quite faded. Shadows clung to the walls, and I stood in the middle of them like I belonged there.
Leather jacket. Gloves. Neutral face. But inside, I was burning.
Nico Riviera arrived late, of course. Always did. The man walked like time bowed to him—slow, deliberate, the echo of his expensive shoes slicing through the silence like a dare.
“Reign,” he greeted, voice smooth as aged whiskey and twice as toxic. “You’ve been making noise.”
I didn’t answer. Just looked at him, jaw locked, gaze cool. Every part of me a performance. Reign Mitchell was composed. Strategic. Dangerous. Not the boy who wanted to rip out the heart of the man standing in front of him.
“I thought we had an understanding,” he continued, circling me like a vulture. “I grant you my blessing to expand your reach. You get protection, ports, silence. In exchange, I get loyalty. Respect. Partnership.”
I didn’t flinch. “You pushed product through my lines without telling me. That wasn’t partnership. That was betrayal.”
He laughed. Low. Condescending. “You’re emotional. I forget sometimes—you’re still young. New. But I’ve been at this longer than you’ve been alive. Don’t confuse control with disloyalty.”
“You think I can’t tell the difference?” My voice was calm. Too calm. “You don’t get to make moves in my house and call it a gift.”
That’s when he smiled. That sharp, knowing smile of a man who thought he held every string. Who thought he owned me.
“Speaking of gifts…” He stepped in close—too close. “How is she? My daughter. Mia.”
Every muscle in my body locked. But I kept my face blank.
He leaned in like he was telling me some goddamn joke. “Pretty little thing, isn’t she? I bet she’s been... entertaining. I trust you’re enjoying what I sent.”
My fists curled in my pockets. My throat locked.
“She wasn’t yours to send,” I said, flat. Barely above a whisper.
He chuckled. “She was mine the moment she was born. And now she’s yours. That’s how this world works. You think I care who you put your hands on, Reign? She’s a chess piece. A ribbon around a deal. Don’t start pretending you’re some kind of saint.”
You vile, rotting bastard.
My blood roared in my ears. In my mind, I saw it—I saw myself dragging him to the ground, smashing his smug face into the floor until nothing was left but pulp and bone. I wanted to kill him. Wanted to watch the light leave his eyes and whisper Mia’s name as he choked on his own blood.
But I stayed still.
“You’re confusing me with someone who tolerates that kind of talk,” I said, quiet. Deadly. “Try it again, and we’ll see if your blood still looks red when it hits the floor.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you threatening me?”
“I’m warning you.” I didn’t blink. “There’s a difference.”
A long pause.
Then that damn smile again. The kind of smile that made people disappear.
“You’re ambitious. I admire that. But careful, Reign. Some things are... irreplaceable. Daughters. Leaders. Empires.”
I said nothing. If I opened my mouth again, I wasn’t sure Reign would speak. It’d be me. Zane. And Zane didn’t bluff.
Nico let the silence hang. He studied me—searching for a crack he’d never find. Then, with a self-satisfied breath, he added, “I’ve been thinking about your request. The lab. I’m granting it. Let’s see if you can actually implement the compounds you were talking about. If this works, we expand. Quietly.”
Of course he spun it like he was the one offering a gift. Like I hadn’t already built half the formula myself.
“I hope your ideas about the new drug pipeline prove as promising as you suggested.” He smirked. “We both know the market’s hungry.”
I nodded once. Reign’s nod. Cold, composed.
But underneath, Zane was seething.
Because Mia wasn’t a pawn. She wasn’t leverage. She was the only thing in this poisoned world worth protecting. And this man—this monster in a tailored coat—talked about her like she was something to be used.
He turned his back and walked away like the conversation hadn’t just written his name on a grave.
And I stood there. Frozen. But screaming inside.
One day, I thought. One day I’ll end you. I’ll make sure Mia never has to hear your name again.
And you’ll die never knowing that the man you handed her to was the one who buried you.
I was Reign Mitchell.
But beneath the mask, Zane Hill was waiting.
And my vengeance had a heartbeat.
Nico paused before stepping out into the light pooling near the warehouse exit. “I have other business to attend to,” he said over his shoulder. “But we’ll speak again tonight. Arturo De Santis is hosting a gathering—his youngest son’s engagement. High table names will be there. There are people I want you to meet.”
His tone was final. Like an invitation from a king. Or a command.
I waited five minutes after he was gone. Long enough for the sound of his car to vanish into the smoggy dark. Long enough to be sure I wouldn’t run after him and ruin everything Charlie and I had built.
Then I walked.
Every step away from that warehouse was a battle not to turn back and end him right there.
But this wasn’t about impulse. It was about the long game.
At a safe distance, I reached my car—black, clean, forgettable. I slid behind the wheel, gripped it with both hands.
His voice echoed in my skull.
“Enjoying what I sent you?”
Like she was a product. A bonus. A token of goodwill.
I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt. My fingers ached against the steering wheel.
You disgusting piece of shit. She’s not yours. She was never yours.
I took a breath. Two. Reign wouldn’t call Charlie angry. Reign would sound like everything was going according to plan.
I tapped the earpiece. One ring. Two.
“Charlie,” I said when she picked up, voice calm, level. “He’s biting. Deep.”
A pause. Then her voice, sharp and dry. “You keep your cool?”
“As instructed.”
“He say anything about the lab?”
“He’s granting it,” I said, eyes narrowing as I stared at my own reflection in the rearview mirror. “Hopes I can help push the new drugs. Thinks I’m ambitious. Thinks he’s reeling me in.”
Charlie chuckled. “That arrogant son of a bitch.”
“He’s walking straight into the damn maze I built for him,” I muttered. “Every move he makes? Logged. Watched. Redirected. He’s eating every poisoned breadcrumb I leave behind thinking it’s his feast. And when it caves in, he won’t even realize I was the one holding the match.”
Another beat of silence. Then Charlie’s voice dropped low. “And Mia?”
I swallowed hard. “Still safe. But if he ever—” I stopped myself. My grip on the wheel tightened. “He talks about her like she’s furniture. Like she belongs to him.”
“Focus, Zane,” Charlie warned gently. “You lose yourself, you lose the mission. We’ll get her out clean. But not if you blow it now.”
I nodded slowly, even though she couldn’t see me. “Yeah. I know.”
There was a long pause before I added:
“The Yakuza and that creepy hacker wife of his are the only reason he’s not already drowning. They’re propping up the whole damn empire with wires and blood money. But even that won’t last. He doesn’t know half of what’s coming. And by the time he figures it out…”
I smiled. Cold. Hollow.
“…he’ll be choking on the ashes of his own brilliance.”
Charlie exhaled a laugh, dry and knowing. “You’re doing good, Zane.”
“Yeah,” I said, voice gone dark. “Just gotta keep him distracted. Keep playing Reign.”
But inside, I wasn’t Reign.
Inside, I was the man Nico tried to break. The man he mocked.
The man who loved Mia.
And if I can help it, I will do anything in my power to put him down.