Chapter 45 Playing With Fire

• The night was heavy with the scent of storm-soaked air, the city lights flickering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The penthouse was cloaked in shadows, the silence between its walls brittle, ready to shatter with the slightest touch.
• Sofia stood at the edge of the balcony doors, the cool breeze playing with the loose strands of her hair. The thin silk of her camisole clung to her curves, the fabric teasing her skin with every movement. Anger still simmered beneath her surface, but it was different now—no longer chaotic, no longer aimless. It was focused, sharpened into a blade she was ready to wield.
• The faint creak of the door behind her broke the silence. She didn’t turn, already knowing who it was. His presence was like smoke—dark, insidious, seeping into the air around her.