Ava POV:
Passersby stared but did nothing. Just another domestic dispute.
"I don't have them," I lied, guarding my inner pocket.
"Liar," Liam snarled.
He shoved me against the wet brick wall. His hands roamed over my body, rough and invasive. A violation of power.
"Stop!"
He pinned my wrists. "I own you, Ava. Until you leave the city limits, you are subject to my laws."
He reached into my jacket and pulled out the notebook.
"Here it is," he smirked. "The cure. Chloe will be very pleased."
"She can't even read those formulas!" I screamed. "She'll kill someone!"
"She has you," Liam said, eyes gleaming. "You're going to write the paper for her. You're going to simplify the data."
"I'd rather die."
"That can be arranged."
Something snapped.
I lunged forward and sank my teeth into his forearm. I tasted the hot, metallic tang of Alpha blood.
"Ahhh!" Liam roared, shaking me off.
He looked at the bleeding bite mark in shock. A Beta shouldn't be able to pierce an Alpha's skin.
"You bitch."
He backhanded me.
The blow sent me sprawling into a muddy puddle. Vision swimming. Blood in my mouth.
Before I could get up, he dragged me by the hair toward the SUV.
He drove back to the Vanderbilt Tower, dragging me down to the basement labs.
Chloe was waiting at the main terminal.
"Did you get it?"
Liam threw the notebook on the desk. "Fix the data. Ava is going to help."
"I don't need help," Chloe pouted. "But... oops."
A red alert flashed. DATABASE DELETED.
"What did you do?" Liam asked.
"I tried to transfer the files, but Ava put a virus in the system!" Chloe cried. "She wiped the servers!"
It was a lie. I could see the `DELETE '.'` command line. She was incompetent.
"I didn't—"
Liam grabbed my throat and slammed me against the glass wall.
"You destroy my legacy?" His eyes were fully black.
He opened the chemical storage room door—a glass box filled with volatile solvents. He threw me inside.
"You stay in there until you recreate the data," he ordered. "If not done by midnight..."
He turned to Chloe. "Let's go."
"Liam," I banged on the glass. "The ventilation is off! Chloe cut the power! The fumes—"
"Think about that next time you try to sabotage my mate," he said coldly.
He locked the door.
