CASSIAN’S POVThe second the words left my mouth—“Where is my nurse, Ethan?”—The entire courtyard went still.The kind of still that makes your ears ring.The kind of still that comes before the chaos.Ethan opened his mouth to speak.Too late.I pulled the trigger.Bang!The gunshot cracked through the air like a thunderclap.One of the guards behind him screamed as the bullet tore through his thigh. He crumpled instantly, a thick spray of blood splashing across the pristine concrete, his hands clutching at the wound as he howled.The others flinched but didn’t move.They knew better.I didn’t lower the gun. My voice came out low and blistering as I pointed it at Ethan. “You walk back in here empty-handed, no nurse, no goddamn explanation, and you thought you’d kneel like it was enough?”“Boss, please—” Ethan tried.I wheeled my chair with sudden speed—grabbed him by the collar—and slammed the butt of the gun against the side of his head.He grunted, falling sideways, blood already
CASSIAN’S POVThe moment the car pulled away from the lot, I wheeled toward the window, every bone in my body taut, every breath clawing against the chaos rising inside me.I watched the vehicle move further and further away until it blurred into the traffic and the haze of the city beyond. My fingers flexed against the armrest of the wheelchair, the leather creaking under my grip. A cold dread settled in my chest—tight, sharp, and insistent.I shouldn’t have let her go.This was a mistake.A fucking stupid one.We should have come up with a better plan. Something more secure. Something less reckless than using my nurse as bait.Wait—nurse. That’s all she is. Just my goddamn nurse. A property I own. A tool I wield. A pawn I placed on the board.I shouldn’t be concerned. This isn’t concern. This isn’t panic or fear or—Then why the fuck can’t I breathe?I leaned forward slightly, my hand bracing against the windowsill. My knuckles turned white. The air in the room felt thick. Unforgivi
House of TerrorInside the house, the air was thick with damp rot and fear.Elias walked past the torn couch, into the back room.The door creaked open.The room was dimly lit by a single hanging bulb, buzzing like a dying fly. It reeked of sweat, mold, and fear.And scattered around the room were the girls.Seven of them.Huddled together. Thin. Terrified.Their eyes widened when the door burst open.Some backed into corners. Others began to cry.Reina’s body was dropped onto the moldy floor like garbage.The girls inside scrambled away, gasping when they saw him. No one wanted to be seen. No one wanted to be touched.“She’s fresh off the shelf,” Elias said, brushing dirt from his knuckles with mock tenderness. He nodded at Reina. “Say hello to your new sister, girls. Be sweet—we wouldn’t want her to break too soon.”The others cowered, but no one dared to say a word.Some cried.Most hid.But one didn’t move fast enough.Elias’s gaze locked on her.His hand twitched.His jaw set.He
One minute, Reina was standing in the fading sunlight, juggling shopping bags and the aftershock of an emotional conversation. The street bustled around her—honking cars, chatter, laughter—but everything stopped when the air changed.A shadow fell.A hand slammed over her mouth.A sharp sting pierced her neck—thin, precise, like a syringe.The bags hit the ground.Her phone followed a second later, the screen still glowing.And then—she was gone.Chaos erupted a few minutes later.“WHERE IS SHE?!” Ethan roared, already pushing through the crowd, eyes wild. “She was right here! RIGHT FUCKING HERE!” His boots crushed a plastic cup underfoot as he stormed out from his hidden vantage, shoving people aside with no regard.She had been right there. Between the curb and the store sign. And now—“WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?” he roared again, spinning to the three other men now swarming the corner. They scanned the street, the alleyways, every passing car.“How could she have disappeared?”The men
REINA’S POVI muttered a curse under my breath, scrambling for my shopping bags like a girl collecting her shattered pride. The stranger I’d collided with was already spitting venom before I could recover.“Yo, what the actual—can’t you fucking watch where you’re going?” a gravelly voice barked.I looked up. Three of them.Grimy hoodies, too much cologne, the stench of weed and male entitlement. They looked like they crawled out of a crime documentary. One of them—buzzcut, gold tooth, and a face that screamed childhood trauma turned prison internship—stepped forward.“I asked you a question, bitch.”Okay. No.I stood slowly, tugging my hoodie down and raising a brow. “You know, usually when a woman bumps into a group of ugly dudes, they at least offer a fake apology. Not free testosterone poisoning.”The one with the gold tooth laughed like I just offered him a challenge.“Oh, she’s got a mouth on her,” he said, cracking his knuckles. “But you hurt my boy here. That’s bodily damage. L
REINA’S POVWell, I can find my way back without an entourage.Inside the mall, it was easy to pretend nothing was weird.The air smelled like pretzels and overpriced perfume. Kids screamed. Couples argued. Influencers posed by the fountain like they were being paid to exist.I slipped on my hoodie, and strutted into the first store that screamed bad financial decisions—a sleek designer boutique lined with sharp angles and glossier employees.Immediately, a sales associate beelined toward me, her eyes scanning my casual outfit with a smile so fake I could hear it creaking.“Hi there! Can I help you—”“I’m just browsing,” I said sweetly, already brushing past her toward the handbags.Nothing screamed healing from trauma like sniffing real leather.I turned the corner and stepped into a perfume boutique.Not just any boutique—the kind that dimmed the lights on purpose, like scent was sacred and silence was mandatory. Rows of crystal bottles lined the glass counters like tiny weapons of