Ariel Triny never planned to survive that day. When a stranger pulls her from the edge of a highway, she doesn’t see a hero, she sees a complication. Earl Grayson is everything she despises: powerful, privileged, and the youngest son of a governor grooming him for public office. He thrives in shadows, owns the city’s most exclusive lounge, and understands one brutal truth—nothing in his world is free. When Ariel disappears, leaving behind only a journal she never meant for him to read, Earl finds himself unraveling secrets tied to political corruption, a suspicious death, and a woman determined to run from him. She wants nothing to do with power. He was born into it. As scandals surface and lines blur between protection and possession, Earl must choose between loyalty to his bloodline and the one person who made him question everything. In a world where love is leverage and truth is dangerous, saving her once was easy. Keeping her alive and free may cost him everything.