"Someone...please..." The voice was barely audible over the shrieking fire alarms, but it stopped Valerie dead in her tracks. She was only three feet from the back exit. Cool night air slipped through the gap around the door, practically begging her to shove it open and run for her life. Behind her, the facility was coming down in flames. Thick, foul smoke rolled across the ceiling, choking out the lights. Her throat burned, and blood dripped from a cut on her forehead into her eyes. Every survival instinct she had was screaming: Get out. Run. Save your own neck. "Please...please...don't leave me in here..." It was a man's voice, weak and full of fear. Valerie stared at the exit, then looked back down the burning hallway. If she walked out now, a man would die alone in the fire. "Damn it," she muttered. She turned her back on the door and ran straight into the smoke. The heat hit her hard. She pulled her torn shirt over her mouth and nose, coughing as she followed the sound of his uneven breathing. She kicked open the door to the corner office. The room was a complete wreck. A major part of the ceiling had collapsed, leaving broken concrete, twisted metal, and shattered glass scattered across the floor. In the middle of it all, a man lay flat on his back, trapped under a large metal rod. His suit was torn and soaked in blood; the fumes had burned his face, and his eyes were squeezed shut. He struggled to breathe under the weight of the rod, and each breath came out shallow and strained. "I'm here!" Valerie cried, dropping to her knees among the broken glass. "I hear you!" The man's head jerked toward her voice, though he kept his eyes shut. "Help me," he gasped. "I can't...breathe..." "Hold on. I'm getting it off you." Valerie grabbed the rod with both hands. A scream tore out of her throat. The metal was boiling hot. It burned into her palms, but she clamped her teeth together and refused to let go. If she let go, he was dead. "Hold on!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. She pulled at the rod, but it barely moved. Her arms shook as she tried again, and her burned palms slipped against the hot metal. With a desperate grunt, she dropped lower, pushed her shoulder and collarbone under it, and shoved with every bit of strength left in her body. The scorching steel burned through her shirt and into the skin of her collarbone. Her legs trembled, and her vision blurred around the edges. Come on! MOVE! With a loud scrape, the rod rolled off his chest and crashed to the floor. Valerie fell forward onto her blistered hands, gasping for air. "Can you stand?" she coughed. "We have to go right now!" But the man didn't answer. His hand shot out blindly through the smoke and grabbed her wrist, gripping so tightly it hurt. Before she could pull back, he yanked her hard against his chest. His other arm wrapped tight around her shoulders, pulling her in. The man was huge, but he was shaking all over like a terrified child. "Don't leave me," he begged, his voice cracking right down the middle. "Please...don't let me die in the dark." Something inside Valerie just broke wide open. She stopped trying to pull away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his back and held him tight, leaning close to his ear. "I'm not leaving you," she told him, her voice trembling but dead serious. "Do you hear me? I'm getting you out of here." She struggled to pull him to his feet and draped his arm over her shoulders. His legs wobbled beneath him, forcing her to take most of his weight. Pain shot through her burned hands and collarbone, but she tightened her grip around his waist and kept moving. "Move your feet!" she yelled through the smoke. "Keep going!" The ceiling groaned above them, raining sparks onto their heads. Valerie dragged him forward, one painful step at a time, until her bruised shoulder rammed into the emergency exit bar. The door flew wide. They tumbled out together, crashing onto the grass. Valerie dropped to her hands and knees, gasping for the cold night air. Then the ground shook beneath them. BOOM. The main chemical storage tank exploded, sending a deafening roar through the night. A giant wall of fire shot into the sky. Valerie didn't even think. She threw herself over the man, shielding his head and neck with her body as burning debris rained down around them. All around them, chunks of burning concrete and sharp metal fragments rained down. Something big slammed into Valerie's upper back. At the same time, a sharp piece of metal struck her already burned collarbone, sending a fresh wave of pain through her. A gasp escaped her, but she didn't move. She buried her face against the man's chest, shielding him from the falling debris. Beneath her, his bloody fingers clutched her shirt, holding on desperately. In the distance, an ambulance siren wailed. Then Valerie's eyes rolled back, and everything went black.

Four weeks ago, Valerie had nearly died dragging a stranger out of a chemical fire. Tonight, she lay beside him, her hand resting flat against his bare chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart. "Stop squirming, Ewan." "I've been flat on my back for a month, Valerie. I'm going out of my mind." Valerie couldn't help but smile, even though he couldn't see it. "Your surgeon is coming in four hours to take those eye bandages off. Are you really going to ruin a month of healing right at the finish line?" Ewan let out a frustrated groan and dropped his head back into the pillow. "Four hours feels like four years." "You've survived four weeks already in the dark," she said softly. "You can make it four more hours." His hand slid across the bed, finding her hip before his fingers moved up to catch her wrist. With one gentle tug, he pulled her down until she was hovering over him. The white bandage was still taped tight over his eyes, but he didn't fumble. Not anymore. Over the last month, locked away in this private clinic, he had memorized every inch of her. He brushed his thumb across the inside of her palm, tracing the thick, tender pink scars left by the burning steel rod. "Does it still hurt?" he asked. His voice went low and rough, the way it always did when he touched her burns. "No," Valerie lied. A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth. "Liar." "You ask me every single night, Ewan." "Because you got those scars saving my life." He brought her scarred hand to his lips and pressed a slow, warm kiss into the center of her palm. "In a few hours, the doctors are going to swarm this room. The guards, the lawyers, the board...my old life comes rushing back." Valerie looked down at him, as a tiny knot tightened in her chest. "Is that what you want?" Instead of answering, Ewan gripped her waist and pulled her down against his chest. Valerie let out a soft gasp as his hands slid up to cup her face, and his thumbs brushed her cheekbones. He tilted his face up to hers, breathing her in. "I don't give a damn about any of them," Ewan said, dead serious. "All I've cared about for four weeks is having you right here beside me." Valerie's throat tightened. "Ewan..." "I love you, Valerie." The words knocked the breath straight out of her, and tears pricked the backs of her eyes. "I don't need my sight back to know who you are to me," he murmured, his lips finding the soft skin beneath her jaw. "Just promise me one thing." "Anything," she whispered, her fingers tangling into his thick hair. "When they cut these bandages off this morning, I want you sitting right beside this bed. I want your face to be the very first thing I see." Warmth flooded her whole chest. "I promise, Ewan. I'll be right here." He pulled her mouth down to his, kissing her deeply, hungrily, until she couldn't breathe. His hands slid under her shirt, pushing it up and away. By the time the cool air of the bedroom hit her skin, Ewan was already moving over her, covering her completely. His hands traced the fresh burn scars along her collarbone, and his mouth followed right behind them as if he were trying to kiss the pain away. When he slid between her thighs, Valerie arched up with a quiet gasp, and her hands gripped his shoulders. "Ewan..." He pushed forward in one slow, deep thrust, filling her completely. Valerie's head fell back into the pillows, as a shaky breath escaped from her throat. She wrapped her legs tight around his waist, pulling him closer, completely lost in the heat between them. She couldn't see his eyes, but she could feel the fierce tension in his arms, could hear his strained groans against her neck, and feel the slick heat of his skin against hers. He moved inside her with full concentration, holding her tightly. When the release hit, Valerie cried out, and her fingers dug deep into his back. A second later, Ewan drove into her one last time with a loud groan, burying his face in her neck as he spilled deep inside her. She lay tangled in the sheets with him for a long time, chest heaving, and listening to the quiet ticking of the clock. Down the hall, the grandfather clock chimed five times. Five in the morning. Valerie lifted her head from his chest. "I need to wash up before the surgical team gets here." She tried to sit up, but Ewan's fingers instantly closed around her wrist. "Don't go." She laughed softly, leaning down to press a kiss to his stubbled cheek. "I'm just going to the private bathroom down the hall to clean up and grab fresh clothes, Ewan. I'll be back in five minutes." He paused, his grip lingering before he finally let go. "Five minutes, Valerie." "Five minutes," she promised. She pulled on her clothes in the dark, her heart feeling lighter than it had in weeks. A soft smile played on her lips as she went out the door and stepped into the quiet, dim hallway. Ewan loved her. And in just two hours, the bandages would come off. Finally, he would see her. She turned the corner toward the linen closet near the stairwell. A shadow broke away from the wall. Before Valerie could even turn her head, a hefty arm locked around her throat, and a gloved hand slammed over her mouth, muffling her scream. Instantly, panic hit her. Valerie thrashed wildly, kicking backward and clawing at the glove with her scarred fingers. Pinprick. An icy sting hit the left side of her neck. A needle. Within seconds, numbness spread through her entire body. Her muscles went limp. Her legs gave way beneath her, and her hands dropped uselessly to her sides. The attacker released her. Valerie hit the cold floor tiles, unable to move even a single finger. Her vision began to swim and blur into gray. Straight down the hall, she could see the cracked door to Ewan's room. Just twenty feet away. Ewan...she tried to scream. Ewan, help me! But nothing came out, not a sound. Only a tiny, silent bubble of air escaped her lips. Rough hands grabbed both her ankles. Valerie watched helplessly as Ewan's door seemed to slide farther away. Her paralyzed body was dragged backward across the floor, out of the light and down into the dark stairwell.

Gasp. Valerie woke up as if from the dead, with a headache so sharp it made her vision blur. She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut against the harsh light above her. Her mouth was dry, with a bitter, metallic taste, and her throat hurt every time she swallowed. She tried to lift a hand to massage her head, but her arm wouldn't move. Valerie pulled harder, and a loud clank of metal echoed through the room. Her eyes snapped open. She wasn't in the quiet hallway of Ewan's private estate anymore. Instead, she was lying on a narrow cot in a small, bare room that smelled strongly of bleach and something damp. A shiver ran down her back. She looked down and realised her clothes and shoes were gone. Instead, she was wearing a thin, scratchy white patient gown that left her arms and legs exposed to the cold. Her wrists were held against the bed frame with thick straps of leather. Another pair secured her ankles. Her chest tightened with panic. The needle. The memory came rushing back in pieces: the shadow near the pillar, the gloved hand pressed over her mouth, and the cold sting in the side of her neck. "Help!" Valerie shouted, her throat hurting as she raised her voice. "Is anyone there? Please, help me!" She thrashed against the mattress. The iron bed frame screeched noisily against the floor, but nobody answered. "Help!" she screamed again, tears of frustration filling her eyes. "Let me out of here!" What time was it? Ewan's eye surgery was scheduled for dawn. The specialist was supposed to arrive at six that morning to remove the bandages covering his eyes. She had promised him she'd be right there with him. If she didn't return, what would he think? Would he think she'd abandoned him? "Let me go!" Valerie cried, pulling at the straps until the leather dug painfully into her skin. "Ewan! Help me!" Just then, she heard a lock click. The sound came from the door at the foot of the bed. Valerie froze as the handle turned. "Please," she gasped, her throat tight with panic. "I've been locked in here. I need-" The door swung open. A pair of shiny heels stepped into the room, followed by the hem of a beige coat Valerie recognized. It was her coat. Valerie stared, the words dying in her throat. The woman who entered looked exactly like her. She had the same dark hair, the same green eyes, and the same cheekbones. But while Valerie lay strapped to a cot, sweating in the cold, the woman standing before her looked perfectly put together. Her lips were painted glossy pink, and there was a strange mocking smile on her face. It was her twin sister. "Vanessa?" Valerie whispered, her head spinning. Vanessa quietly closed the door behind her and walked towards the bed. As she drew closer, the scent of her perfume filled the room. Jasmine and Vanilla. Valerie recognised it immediately. It was a personal blend she'd made herself. "Save your breath, Val," Vanessa said calmly. "Nobody can hear you down here. And even if they could, nobody would come to help you." Valerie stared at her twin, desperately trying to understand what was happening. "What is this?" she demanded, rattling the leather cuffs. "Did someone attack you too? Who brought us here, Vanessa? Untie me! We have to call the police!" Vanessa laughed, and the sound made Valerie's stomach turn. "Call the police?" She tilted her head, looking down at Valerie with disgust. "Oh, catch up, twin. I paid the driver to bring you here." The room fell silent. Valerie stopped pulling against the straps. "What...what are you talking about?" "I'm telling you to stop shouting." Vanessa ran a perfectly manicured hand down the front of Valerie's coat. "You're going to be staying here for a while, so you might as well get comfortable." "Have you lost your mind?" Valerie's voice shook with anger. "Untie me right now! Ewan is waiting for me! His surgery is this morning-" "I know," Vanessa interrupted sweetly. She leaned over the bed rail until her face was only inches from Valerie's. "That's why I came to say goodbye before heading over to his estate." Valerie felt the room tilt around her. "What do you mean?" "Ewan's bandages will be removed in about forty minutes." Vanessa glanced at the gold watch on her wrist. "And as the woman who saved his life, I really shouldn't keep him waiting." "You're lying," Valerie choked out, tears of rage blurring her vision. "You can't do this. He knows me! He knows my voice! He knows-" "He knows a woman who pulled him out of a fire in the dark," Vanessa cut in, her smile fading. "He knows the fool who sat beside his bed while he couldn't see. Ewan Shaw has never seen your face, Valerie. And luckily for me, your face happens to be mine." Vanessa reached out and tapped a sharp nail against Valerie's jaw. "When the doctors remove those bandages, I'll be the one sitting beside him, holding his hand." "Don't you touch him!" Valerie screamed, lunging forward with all her strength. The bed shook violently. "He'll know the difference! He loves me, Vanessa! He'll figure it out, and he'll destroy you!" "He won't figure anything out," Vanessa sneered. "He's a traumatised man looking for the woman who saved his life. From today on, that woman is me. Did you really think someone like Ewan Shaw belonged to you?" Vanessa straightened and let out a cruel laugh. "You've always been so naive, Val. Always hiding in the back labs of the family company with your little beakers and formulas, never paying attention to what's happening in the real world." She leaned closer, her eyes narrowing with amusement. "There's a lot going on that you know nothing about. Did you honestly think Ewan Shaw showed up at our chemical facility late that night for some random business meeting? Do you really think that fire was an accident?" Valerie's breath caught in her throat. "W-what?" "He was supposed to die in that room, you idiot," Vanessa whispered with a cruel smile. "The doors were locked, and the explosion was planned. He was supposed to burn to ashes inside our plant so his family's contracts could be rewritten. You were never supposed to be in that building after hours, and you certainly weren't supposed to play the hero." Valerie's chest tightened as the pieces began to fall into place. The strange figure she'd seen in the hallway carrying a bag. The doors that had been locked. "You..." She stared at her sister in horror. "You planned the bombing? At our own company?" "She didn't plan it," a deep voice said from the doorway. Valerie's head snapped towards the door. Victor Rose stood there with his hands buried in his pockets. He wore a suit, and his face was cold and completely unbothered. "Dad!" Valerie cried, desperation tightening her throat. "Dad, listen to what she's saying! Vanessa set this up! She's trying to steal Ewan-" "Be quiet, Valerie," her father said flatly, as if he were scolding a child. She jerked back in shock. He walked over to the bed and stopped beside Vanessa. He didn't even glance at Valerie's bruised wrists or the tears running down her face. "The Rose company was going under," Victor said calmly, too calmly. "We were drowning in debt. Powerful people wanted Ewan Shaw out of the way, and they paid a lot of money to make sure it happened at our facility." Valerie shook her head as tears spilled down her cheeks. "Wait, no. Y-you let someone bomb your own facility? You tried to murder him?" "He survived," Victor snapped, frowning. "Because of you. You dragged him out and ruined the entire arrangement. You weren't supposed to be there that night. The people who paid for that explosion are furious, and the police are going through our records, trying to find out who let the bomber inside." Victor looked down at her, coldly. "The police needed a suspect for the bombing, Valerie. We gave them Vanessa's name." Valerie's breath caught. "What?" "As far as the law is concerned, Vanessa Rose is the fugitive who bombed our plant and fled the country," Victor said calmly. "And the sweet, brave Valerie Rose who pulled Ewan Shaw from the fire? She's at his bedside, getting ready to marry him." Valerie pulled at the leather cuffs, her voice cracking. "Then why lock me up?! I saved him! If you wanted his money, why didn't you just let me marry him?!" Victor stepped closer, his eyes cold. "Because you're weak, Valerie." His words left her speechless. "You will be a liability," Victor continued. "If I let you into that penthouse, you'd help Ewan investigate the explosion. And the moment you discovered the truth, you'd hand your own father over to the police." He glanced at Vanessa before looking back at Valerie. "Your sister knows how to keep her mouth shut. She knows how to protect this family. You've always been too soft, Valerie. So Vanessa gets your life, your name, and your billionaire. And you stay here where you can't ruin us." "I saved his life!" Valerie shrieked, pulling at the straps until blood began to trickle from her wrists. "Ewan loves me! I'll tell him everything! The moment I get out of here, I'll make sure you both rot in prison!" "Pathetic," Vanessa checked her watch and sighed impatiently. "We need to go, Dad. Morning traffic is picking up, and Ewan will be waking up soon." "Right," Victor said, turning his back on Valerie without a hint of guilt. "Dad! Please!" Valerie sobbed, struggling against the straps as the iron bed dragged against the floor. "Look at me! Don't leave me here! Vanessa! What did I ever do to you? I'm your twin sister! You can't do this to me!" Vanessa stopped at the doorway. She turned around, and a sweet, sickening smile spread across her lips. "Don't worry, Val," she said, smoothing Valerie's coat over her shoulders. "I'll make sure to give Ewan all your love." The door slammed shut and the lock turned from the outside. Valerie pulled desperately against the leather cuffs, screaming Ewan's name into the empty room until her voice gave out.