The gala had ended hours ago. It was 2:00 AM.

Athena sat in the dark living room. The house felt wrong. The silence wasn't peaceful; it was heavy, pregnant with disaster.

Headlights swept across the front windows. Tires screeched on the gravel.

The front doors flew open.

"Get the stretcher! Now!" Derik's voice was panic-stricken.

Athena shrank into the shadows of the staircase. She watched as Derik and two other bodyguards carried Caesar in.

He looked dead. His head lolled back, his skin gray. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, staining his white shirt.

Dr. Vance, the family physician, ran alongside them, clutching a medical bag. "Get him to the medical bay! His heart rate is dropping!"

They rushed into the room on the first floor that had been converted into a mini-ICU. The door slammed shut.

Athena crept down the stairs. The smell of copper and sickness hung in the air.

She pressed her ear to the door.

"It's the Belladonna variant," Vance was shouting. "The inhibitors aren't working! His system is shutting down!"

"Do something!" Derik roared.

"I can't! His body is rejecting the standard protocol," Vance's voice was strained, the calm professionalism cracking under pressure. "We have to wait it out. Ice baths to fight the fever. That's all that's left in the protocol."

Prayer.

Athena knew what that meant. In her last life, Caesar's body had been weakened by years of this mysterious poison. That weakness was why he couldn't pull himself out of the car wreckage.

If he died tonight, she died.

She ran back upstairs. She took out a simple set of silver needles and several bottles of herbal extracts she'd secretly prepared earlier from the compartment of her suitcase.

She sprinted back down.

Derik stood guard at the medical bay door. "Ma'am, go back to bed."

"Move," Athena growled.

"He's dying, Athena. You don't want to see this."

"If you don't move, he will die." Her eyes were wild, ferocious.

Derik hesitated. He saw something in her face-not madness, but absolute certainty.

Athena shoved past him and threw the door open.

"Get out!" Dr. Vance yelled.

Caesar lay on the hospital bed, stripped to the waist. His body was convulsing. Every muscle was locked in a spasm of agony.

Athena ignored the doctor. She moved to the bedside. She grabbed Caesar's wrist. His pulse was erratic, thready.

She unrolled the leather pouch. Silver needles glinted under the harsh fluorescent lights.

"What are you doing?" Vance lunged for her.

Derik caught the doctor's arm. "Wait."

Athena didn't hesitate. She drove a needle into the pressure point at the base of Caesar's neck. Then another into his chest. Another in his wrist.

The convulsions stopped instantly. Caesar gasped, a ragged intake of air.

Athena uncorked a vial. She pinched his nose and forced the dark liquid down his throat.

"Swallow," she commanded.

He swallowed.

Seconds passed. The heart monitor beeped. Beep... beep... beep. steadying.

Caesar's eyes flew open. They were black, dilated, void of recognition.

He sat up with a guttural roar, a purely reflexive action, and his hand shot out, wrapping around Athena's throat.

The grip was iron. It crushed her windpipe, cutting off air instantly.

Athena didn't struggle. She didn't claw at his hands.

She looked into his eyes. They were the eyes of a wounded animal fighting for survival.

"Caesar," she rasped. Her vision began to spot with black dots. She reached up and gently cupped his cheek. "It's me. Athena."

The name cut through the fog of poison.

Caesar's pupils contracted. He blinked, seeing the woman in front of him. Seeing his hand on her throat.

He let go as if he had been burned.

Athena collapsed to the floor, coughing violently, dragging air into her starving lungs.

Caesar stared at his hands. Then he looked at the bruising already forming on her white neck in the shape of his fingers. Horror washed over his face.

"Heart rate is stabilizing," Dr. Vance whispered, staring at the monitor in disbelief. "The toxin levels are crashing. It's... impossible."

He turned to Athena. "What did you give him?"

"An experimental counter-agent," Athena said, her voice wrecked. "My mother was a biologist. She developed it to neutralize a similar neurotoxin."

Vance looked at the needles still sticking out of his boss's chest. "That wasn't tea."

"Leave us," Caesar croaked.

"Sir, you need monitoring-"

"OUT!"

Vance and Derik retreated. Derik cast one last look at Athena-a look of newfound respect.

The door clicked shut.

Caesar slumped back against the pillows. He looked at Athena, who was still sitting on the floor.

"You know medicine," he said. It wasn't a question.

Athena stood up, her legs shaky. "My mother was a biologist. I read her notes."

"You saved me." Caesar reached out, his fingers hovering near her neck but not touching. He was afraid to touch her again. "Does it hurt?"

"No," she lied. "As long as you are alive."

She sat on the edge of the bed. Caesar watched her. The exhaustion was pulling him under, but he fought it.

"Don't go," he mumbled, his eyes drooping.

"I won't."

Athena stayed until his breathing evened out into deep sleep. She checked his pulse one last time. Strong.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She stepped out into the hallway to answer.

Godfrey's voice, slurred with alcohol and thick with pain, crackled through the phone. "You bitch! You think breaking my wrist ends this? I'm selling your mother's research. The patents. Everything in the storage unit goes to the highest bidder tomorrow morning!"

Athena went cold. Her mother's research. The only thing that could permanently cure Caesar.

"You touch that box," she whispered, "and I will bury you."

"Bring cash, or bring a lawyer. I don't care."

The line went dead.

Athena lowered the phone. She couldn't stay here tonight. She had to secure the legacy.

Derik was standing at the end of the hall. He looked at the bruises on her neck.

"Ma'am?"

"He's not stable. The attack will come back," Athena said, her voice steel. "I need to get something from my parents' house-my mother's research. It's the only way to create a permanent cure."

Derik's gaze flickered from the ugly marks on her neck to the closed medical bay door. Protecting the Master was his only directive. And right now, she was the only one who could do that.

"Prepare the car," Athena commanded.

"I'll drive," he said, his voice firm.

He was no longer just the security guard. He was her ally.

Athena walked toward the elevator. The night wasn't over. The war had just begun.

The armored Mercedes-Benz was already speeding away from the Williamson estate when Athena's hand shot out, gripping the plush leather of the front seat.

"Stop," she commanded, her voice thin but sharp. "Turn the car around. Now."

Derik, his eyes on the road in the rearview mirror, saw her face. It was as white as bone china, a stark contrast to the dark, churning fury in her eyes. Without a word, he executed a smooth, three-point turn, the tires crunching on the gravel of the private road. They were heading back.

Her thumb was still pressing down on the red end-call button of her phone, pressing so hard the joint ached. The phantom echo of Godfrey's drunken, greedy voice crawled under her skin like insects.

She took a sharp, jagged breath. The air in the plush, leather-scented car felt too thin.

She couldn't just leave. Godfrey was a parasite. If he couldn't sell her mother's research fast enough, he would absolutely try to leverage his position as Caesar's father-in-law to extract cash directly from the Williamson accounts. She needed to sever that artery before she walked out the front door.

"Pull up to the side entrance," Athena said, her voice tight. "Wait for me. Keep the engine running."

Derik glanced at her again in the mirror, his expression unreadable, then nodded once. "Yes, ma'am."

The moment the car stopped, Athena was out, moving with a silent urgency. She walked away from the waiting vehicle, her steps quick and silent against the stone pathway, heading straight for the master suite.

She pushed the heavy mahogany doors open. They were unlatched, left ajar from the chaos of the medical emergency earlier.

The massive bed was empty. The blankets were thrown aside, pooling on the floor.

A cold spike of panic hit her chest. Where was he? He was supposed to be unconscious. The neurotoxin had nearly stopped his heart less than an hour ago.

Then, she heard it. The heavy, rushing sound of water hitting porcelain. It was coming from the master bathroom.

Athena crossed the bedroom floor in quick strides. She reached the frosted glass entrance of the bathroom and raised her hand to knock.

Before her knuckles could touch the glass, the motion sensors triggered. The double doors slid silently apart, disappearing into the walls.

The visual hit her like a physical blow to the stomach.

The bathroom was a cavern of dark marble and steam. In the center, beside a massive, sunken soaking tub, was Caesar.

He was out of his wheelchair.

He was entirely naked from the waist up. His back was to her, and the sight of it made her breath hitch. It wasn't just the broad, heavily muscled expanse of his shoulders. It was the scars. Thick, jagged lines of raised tissue crisscrossed his skin, a brutal map of the car crash that had nearly ended his life in her previous timeline.

His hands were gripping the wet, slippery edge of the marble tub. The knuckles were bone-white. Every muscle in his arms and back was corded with a terrifying strain, the effort monumental. He was trying to haul himself out of his chair and onto the bathing ledge, a feat of upper body strength, refusing to call for the nurses he had just banished.

His legs, pale and limp, began to slide from the footrests at an unnatural angle.

His right palm slipped off the wet marble with a sharp squeak.

Caesar's massive frame pitched sideways. Gravity took over, pulling him toward the hard, unforgiving tile floor.

"Careful!" Athena screamed.

Her body moved before her brain could process the danger. She sprinted across the slick floor, her shoes skidding.

She threw herself under him just as his shoulder was about to smash into the ground.

She didn't catch him. It was impossible. Instead, she braced for impact, becoming a human shield.

The impact drove the air from her lungs in a violent rush. His weight crashed down, pinning her against the floor and the hard edge of the tub. Pain exploded in her ribs, but she held on, wrapping her arms under his wet, scalding hot armpits, using her entire body weight to absorb the fall and brace him against the side of the tub.

They were pressed together, chest to chest. The water from the tub splashed over the edge, instantly soaking the front of her dress.

His skin was burning up, radiating a feverish heat from the toxin aftershocks. She could feel the frantic, heavy thud of his heart against her own ribs. The scent of him-sharp cedar and metallic sweat-filled her nose. The thick steam and the panic of the moment clouded her senses, preventing her from analyzing the state of his leg muscles. All she felt was dead weight and burning heat.

For one second, there was only the sound of their ragged breathing echoing off the marble walls.

Then, the beast woke up.

Caesar realized a woman was holding him. He realized she was seeing him helpless, broken, and weak.

His jaw locked. The veins in his neck bulged.

He shoved her. Hard.

"Get out!" Caesar roared.

The force of his push sent Athena stumbling backward. Her heels slipped on the wet tile, and she crashed hard against the glass wall of the shower stall. Pain flared in her shoulder blade, but she didn't cry out.

She looked at him. He was leaning heavily against the tub, his chest heaving, his dark eyes burning with a murderous, humiliated rage. He looked like a wounded wolf ready to tear out the throat of anyone who witnessed his injury.

Athena didn't run. She didn't cower.

She pushed herself off the glass. She walked straight to the heated towel rack, grabbed a massive, thick white bath towel, and marched back to him.

She threw the towel over his scarred shoulders, effectively covering his nakedness and his vulnerability in one aggressive motion.

"You almost cracked your skull open," Athena said, her voice flat, refusing to acknowledge his anger. "And I don't have time to scrape your brains off the floor. I have a problem."

Caesar gripped the edges of the towel. His knuckles were still white. The water dripped from his dark hair onto his forehead. He glared at her, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

"I told you to get out," he said, his voice dropping to a lethal, quiet rasp.

"I'm not here to spy on you," Athena said, stepping closer. She forced herself to maintain absolute eye contact. "Godfrey just called me."

At the mention of her father's name, the humiliated rage in Caesar's eyes shifted. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. The predator replaced the victim.

"And?" Caesar demanded.

"He is desperate," Athena said, her words clipping out fast and sharp. "He is going to use the Rocha Biotech connection, and his new status as your father-in-law, to come to you for a bailout. He will ask for financing. He will tell you it's a bridge loan."

Caesar narrowed his eyes. The water droplets slid down his sharp jawline. "You came into my bathroom to tell me your father is a beggar?"

"I came to tell you that his company is a black hole," Athena corrected, her tone turning icy. "He is embezzling. If you give him a single dime, you will never see it again."

Caesar tilted his head slightly. The anger was fading, replaced by a cold, calculating scrutiny. "You are actively trying to cut off your own father's financial lifeline."

"I am trying to save my husband's money," Athena countered smoothly. She took a step closer, invading his space again. "That is our marital asset now, isn't it? I don't want him touching what belongs to us."

The words hung in the steamy air. Our marital asset. Us.

Caesar stared at her. He searched her face for the trap, for the lie. He saw only a hard, unyielding resolve. She was throwing her own blood relatives under the bus to protect his empire.

A dark, cynical amusement flickered in the depths of his black eyes.

"If Godfrey Madden comes to my board," Caesar said slowly, his voice a low rumble, "I will ensure he leaves with nothing but a bruised ego. He won't get a cent."

"Good," Athena said. The tight knot in her stomach finally loosened.

She stepped back. The adrenaline was fading, leaving her hyper-aware of the cold, wet fabric of her dress clinging to her breasts.

Caesar's gaze dropped. He noticed the wet silk plastered to her skin, outlining every curve. His eyes darkened, the pupils expanding slightly.

"Now," Caesar said, his voice suddenly thicker, rougher. "Get out. Unless you plan on getting in the tub and washing my back."

The heat rushed to Athena's cheeks, a violent flush that she couldn't control. Her skin burned under his intense, predatory stare.

She turned around without another word.

She walked out of the bathroom, her wet heels clicking sharply against the floor.

The sensor doors slid shut behind her, cutting off the heavy, suffocating tension, but she could still feel his eyes burning into her spine all the way to the elevator.