The Ashfords rule the city from the shadows. Five brothers. One sister. A dynasty built on blood, fear, and absolute power. And at the top of that empire stands Xavier Ashford. Cold. Calculating. Deadlier than the rumors that whisper his name. A man who feels nothing- and destroys everything. Until her. Elara Brooks, a 22-year-old cardiology resident, lives a quiet life shaped by loss and healing. She fixes hearts for a living... and has no idea she's about to be claimed by a man who doesn't believe he has one. Their worlds were never meant to collide- but fate doesn't ask for permission. A chance encounter. A heartbeat gone wrong. A man who becomes obsessed with the only woman he can't bend... and the only woman capable of breaking him. He wants her innocence. He wants her quiet strength. He wants the softness she doesn't know she carries. And Xavier Ashford always gets what he wants. But loving the most dangerous man in the city has a cost- and soon, Elara learns that being his temptation is far more dangerous than being his enemy.