Novels by Mebi_xx

Ivy didn’t go back immediately.She stayed in the hallway long after the call ended—Breathing.Thinking.Trying not to fall apart.Emily was alive.That should have comforted her.Instead—It terrified her more.Because now she knew this wasn’t random.This was planned.Every piece.Every move.Every lie.And somehow—She was standing in the center of all of it.The penthouse suddenly felt colder.Like it already knew she was slipping away.When Ivy finally returned—Sebastian looked up immediately.Too quickly.Like he’d been tracking the seconds she was gone.“Where were you?”There it was again.Not concern first.Control first.Ivy felt irritation flare instantly.“Walking.”His eyes narrowed slightly.“You disappeared.”“I was gone for two minutes.”“In this situation, two minutes matters.”The room thickened with tension immediately.Rafael stayed silent near the monitors.Lucien was speaking quietly into an earpiece.Jaxon typing rapidly across security feeds.But everyone fel

“What do you mean missing?”Ivy’s voice cracked harder than she intended.Sebastian was already moving.Phone against his ear.Eyes sharp.Cold.Focused.“Say that again.”Silence stretched from the other end of the line.Then—Sebastian’s jaw tightened.“When?”Ivy’s pulse hammered violently now.Emily.No.No no no—“She was supposed to be under surveillance,” Lucien’s voice cut through from the doorway.He had entered fast.Jaxon behind him.Tension flooded the room instantly.Sebastian lowered the phone slowly.“She disappeared thirty minutes ago.”Ivy stared at him.“That’s impossible.”But even as she said it—She remembered the footage.The envelope.The messages.Planned.Everything was planned.Her chest tightened painfully.“My sister wouldn’t just disappear.”“No,” Lucien agreed quietly.“She wouldn’t.”That answer chilled her more than panic would have.Because it meant they already knew.Kidnapped.The word settled ugly in her stomach.Sebastian turned sharply toward Jaxo

The door shut behind Rafael.Quiet.But the sound lingered anyway.Ivy didn’t move.Neither did Sebastian.The silence between them stretched sharp enough to cut through.“You’re starting to make reckless decisions,” Sebastian said finally.His voice stayed calm.That calm was becoming dangerous.Ivy folded her arms tighter.“Because I asked questions?”“Because you ignore every warning I give you.”A humorless laugh slipped from her lips.“You mean every order.”Something flickered behind his eyes.Brief.Gone.“You think this is about control,” he said.“It is about control.”Her voice echoed harder than she intended.But she didn’t take it back.“Locked doors. Surveillance. Following me everywhere—”“Because people are trying to use you.”“And what exactly are you doing?”Silence.There it was again.That pause he kept giving her instead of truth.Ivy shook her head slowly.“You see? That right there.”Sebastian stepped closer.Slow enough for her to back away if she wanted.She di

The penthouse didn’t sleep.Ivy realized that sometime after midnight.There was always movement somewhere.A door opening.Footsteps crossing distant marble.Low voices behind walls.Like the building itself stayed awake to watch her.Tonight—She used that.The hallway outside her room was quieter than usual.Not empty.Never empty.But quieter.Enough.Ivy stepped out carefully, closing the door without sound.No hesitation.No second thoughts.Because if she stopped now—She might start thinking again.And thinking had become dangerous.The lower corridor lights glowed dim amber.She moved quickly through them.Past the main hall.Past the security wing.Straight to the place Rafael told her earlier.Not here.Later.Her pulse quickened as she pushed through the final door.The observation room overlooked the city below, hidden behind darkened glass.Empty.At first.Then—“You’re late.”Rafael stepped out from the shadows near the far wall.Ivy’s breath steadied slowly.“You said

Ivy stopped pacing.That was the first change.No more testing the door.No more checking the corners.No more visible resistance.She sat.Still.Quiet.When the door opened—She didn’t look up immediately.Sebastian stepped in.Alone this time.That was new.“I expected more of a fight,” he said.Ivy turned her head slowly.“Would it have changed anything?”A pause.“No.”“Then I’m conserving energy.”That answer lingered.Because it wasn’t defiance.It was calculation.Sebastian stepped further into the room.“You’ve been very quiet.”“I’ve been listening.”His gaze sharpened slightly.“To what?”Ivy tilted her head just enough—“To what no one is saying.”Silence.Because that?That was dangerous.“You think you’ve figured something out,” he said.“I think I’ve figured out enough.”A beat.“Enough to do what?”She didn’t answer.And that—That unsettled him more than anything else she’d done.Later—They let her out.Not fully.Just the main floor.Supervised.Watched.But it was

The lock clicked behind her.Soft.Final.Ivy didn’t turn around.Didn’t test it.Didn’t need to.She already knew.The room hadn’t changed.Same bed.Same window.Same quiet.But it felt different now.Smaller.Like the walls had moved closer while she wasn’t looking.She walked to the window anyway.Habit.Control.The city stretched out below—Unreachable.Her reflection stared back at her in the glass.Tired.Tighter than before.Different.A faint pressure curled low in her stomach.She stilled.Just for a second.Then shook it off.Stress.That’s all.It had to be.A soft knock.Not a request.A warning.The door opened.Lucien stepped in first.Then Rafael.Sebastian last.The room shifted instantly.Not loud.Just heavy.“You’re not leaving this room for now,” Sebastian said.Calm.Controlled.Ivy crossed her arms.“For now,” she repeated.A pause.“Until we fix what you broke.”Her jaw tightened.“I didn’t break anything.”“You made contact with him.”There it was.No denial.