Julius Hansen shot up in bed, his chest heaving as if he'd just surfaced from a deep, dark ocean.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. The last thing he remembered was the suffocating emptiness of his penthouse, the scent of Candice Luna's perfume still clinging to the furniture like a disease. He remembered the weight of the wedding ring on his finger, a shackle binding him to a woman who had systematically destroyed his life to possess him.

He remembered Amina's face, streaked with tears, as she walked away from him for the last time.

"You chose this, Julius," she had said. "You chose her empire over our love."

The memory was a physical pain, a phantom limb that ached with a loss so profound it had hollowed him out.

He gripped the edge of the mattress, his knuckles white. The hatred he felt for Candice Luna was a living thing, a fire in his blood.

A private nurse rushed into the room, her eyes wide with alarm. "Mr. Hansen, you need to lie back down. You've been in an accident."

He batted her hand away, his gaze sweeping the room, sharp and assessing. "Where am I? What's the date?" His voice was a low growl.

The nurse, intimidated, stammered the name of the hospital and the current date.

Julius froze.

He looked at the calendar on the wall, then at his own hands. No wedding ring. No faint scar on his palm from where he'd punched a wall in a fit of despair.

A wild, incredulous joy surged through him. He was back. He was back before the forced engagement, before he'd lost Amina, before Candice had sunk her claws into him and his family.

He tried to sit up fully, but a wave of dizziness and a sharp pain behind his eyes forced him back against the pillows. He took a steadying breath, the physical discomfort a dull echo compared to the psychological torment he'd just escaped. He grabbed his phone from the bedside table, his fingers shaking so badly he could barely unlock it. He had to hear her voice. He had to know she was safe.

"Sir, you really shouldn't be using your phone," the nurse began, but a single, withering glare from Julius silenced her.

He found Amina's number and pressed call. It rang twice before she answered.

"Julius?" Her voice. It was warm, real, not a figment of his tortured memory. It was the sound of his salvation.

His throat closed up. He couldn't speak.

"Julius, are you there? Is everything okay?"

He cleared his throat, forcing the words out. "I'm fine, Amina. Just... wanted to make sure you were safe." He ended the call before he could break down completely.

She was still there. He hadn't lost her yet.

And he would burn the world to the ground before he let Candice Luna take her from him again.

Just then, the door to his room burst open. His personal assistant rushed in, his hair disheveled and his suit jacket damp. He looked both furious and humiliated.

"Sir," the assistant sputtered, "that woman, Candice Luna-she's completely unhinged!"

Julius's eyes narrowed. "What's the status on the Luna merger? And how is she?" he asked, his voice dripping with disdain.

The assistant recounted the humiliating encounter, from the thrown water to the smashed roses.

Julius didn't get angry. He let out a short, sharp laugh. It was a cold, mirthless sound.

"So, she's starting her games already," he murmured to himself. He remembered this from his past life. The calculated tantrums, the feigned vulnerability. Candice Luna was a master manipulator, playing the victim while she moved her chess pieces across the board. This time, he wouldn't fall for it.

"Ignore her," Julius commanded his assistant. "Send Vance, the lawyer. I want the merger documents pushed through. I want her legally boxed in before she can make another move."

"Sir, she seemed... genuinely unstable," the assistant offered timidly.

"It's an act," Julius snapped, his patience gone. "She's an actress, and a damn good one. Do as I say."

He swung his legs out of bed and walked to the window, pulling back the curtains. Sunlight streamed in, glinting off the glass and steel of the Manhattan skyline. He could see the Luna Group tower from here.

This time, he would be the predator. He would protect Amina, and he would take back control of his own life.

His phone buzzed. It was General Morrison, an old friend of his father's from his military days.

"Heard you took a spill, son. You alright?"

"I'll live," Julius said curtly. "Listen, I might be making some aggressive moves in the coming weeks. I may need enhanced security. Someone discreet, the best you know."

"I've got just the man," Morrison said without hesitation. "Brandon Castro. Ex-Delta. Runs his own private firm now. The man's a ghost. I'll send you his contact."

Julius grunted his thanks. He'd take every advantage he could get.

Just then, Arthur Vance appeared at the door. "Mr. Hansen. I tried to see Miss Luna. She refused to open the door. Barricaded it from the inside."

Julius's eyes narrowed. The game was more intricate this time. She was playing hard to get, trying to make him chase her, to make him want the prize.

A slow, cold smile spread across his lips.

"Let her hide," he said, his voice dangerously soft. "Tomorrow, I'll go over there myself. And I will tear her pathetic little mask right off her face."

He lay back in bed, closing his eyes. He pictured Amina's smile, the one true and good thing in his life. She was his lighthouse.

And as for the woman in the room down the hall, the manipulative viper who had ruined him once before?

He felt nothing but cold, calculating disgust. And the unshakeable certainty that this time, he would win.

The long-wheelbase Lincoln glided to a stop in the circular driveway of the Luna family estate. Before the driver could even open her door, Candice ripped the IV needle from the back of her hand.

A single drop of blood welled up, bright red against her pale skin. She ignored the sting, pushing the car door open and stumbling out onto the gravel.

The familiar, ornate front door of her home loomed before her. An image of her father's body lying on this same gravel, broken and lifeless, flashed in her mind. Her knees buckled, and she caught herself on the car's fender to keep from collapsing.

She pushed the memory down, forcing her legs to move.

Inside, the grand foyer was quiet. Her father, Silas Luna, was standing by a large oak table, staring down at a thick document-the Hansen merger agreement. He looked up as she entered, his face a mask of worry.

"Candice!" he shouted, his voice cracking with alarm. He dropped the papers and rushed to her side. Seeing the raw needle mark and the drop of blood on her hand, his face went white. "My God, are you insane? You should be in the hospital!"

He grabbed her by the shoulders, his grip tight with a father's terror. "What happened? Are you hurt? Someone call Dr. Evans, now!"

The warmth of his embrace, the sheer panic in his voice-a feeling she thought she'd lost forever-shattered the last of her composure. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed, the tears a torrent of grief and relief held back for an entire lifetime.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, sweetheart," Silas murmured, stroking her hair. He thought her tears were from the trauma of the accident. "It's over now. No one is going to hurt you."

Candice pulled back, her face wet, her eyes blazing with a desperate intensity. "I'm not marrying Julius Hansen," she said, each word a vow.

Silas's expression shifted from concern to confusion, then to unease. "Candice, we've talked about this. Luna Group... we have a cash flow problem. The merger, the marriage... it's the only way to stabilize the company. It's our lifeline."

The same words he'd used before. The same logic that had led them to the slaughterhouse.

"It's not a lifeline, Dad. It's a noose," she said, gripping his arm. "They're not trying to save us. They're trying to swallow us whole. I have a way to fix this, a better way. You have to trust me."

Silas stared at her, truly seeing her for the first time since she'd walked in. The desperation in her eyes was familiar, but beneath it was a steely resolve he had never seen before. He hesitated, then gave a slow nod. "Okay. Okay, Candy. We won't talk about it right now."

Just then, the doorbell chimed. The butler announced that Mr. Preston Hester was here to see her.

Candice's blood ran cold. Preston. In her past life, he had confessed his feelings for her. After she'd gently turned him down, his wounded pride had turned to spite. He'd used his family's influence to create small, but significant, obstacles for Luna Group, weakening them just enough for the Hansens to strike.

"I can't see him," she said quickly, her voice low. "Please, Dad. Tell him I'm resting."

Silas looked puzzled by her vehemence but did as she asked.

Candice watched through the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows as Preston stood on the porch, holding a bouquet of lilies. He had that easy, confident smile of the old-money elite, a smile she now knew could hide a petty, vindictive streak. She instinctively shrank back into the shadows.

He was turned away, but not before leaving the flowers with the butler.

Candice let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She turned to her father. "I need to see the company's financials. The core reports. Right now."

Silas's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he saw the urgency in her face. He led her to his study and opened the heavy safe behind a painting, retrieving a set of bound ledgers.

Candice's hands flew over the pages. The numbers were just as she remembered them-bad, but not yet fatal. Her finger traced along a line item. "Here," she said, her voice sharp. "And here. These are hidden losses, disguised as asset transfers. Hansen's people told you these were stable, didn't they?"

Silas stared at the pages, his eyes widening. He had just started to have his own suspicions about those very accounts. "How did you know?"

"Because their plan isn't to merge, Dad," Candice said, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "It's a hostile takeover dressed up as a wedding. They're going to bleed us dry from the inside."

The color drained from Silas's face. He looked from the ledgers to his daughter, a dawning horror in his eyes. He was finally starting to believe her.

Candice closed the ledger and stood before him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Trust me, Dad. I will protect what you built. I swear it."

He pulled her into another hug, this one tight with fear and a newfound respect. For the first time, Candice felt like she had an ally.

The intercom on the desk buzzed, startling them both.

The butler's voice was strained. "Sir... Mr. Vance from the Hansen legal team is here. He's... he's brought his entire team with him."

Arthur Vance strode into the Luna living room as if he owned it. He didn't wait to be invited to sit. He slapped a thick stack of documents onto the glass coffee table with a thud that echoed in the tense silence.

Silas Luna stood stiffly by the fireplace, his jaw tight with anger.

"Mr. Luna," Vance said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Mr. Hansen is, of course, very concerned about Candice's recovery. But business is business. The merger must proceed on schedule."

Candice watched from the top of the grand staircase, a ghost in her own home. She remembered this man, this moment. This was when the trap had been sprung.

Vance pulled a single sheet from the stack. "A small addendum. As a show of good faith, we'll require Luna Group to transfer its core technology patents into an escrow account controlled by Hansen Industries, effective immediately."

"That's robbery!" Silas exploded, taking a step forward. "Absolutely not."

Vance didn't flinch. He leaned back, the picture of calm confidence. "Refuse, and by morning, word will leak to the Wall Street Journal that Luna Group is on the verge of insolvency. Your stock will be worthless by noon."

It was a threat, delivered with the casual cruelty of a man who held all the cards. Silas paled, his fury turning to helpless rage.

Candice's hand tightened on the banister. This was it. The exact move that had crippled them before.

She would not let it happen again.

She descended the stairs, her steps slow and deliberate.

Vance saw her and his thin lips curved into a triumphant smirk. He thought she was coming to surrender, to smooth things over for the sake of the wedding.

She walked directly to the coffee table, her eyes fixed on the addendum. She picked it up.

"A wise decision, Miss Luna," Vance said, holding out a pen.

Candice met his gaze. A small, cold smile touched her lips.

And then, with a sharp, violent motion, she ripped the document in half.

Rrrrrip.

The sound was shockingly loud. Shredded paper fluttered onto Vance's polished shoes. The room went utterly still.

Vance's smile froze, then curdled into a snarl. "Do you have any idea what you've just done? You've violated the preliminary agreement. The penalty clause alone will bankrupt you."

Candice tossed the scraps of paper at his chest. "Get out," she said, her voice like ice. "And you tell Julius Hansen that if he wants to swallow my family's company, he'll choke on it."

Vance, for the first time, looked genuinely shocked. He took an involuntary step back before catching himself. "You'll regret this. I will personally see to it that Luna Group is a crater by the end of the week."

Candice didn't argue. She didn't threaten. She simply pulled out her phone and dialed a number from memory.

"Hi, Mark? It's Candice Luna... I'm well, thank you. I know you've been following the merger talks closely. I have an inside track for you, off the record for now. Hansen Industries is attempting a hostile takeover of my company, using financial threats and blackmail... Yes, I think your senior editor would be very interested in the exclusive on that."

Vance's face went white. He lunged for the phone, but Silas, galvanized by his daughter's courage, shoved him back.

Candice ended the call. She pointed to the door. "Now. Get out of my house."

Vance gathered his papers, his hands shaking with rage. "Julius will not let this go," he hissed. "He will bury you." He and his team practically fled the room.

Silas stared at Candice, his expression a mixture of awe and pride. "Candy..."

She turned away from him, her back rigid. Her hands were trembling violently. The bravado had taken everything she had.

In his car, speeding away from the estate, Vance's phone rang. It was Julius.

Vance, his voice dripping with venom, recounted the entire scene, emphasizing how Candice had not only torn up the agreement but had also seemed to anticipate their media strategy.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

Then, Julius Hansen's low, dangerous laugh.

"So, she's even more cunning than last time," he said. "Fine. If she wants to play, we'll play."

Another pause.

"I'm done sending messengers. I'll see her myself tomorrow. Face to face."