LISA’S POV
Power doesn’t keep you alive.
Not when the poison is already in your blood.
It started with a metallic taste—barely noticeable. Just a hint. I’d poured the wine myself. From my collection. Opened the bottle. Watched the cork twist out. Poured two glasses. One for me. One for Liam.
Only I drank mine.
And fifteen minutes later, the world began to tilt.
I was standing in the living room, phone in one hand, briefing a security update to one of the lawyers when it hit me—a heat spreading from my core, slick and fast. My fingers went numb. The glass slipped from my hand, shattering on the marble floor, red staining like blood.
Liam’s voice called my name.
Once.
Twice.
I couldn’t respond.
The room dissolved around me.
Then came the pain—sharp, internal, as if my organs were
