Chapter 10: Shadows of the Past

บทล่าสุด

• Twisted Vows Of Desire    Chapter 69: The Man Behind the Mask

  The smoke curled in the air, dancing like a wicked omen.I stared at the man I had called “father” for twenty-eight years—Senator Richard Sinclair—now standing in the doorway of Charles Barron’s study, a smoking pistol in his gloved hand and blood on his conscience. The man I had defended through scandals. The man I had nearly destroyed myself trying to protect.He looked at me like a stranger.“Why?” I croaked, barely able to speak over the thundering pulse in my ears. “Why did you kill him?”Richard stepped forward calmly, as if he hadn’t just shot the only man who could’ve unraveled the twisted threads of my existence.“He was a liability,” he said simply. “And liabilities must be removed.”Dominic moved protectively in front of me, but my father didn’t even glance at him.“This doesn’t make sense,” I said, voice breaking. “You knew Victor was my real father. You knew—and you still arranged the marriage. You let me fall into this nightmare.”Richard’s eyes darkened. “You were never

• Twisted Vows Of Desire    Chapter 68: Tangled Bloodlines

  The silence in the room was suffocating.I stared down at the DNA report, my hands trembling as the implications unraveled inside my mind like a bomb detonating in slow motion. The file said it plainly: a female child was born from Victor Caldwell and Olivia Sinclair. Identity redacted.Dominic stood frozen beside me, the file still open in his hands, but his entire body had gone rigid.I backed away, pulse racing.“This—this has to be a mistake,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “It’s probably someone else. I mean… it could’ve been another child. Someone who died. Maybe it’s not—”“Elena,” Dominic said, his voice tight, low, like it was strangling him. “You were born the year after my father vanished from public life. Right after Olivia disappeared.”“No.” I shook my head, stepping further away, the cold wall biting my back. “Don’t. Don’t say what I think you’re about to say.”He slammed the file shut. “We don’t know anything for sure. Not yet.”“But if it’s true,” I choked, “if I’m h

• Twisted Vows Of Desire    Chapter 67: Bloodlines and Bulletproof Lies

  The moment the screen flashed SECURITY BREACH, my heart stuttered.“Dominic…” My voice trembled, barely above a whisper.He was already on his feet, pulling a drawer open to retrieve a concealed weapon, his movements quick, practiced. Liam stood by the window, peeking through the blinds as the wind howled outside, bringing with it the crackling of leaves—too calculated to be natural.“They’re here,” Liam confirmed grimly. “Two vehicles. No plates.”“Stay inside. Both of you,” Dominic growled, his eyes narrowing as he checked the chamber of his gun. “If they get past me, you run. Do you hear me, Elena?”“No.” I stood too, fury surging through my veins. “I’m not leaving you. Not again.”He turned sharply, grabbing my wrist. “This isn’t a debate—”“It never was!” I snapped. “I’ve been used, lied to, manipulated. If someone wants me dead, they’ll have to go through me this time. I’m done being collateral damage.”Liam raised a brow. “She’s got your fire,” he muttered to Dominic.“Worse,”

• Twisted Vows Of Desire    Chapter 66: The Safe House and the Secret

  The vehicle sped through the night like a bullet slicing through the darkness. Rain pounded against the windshield, with the wipers working relentlessly back and forth, yet the constant swish did little to ease the anxiety building in my chest.I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the message on my phone:"You’re next. Just like your mother."Who on earth sent it? How did they know we were so close to the truth?Liam shot me a glance from the driver’s seat, his jaw clenched. He hadn’t said much since we departed from Dominic’s penthouse, but the tension radiating from him in waves spoke volumes. "We’re almost there," he said, his voice sharp. "It’s a Caldwell property. Off-grid, untraceable."I nodded, holding my phone tightly in my lap. My mind was racing—Dominic. The video. My mother. My father’s betrayal. The reality that someone had actually placed a target on my back.“I shouldn’t have left him,” I whispered.Liam’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “He told you to leave. You kn

• Twisted Vows Of Desire    Chapter 65: Echoes from the Shadows

  The old security tape played on the massive screen in Dominic’s study, casting flickering shadows on the walls. The room was dead silent except for the soft whir of the projector and the pounding of my heart. Dominic stood behind me, arms crossed tightly over his chest, his gaze glued to the screen. I sat at the edge of the leather couch, fingers clenched together, trying not to blink.The footage was grainy, the timestamp barely legible—August 17th, 1999—the year before everything in my world fell apart.My mother appeared first. Olivia Sinclair. Younger, but unmistakably her. Dressed in a soft blue coat, her dark hair pulled back in an elegant twist. She looked nervous. Anxious. She kept glancing over her shoulder as if expecting to be followed.Then he appeared.Victor Caldwell.Tall, commanding, and heartbreakingly handsome, even in the pixelated footage. He walked toward her, and the second their hands touched, the air in the room changed.My breath hitched.There was no denying

• Twisted Vows Of Desire    Chapter 64: Shattered Reflections

  The rain was a relentless drumbeat on the glass walls of Dominic’s penthouse. Thunder cracked in the distance, nature’s fury echoing the storm inside me. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, the woman looking back at me barely recognizable. I wasn’t the same Elena Sinclair who walked into Caldwell Enterprises to take down a dynasty. No. That woman had believed in lines—clear ones, bold ones. Right and wrong. Truth and lies. Love and hate.But now?Now, everything was a blur. A twisted mosaic of betrayal, secrets, and stolen moments.Behind me, the door creaked open, soft footfalls padding into the room. I didn’t need to turn to know it was him.“Elena,” Dominic’s voice was low, hesitant, but still laced with that commanding undertone that always made my chest tighten.I met his eyes in the mirror. He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in days. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, his tie gone, his hair mussed from raking his fingers through it one too many times. But what stru