Chapter 2

The black card had no name — just a number that autocompleted in my phone as "DO NOT CALL."

I stared at the contact entry, my thumb hovering over the delete button. The morning light streaming through the windows of mine and Derek's apartment felt harsh and unforgiving, illuminating the chaos of my hastily packed belongings. Clothes spilled from suitcases, art supplies scattered across the coffee table, three years of shared life reduced to what I could carry.

Derek still wasn't back. Good. I didn't want to see his face when I explained that I wasn't just leaving for the night — I was leaving, period.

The card sat on the kitchen counter where I'd placed it after emptying my purse, matte black against the white marble. Expensive paper, the kind that whispered money and secrets. I picked it up again, running my thumb over the embossed numbers.

Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

I saved the number before I could think better of it. The moment I hit save, my phone buzzed with an autocomplete suggestion: Rhett Caraveo.

The name sent a strange chill down my spine. I googled it immediately, but the results were frustratingly sparse — a few society page photos from charity galas, always in the background, always in expensive suits. Nothing concrete. Nothing that explained why two men in dark suits had appeared at his silent command.

My phone buzzed with a text from Jordyn, my best friend and the unofficial queen of Austin gossip.

*Jordyn: Girl where are you? Derek's been blowing up the group chat saying you 'misunderstood' something???*

I typed back quickly: *Long story. Question: ever heard of someone named Rhett Caraveo?*

My phone rang immediately.

"Caraveo?!" Jordyn's voice was sharp with alarm. "Girl. DELETE THAT NUMBER. That family is Austin's worst kept secret."

"What do you mean?"

"Hold on." I heard typing in the background. "I'm sending you something. And Sloane? Whatever happened last night, whatever made you ask about them — just... be careful."

The TikTok link came through seconds later. The video was from a true crime blogger with purple hair and dramatic eyeliner, titled "The Gentleman Cartel: Texas's Most Beautiful Monsters."

I watched it twice, my coffee growing cold in my hands.

By the time I loaded the last of my art supplies into my car, I understood why the stranger's presence had felt so dangerous. The Caraveos weren't just wealthy — they were untouchable. Old money built on new sins, with connections that reached into every corner of Austin's power structure.

I should have thrown the card away.

Instead, I drove to my tattoo studio on South Congress, a converted warehouse space I'd been renting for two years. The industrial brick walls and high ceilings had always felt like sanctuary, but today they felt like armor.

I was setting up my equipment when Derek's assault began.

The first call came at noon. Then another. Then a FaceTime request that I declined. Voice messages started piling up, each one a different flavor of manipulation.

"Babe, you're being dramatic. She didn't mean anything."

"Sloane, come on. You know I love you. This is just a rough patch."

"You're really going to throw away three years over nothing?"

I deleted each one without fully listening, but they kept coming. My phone buzzed constantly, a digital leash I couldn't escape. When his mother called, I finally turned the ringer off.

By evening, Derek's strategy had shifted. The messages became sharper, more calculated.

"You know you can't afford rent alone."

"You're going to come crawling back in a week."

"Without me, you have nothing."

The last message came with a photo — my credit card, the one that was technically his account, lying on what looked like his kitchen counter. The caption made my vision blur with rage: "Without me, you have nothing."

I walked to my purse, pulled out the card, and cut it into precise pieces with my crafting scissors. Each snip felt like breaking a chain. I arranged the pieces on my work table, took a photo, and sent it back with a single word: "Watch me."

Then I blocked his number.

The studio felt different in the silence that followed. Bigger somehow. Like I was finally alone with my own thoughts for the first time in years.

I was sketching a new design — something dark and intricate, all sharp lines and hidden meanings — when the door opened.

I looked up, expecting Derek despite the blocked number, but instead saw a man in a black turtleneck carrying a leather briefcase. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with the kind of stillness that suggested violence was always an option.

"We're closed," I said, my hand moving instinctively toward the panic button I'd had installed under my desk.

"Mr. Caraveo sends his regards," he said, his voice professionally neutral. "He'd like to commission a piece."

He set the briefcase on my counter and opened it with practiced efficiency. Inside, nestled in black foam, was a manila folder and several neat stacks of cash.

"He wants a tattoo on his left forearm," the man continued. "Design details are entirely up to you. He trusts your artistic vision."

I stared at the money. More than I made in three months. Enough to tell Derek and his threats to go to hell. Enough to prove I didn't need anyone.

"There's a note," the man added, pulling out a piece of heavy paper.

The handwriting was bold, confident: *You said you don't need saving. Prove it. Come earn this yourself.*

My heart hammered against my ribs. This was a trap — a beautiful, expensive trap wrapped in challenge and opportunity. But Derek's words echoed in my head: *Without me, you have nothing.*

I looked at the money again. At the note. At the man waiting patiently for my answer.

"Tell him I'll call tonight," I said.

The man nodded once and left without another word, leaving the briefcase behind.

I sat alone in my studio, surrounded by the tools of my trade and the scent of ink and possibility. The black card felt warm in my hand as I pulled it from my pocket.

I dialed before I could lose my nerve.

He answered on the first ring, like he'd been waiting.

"Tomorrow. 9 PM. I'll send a car."

His voice was exactly as I remembered — low, confident, dangerous.

"I'll drive myself," I said.

Silence stretched between us for a heartbeat. Then, a sound that might have been laughter.

"Even better."