CHAPTER 84

Nathan settled into the back seat of his sleek, black car as he drove to the Cloud mansion. He had not been home for the past three years.

The events of the day played over in his mind—the applause, the admiration—everything turned out as he had planned.

It was no longer a secret that he was Lord Cloud, the most powerful man in Prescott, and he now had an alliance with Vanessa's Royal Corporation.

The car glided smoothly through the city streets, the headlights cutting through the darkness. Nathan stared out the window, his thoughts distant when something suddenly caught his eye.

A figure, faint and almost ghostly in the dim light, stood in the middle of the road ahead.

"Stop the car!" Nathan barked at the driver, and the driver reacted instantly, slamming on the brakes just as the car came to a halt a few feet from the figure. Nathan leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he tried to make out who it was.

The figure was a woman, her clothes disheveled, her hair falling messily around