Nathan POV
Nathan stood at his window as the sun set over the city and made a decision that would destroy his life.
He'd been standing there for an hour. Elena had left his office after he'd confessed about Nocturne. She needed time to process. She needed space to figure out if she could love someone who was guilty. Someone who'd broken laws. Someone who'd been part of the system he claimed to hate.
Nathan understood. He'd had three years to come to terms with who he was. Elena had had three minutes.
But time was running out. Dimitri would move fast now. Dimitri would expect Nathan to comply with the threat. Dimitri would expect Nathan to fire Elena and go back to being controlled. Dimitri would not expect Nathan to declare war.
Nathan called his lawyer again.
"Set up the meeting with federal agents," Nathan said. "Tomorrow. Early morning. I want immunity agreements ready. I want protection for Elena Park. I want everything in writing before I walk into that office."
"Mr. Cross, once you give federal agents this information, you understand there's no going back," his lawyer said. "You're looking at years in prison. Maybe a decade. Maybe more."
"I know," Nathan said. "Do it anyway."
Nathan hung up and sat at his desk. He pulled out a piece of paper and started writing. A letter to his mother. A letter to explain why he was betraying everything she'd taught him. A letter to tell her that morality wasn't weakness. It was the only thing that mattered.
He didn't know if he'd ever send it.
A knock on his office door. Elena.
She'd changed clothes. She was no longer wearing Sophie Morgan's disguise. She was wearing Elena Park's clothes. Her real clothes. Her armor.
"We need to talk about what happens next," Nathan said before she could speak.
Elena nodded. She sat down across from him like they were having a business meeting instead of discussing the destruction of his life.
"When I go to federal agents tomorrow," Nathan said, "Dimitri will know immediately. He has people everywhere. He'll know before I leave the building. And when he knows, he'll come after you."
Elena's jaw clenched but she didn't look away.
"Dimitri destroys people who testify against him," Nathan continued. "He'll try to intimidate you. He'll try to scare you. He'll try to make you recant your statement. He might try to hurt you. Federal protection will keep you safe, but it won't be comfortable. It won't be normal. You'll be watched constantly. You'll be moved. You might have to testify in court. You'll have to be willing to survive things that will test every part of you."
Nathan leaned forward.
"I need you to understand what you're choosing," Nathan said. "If you help me, your life becomes dangerous. Your freedom becomes limited. Everything becomes harder. You can walk away right now and I won't blame you. I won't try to stop you. You can walk away and be safe."
Elena was quiet for a long moment. Nathan watched her thinking. Calculating. Deciding whether justice was worth the cost.
"How long?" Elena asked finally.
"How long what?"
"How long will you be in prison?" Elena asked. Her voice was steady but her hands were gripping the edge of the chair.
Nathan didn't try to soften it. "Probably three to five years if I cooperate fully. Maybe longer depending on what else federal agents uncover. Dimitri has been operating for twenty years. They'll want everything."
Elena closed her eyes.
"And when you're released?" she asked. "Will you still be you? Or will prison change you?"
"I don't know," Nathan said honestly. "I've never been to prison. I've never been powerless. I don't know what it will do to me. But I know I'll spend every day thinking about you. I know I'll spend every day wanting to be someone you're proud of. I know I'll spend every day counting down to the moment I can see you again."
Elena opened her eyes and looked at him.
"I'll help you," Elena said. "I'll help you destroy Dimitri. But you have to promise me something."
"Anything," Nathan said.
"When this is over," Elena said, "when you're in prison and when you're released, you have to promise that you'll spend time with my mother. You have to let her know that you're good. You have to let her know that I made the right choice. She needs to understand that the man I'm helping isn't a monster. She needs to know that there's a reason I'm willing to sacrifice everything."
Nathan felt something break open inside his chest.
"I promise," Nathan said. "I promise I'll spend time with your mother. I promise I'll let her know who I really am. I promise that even when I'm in prison, I'll write to her. I'll call her. I'll be there for her like I couldn't be there for my own family."
Elena stood up. She walked around his desk and stood in front of him.
"I'm terrified," Elena said. Her voice was shaking. "I'm terrified of what comes next. I'm terrified of losing you to prison. I'm terrified that this is a mistake. But I'm more terrified of losing you again like I lost you three years ago. I'm more terrified of never seeing you again."
Nathan stood up. He pulled her close. She fit against him like she had three years ago at Nocturne. Like she'd always been meant to fit against him.
"I'm sorry," Nathan whispered into her hair. "I'm sorry for all of this. I'm sorry that loving you means destroying you. I'm sorry that helping you means losing you."
"You're not losing me," Elena said. She pulled back enough to look at him. "You're choosing me. You're choosing justice. You're choosing to become someone better. That's not losing me. That's finding me."
Nathan pulled her close again. He held her like she was something precious. Like she was the only real thing left in his world.
"I promise," Nathan whispered. "I promise I'll spend the rest of my life making you right. I promise that prison won't change how I feel about you. I promise that when I'm released, I'm going to spend every single day proving that I made the right choice. I promise you, Elena. I promise with everything I am."
He kissed her forehead. He kissed her temple. He kissed her like tomorrow was ending everything they'd just started.
Because it was.
Tomorrow morning he would walk into a federal building and change his life forever. Tomorrow he would give federal agents everything. Tomorrow he would start the countdown to prison.
But tonight, Elena was in his arms and he was alive for the first time since she'd disappeared three years ago. Tonight he got to hold the woman who'd saved him without even trying.
Tonight was all they had.
And Nathan was going to make it count.