Chapter: CHAPTER 5The sky above the Valmere estate blushed in shades of morning gold when Deborah’s car swept past the iron gates. The mansion loomed like a living monument, a fusion of marble, power, and memory. Rows of fountains glittered under the sun, each one carved with the Valmere crest: a serpent coiled around a crown. The driver opened her door. Deborah stepped out, her heels clicking against the stone path, deliberate, graceful, commanding. Even after days of corporate negotiations abroad, not a single trace of exhaustion showed on her face. Her honey-gold hair framed her features perfectly, and her eyes, clear, intelligent, and unreadable, carried the quiet authority of a woman who had learned to live under the weight of legacy. “Welcome home, Miss Valmere,” a line of attendants greeted in unison, bowing slightly. Deborah gave a polite nod before making her way through the grand foyer. The air smelled faintly of polished oak and roses. Portraits of the Valmere ancestors lined the walls, e
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-08
Chapter: CHAPTER 4The waves moved in silver silence, the moonlight folding over the dark water. A single yacht floated near the horizon, anchored just beyond the coast, sleek, black, and unmarked, its lights dimmed to nothing but a faint, golden glow beneath the deck. It was a ship meant for ghosts, and tonight, two of them met on its deck. Deborah Valmere stood near the railing, her silk coat caught by the sea breeze, her reflection trembling in the water below. The wind carried the faint scent of salt and metal, and somewhere beneath it, the phantom trace of gunpowder from Geneva still clung to her memory. Behind her, footsteps sounded, slow, deliberate, familiar. “You came,” a deep voice said. She turned. Luther Cain emerged from the shadows, wearing a black coat that matched the night itself. His face was half-lit by the faint light spilling through the glass cabin, revealing the sharp, sculpted lines that had haunted her dreams, and her nightmares. For a moment, neither spoke. The sile
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-08
Chapter: CHAPTER 3 The rain had returned to the coast. Thunder rolled in slow waves over the cliffs, and lightning flashed faintly across the marble pillars of the Valmere estate. Deep inside the mansion, behind soundproof doors and biometric locks, the conference chamber buzzed with the quiet hum of crisis. Six brothers sat around a circular table of black glass, the heart of the Valmere Empire. Each seat bore the insignia of their division: Finance, Strategy, Intelligence, Trade, Weapons, and Power. Together, they didn’t just lead companies, they commanded economies. But today, even gods of industry looked uneasy. A dozen holographic projections floated over the table, collapsing stock figures, headlines screaming betrayal, market analysts in chaos. [BREAKING: CAIN DOMINION WITHDRAWS FROM VALMERE DEFENSE MERGER — GLOBAL IMPACT WORSENS.] Caelum Valmere, the eldest, leaned back in his chair, his expression calm but unreadable. The faintest crease near his temple was the only sign of anger. He cl
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-08
Chapter: CHAPTER 2Miss Valmere, your brothers are waiting for you in the conference room.” The soft voice echoed through the marble halls as Deborah stepped out of the black car, the early morning mist curling around her heels. The scent of salt and rain clung to the air, Monaco’s coast glimmered below, quiet and perfect beneath a pale sunrise. The Valmere Estate towered above the cliffs like a kingdom of glass and power. Every inch of it screamed wealth, the kind that didn’t need to be shown, only felt. Columns of white marble stretched toward the sky, and tall windows reflected the first light of dawn, revealing pieces of a world that never slept, private helipads, silent security drones, the faint hum of engines beneath the stone courtyard. Deborah didn’t answer the butler. She simply nodded once, her expression composed but exhausted. The night clung to her still, the sound of gunfire, the flash of headlights, Luther Cain’s voice cutting through the storm. “You’re the last person I should t
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-07
Chapter: CHAPTER 1The night was never meant to be this quiet. Rain drummed against the sleek wings of the waiting jet, streaking across the silver metal like tears. The private runway of Valmere Airfield was deserted, save for a handful of black-suited bodyguards and one woman standing beneath a storm-black umbrella. Deborah Valmere. The name itself could move markets, heiress to the Valmere Empire, darling of dynasties, the only daughter of a family that ruled like modern monarchs. Yet tonight, she wasn’t the immaculate figure of press photos. Her hair clung damply to her temples, and her coat, though designer, was hastily buttoned. She looked like a queen trying to flee her throne. Her phone buzzed for the seventh time. [Caelum Valmere — Incoming Call.] She hesitated. Then silenced it again. “Miss Valmere,” one of her guards said through the storm, “the jet’s ready. We should go.” She nodded, but her mind was elsewhere, far beyond the rain and engines. Her lips pressed together as if to kee
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-07
SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER
“Fifty Thousand dollars, going once.”
The words echo through the room, cold and final, as Bianca realizes her fate is no longer her own. Desperation has led her to a place where lives are reduced to bids, and freedom has a price tag.
Just before the gavel can fall, a single voice cuts through the silence, calm, powerful, and undeniable.
“Twenty Million.”
The room freezes. The highest bid belongs to Stefano De Luca, a man whose wealth is limitless, whose influence is feared, and whose intentions are never questioned.
Sold to a man who treats power like a weapon and emotions like weakness, Bianca is forced into a contract that binds her to a world of luxury, control, and dangerous secrets. What begins as a transaction soon becomes a battle of wills, where lines blur between possession and protection, fear and desire.
In a world where everything has a price, Bianca must decide whether she is merely something that was bought or the one thing Stefano De Luca never intended to lose.
But what if he never intended to set her free at all?
Baca
Chapter: ARTURO AND THE ENVELOPEThe doorbell did not ring in a casual, uncertain way that visitors usually pressed it, but in a measured pattern that felt intentional, three firm chimes spaced evenly apart, as if the person outside was not asking for permission to enter but announcing his presence with quiet authority.I paused halfway down the staircase with my hand resting on the railing, listening to the sound fade into the silence of the house, and for the first time since I had started staying here, the place felt too large and too quiet in a way that made me suddenly aware that I was completely alone inside it.Stefano had left before sunrise for a meeting outside the city and told me he would be gone for most of the day, and the house staff had been given the morning off because there was nothing scheduled, which meant there was no one else to answer the door except me.The bell rang again in the same calm, deliberate rhythm, and something about it made my chest tighten with a feeling I could not immediately
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-11
Chapter: MAFIA CURIOSITY“Marco keeps joking about mafia business,” I said before I could lose the courage to ask, my voice steady but curious as I stood a few steps inside Stefano’s office while the early morning light filtered softly through the windows behind him.He did not answer immediately, and the silence that followed was not confused or surprised, but thoughtful, as if he had been expecting this question to arrive eventually and had already considered how he would respond when it did.Stefano uncrossed his arms and moved to sit on the edge of his desk, facing me directly with a calm expression that made it difficult to tell whether this topic amused him or concerned him.“And what made you decide to take Marco seriously today?” he asked.“I don’t,” I replied honestly. “But he jokes too specifically for it to feel completely made up, and Cassius never denies it, which somehow makes it worse.”A faint breath that almost resembled a laugh left him. “Marco has a very creative mouth.”“That’s not an answ
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-08
Chapter: SPACES BETWEEN WORDS“Are you done hiding in there, or did Stefano finally promote you to permanent office decoration?” Marco’s voice reached me the second I stepped out of the office, loud and dramatic enough to make Cassius sigh without even lifting his eyes from his screen.I closed the door gently behind me while trying and completely failing, to hide the warmth still lingering on my face, because whatever had just happened inside that room had not stayed behind with the paperwork and the quiet air.“I was not hiding,” I replied, walking back toward my desk with what I hoped looked like a normal pace instead of the careful, overly controlled steps of someone trying not to look affected.Marco leaned back in his chair and studied me with exaggerated suspicion, his eyes narrowing as if he were investigating a crime scene. “You look like someone who just had a very serious conversation… or a very dangerous one.”Cassius finally glanced at me briefly before returning to his monitor. “With him, it’s usuall
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-07
Chapter: CONTRACT SIGNINGStefano did not call my name loudly, yet the way he said it carried enough weight to pull my attention away from Marco’s teasing and Cassius’s dry remarks as if an invisible thread had been tied from his voice to my chest and gently, but firmly, tugged me toward him.“Bianca, come here for a moment,” he said, his tone calm, almost casual, but there was something beneath it that made me set my coffee down without thinking and walk toward his office while the others watched with quiet curiosity.I stepped inside, and he closed the door behind me with a soft click that felt strangely intimate, as if the world outside had been muted and reduced to background noise that no longer mattered.For a second, neither of us spoke.He simply looked at me.Not with suspicion, not with authority, but with a kind of quiet focus that made me suddenly aware of how close we were standing and how the air between us felt warmer than it should have.“Did you sleep well last night?” he asked gently.The que
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-05
Chapter: A STORM“Morning already?” Stefano’s voice cut through the quiet hum of the office as I poured the last of my coffee into a mug. He leaned against the doorway of the small kitchenette, arms crossed, eyes scanning the counter like he was calculating how much sugar I’d used, though knowing him, it was probably a test.I glanced up and smiled faintly. “It’s just past eight. I didn’t hear you come in.”He didn’t answer immediately, simply observed me with that unreadable look he always had, like he was measuring my mood before deciding if it warranted a response.I shrugged, taking a cautious sip of my coffee. “I’m not hiding anything. Yet.”The silence that followed Cassius’s departure felt almost heavy at first, but Marco refused to let it stay that way. He leaned closer across the counter, eyes twinkling, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “So, Bianca, do you always deal with this much drama first thing in the morning, or is today special?”I tilted my head, pretending to consider the
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-03
Chapter: TEASING WHOStefano held my gaze for a second longer, like he was checking if I truly believed what I just said.Before he could reply, the elevator doors opened again with a soft chime that sounded far too cheerful for the mood of the floor.Marco stepped out first, adjusting his sleeves like he had just finished a casual lunch instead of whatever serious conversation had happened upstairs earlier.Behind him was Cassius.And for the first time since morning, the tension on the floor shifted into something almost… human.Marco glanced around, then spotted me. His face immediately lit up. “Ah. My favorite civilian.”Cassius sighed quietly beside him. “Please don’t start.”I blinked at them. “Start what?”Marco walked toward my desk with easy confidence. “Being charming. It’s a natural condition. Very hard to control.”Cassius stopped a few steps behind him, arms crossed. “You are not charming. You are loud.”Marco looked offended. “I am charismatic.”“You are exhausting,” Cassius corrected calmly
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-03
Chapter: CHAPTER 65: The EndingSummer’s POVThe explosion didn’t just take Alexander.It took sound, time, and meaning with it.Everything after that night feels like it happened underwater, voices muffled, colors dulled, memories stitched together with gaps I can’t fill no matter how hard I try. I remember screaming until my throat burned, remember Lucien’s arms locking around me as if he was the only thing keeping me from tearing myself apart, remember the heat of the fire against my skin and the cold certainty settling in my bones before anyone said the words out loud.Alexander wasn’t coming back.They moved me from the scene before dawn, sedated me when my body refused to stop shaking, restrained me when grief turned feral and desperate, and placed me in a hospital room so white and clean it felt insulting. I woke up to the steady beep of a heart monitor and the unbearable realization that mine was still beating without his permission.The chair beside my bed was empty.I stared at it for a long time, waiting
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-01-04
Chapter: CHAPTER 64: The Bomb in the DarkSummer’s POVThe world returned to me in pieces. Cold air against my skin. The distant wail of sirens. Shadows moving above me.A shaking engine rumbling beneath my back.My eyes fluttered open, blurry, disoriented, and the first thing I saw was the inside of a van ceiling, dim and sterile.I jolted upright so fast the tubes taped to my arm ripped free.“Easy! EASY....SUMMER, STOP—” a medic shouted, trying to push me back down.But panic surged through me like fire.“Where—” My throat cracked, dry and raw. “Where is Alexander?!”Lucien appeared from the other side of the van, blood-streaked, sweat-soaked, bruises everywhere but alive. He knelt beside me, grabbing my shoulders gently.“Summer, breathe. You’re safe now. You’re—”“WHERE IS HE?” I screamed, shoving his hands away, body trembling uncontrollably. “WHERE IS ALEXANDER? WHY ISN’T HE HERE?”Lucien exchanged a look with Mom. The silence stabbed deeper than any blade.Mom’s jaw tightened, eyes flicking aside, avoiding mine. “He’s
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-18
Chapter: CHAPTER 63: Bullet of VengeanceSummer POVIrvine leveled the gun at Alexander’s forehead.The metallic click echoed louder than the screams, louder than the alarms, louder than my heartbeat pulsing weakly in my ears.Alexander didn’t flinch.He stood between me and death, breath shaking, chest rising and falling with exhaustion, but he didn’t move. Didn’t run. Didn’t beg.He just stared Irvine down with a rage so cold it felt like steel.“Step away from her,” he growled.Irvine cocked her head, smiling. “Oh, Alexander… you’re still pretending you can protect her? You can’t even protect yourself.” Her finger tightened on the trigger.Lucien struggled against the men holding him, teeth bared, voice ripping out of him raw and frantic. “ALEX! MOVE!”I couldn’t breathe. My body wouldn’t move. The tubes in my arms pulsed with every weak beat of my heart. The machine beeped irregularly now, the rhythm fading.My vision flickered. Slow. Fading. And yet I saw everything.Alexander, bruised and bleeding, glaring at Irvine li
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-18
Chapter: CHAPTER 62: Blodline of FireSummer POV“Summer!” Alexander roared across the chaos. “Stay awake, don’t you dare close your eyes!”I tried. God, I tried. But the machine was pulling everything from me. My limbs were ice, my vision fogged.I blinked hard.And that’s when Irvine stepped out of the haze.Her red gown was torn at the hip, streaked with soot, her hair falling from its immaculate curls, but her eyes, cold emerald burning with madness, were fixed on one thing....Alexander.She lunged at him. Not to shoot.But to grab the gun in his hand.Alexander reacted too late. Her fingers clenched around the barrel, twisting it toward herself, and suddenly they were locked in a vicious, desperate struggle, bodies colliding, the gun jerking between them like a live serpent.Alexander growled, muscles bulging as he fought to keep the weapon aligned away from Summer, away from me.Irvine bared her teeth. “LET GO!”“Over my dead body!” he snarled back.The gun’s trigger kept slamming uselessly under both their grips,
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-18
Chapter: CHAPTER 61: AlmostSummer’s POVThe humming of the machine faded into a distant roar as pain and adrenaline waged war inside my body. My eyes fluttered open, barely able to focus. Smoke curled like serpents in the dim, fluorescent-lit room. Debris littered the floor, shattered glass glinting under the harsh overhead lights. Sparks from torn wires hissed, casting momentary shadows that danced like demons across the walls.My body felt like it belonged to someone else. Heavy. Slow. Every nerve screamed with exhaustion, blood loss, and the numbing aftereffects of the apparatus they’d strapped me into. I tried to lift my arm. It wobbled. My legs trembled. But I could see movement, familiar movement.Alexander and Lucien.Two figures cutting through chaos like black blades in a storm. Alexander moved first, slicing through the Montalbans’ men with uncanny precision, each strike calculated, each step a dance of death. His suit was scorched and bloodied, tie loosened, his shirt sleeves rolled up, revealing mus
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-17
Chapter: CHAPTER 60: Blood MachineSummer’s POVThe heat of the explosion still burned in my lungs, my ears ringing with shards of glass and screams. Smoke clawed at my eyes, stinging them, turning everything into gray chaos. I tried to move, to find Alexander, but before I could take a step, a rough hand grabbed my wrist, twisting it painfully.“Got her!” a harsh voice barked, and I realized I was no longer running, I was being dragged.My legs kicked, my fists flailed, but they were too strong. Every strike I landed against their arms barely caused them to flinch. These men, Montalban men were like shadows made of iron. Even when I landed a punch to the jaw of one, he barely staggered, only letting out a grunt of annoyance.Panic and fury collided in my chest. I won’t die here. Not like this. Not without him.Another figure stepped from the smoke, tall, commanding… and my blood ran cold. Irvine. Her presence was like a blade pressed against my spine. The way she moved, confident, cold, deadly, made my training feel c
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-17
Masuk
