Novels by Dark Lótus

Sebastian went into the living room and found Karen sitting on the couch. Although she looked downcast, she was beautiful with her hair loose, framing her delicate face. She looked like an old sepia-toned photograph.“I said I would protect you, and I failed. I’m sorry,” he said, sitting down next to her.The scent of peaches invaded his senses again. It was a soft perfume that disturbed his senses.“No one is to blame but those who kidnapped me,” she replied softly.“It’s my fault. I should have known there was an intention behind that invitation.” He pressed his lips together. “For a moment, I believed that my father wanted me to be by his side at this important event.”His facial expression was unique. Harder, yet vulnerable.Karen knew that expression; she had seen it dozens of times on the faces of the children at the orphanage. And many times in the mirror. At that moment, Karen forgot her own pain.“I’m sorry,” she whispered.Sebastian looked away, as if that show of empathy wa

They waited for Karen to leave; it would not be prudent to reveal dark secrets in front of her, at least not for now. When the door closed, Sebastian turned to the lawyer.“Tell me everything you know,” he asked, his voice low and restrained, as if he were holding back a fire.Richard adjusted his glasses and consulted his notes with deliberate delay.“The owner of the warehouse is Ted Lincoln. He hasn’t been in Las Vegas for years, but there’s something you didn’t know: he remarried five years ago.”“I’m not interested in his personal life. I hate gossip.”Impatience rose like poison. Sebastian was on the verge of losing control, but Richard didn’t back down; he was used to his wealthy client’s rudeness.“His wife has a daughter named Sarah, who loves casinos, drinking, and nightlife. She works at the beauty clinic his stepmother goes to twice a week.”“That’s suspicious, but it doesn’t prove anything,” Sebastian retorted, frustrated. “I need more.”Richard smiled. It wasn’t a cheerf

Sebastian needed to avoid physical exertion, but he refused to lie down, so he didn’t go to the office and spent the morning working from home. Reports and numbers filled his laptop screen, but his mind kept returning to the image of Karen fleeing the room earlier with red cheeks, unable to look him in the eye. He was used to experienced, seductive women. Karen’s innocence was interesting to him, almost an invitation.A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.“Did you want to talk to me?” Karen asked as she opened the door.Sebastian looked up slowly. The morning light outlined her small, delicate body, so fragile that it seemed it could break at any moment.“How are you?” he asked, looking away from the screen.“I’m fine, but...” She took a deep breath and plunged into the gray immensity of his eyes. “Do you think we should go to the police and file a report? I am still feeling scared.”Sebastian closed his laptop with a sharp click. He got up slowly because of his injury and walked ove

Karen didn’t sleep a wink. Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered the dark shed and the sound of gunshots. Her heart kept racing as if she were still there alone, breathing fear.Before the sun even rose, she was already up.She went down to the kitchen looking for something to calm her down. She found James preparing Sebastian’s breakfast tray. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and warm bread should have been comforting... but it just seemed distant.“I’ll take it to him myself. I want to see how he is.”Her voice sounded firmer than she really felt. James hesitated for just a moment, his eyes analyzing her as if trying to gauge the fragility hidden beneath that request.“If you wish.”He handed her the tray carefully. Karen thought about asking if she should go to the police station, after all, she had been kidnapped. But when she looked at the butler’s expression, she held back. That house seemed to have rules that were not written down. Rules that were learned through sil

The doctor arrived quickly and, judging by the calm manner in which he entered the house and went straight to the bedroom, it seemed that removing bullets and suturing Sebastian Sterling’s wounds was a regular occurrence for him. He worked silently, administered anesthesia, and removed the bullet.“It didn’t hit any nerves or bones. He’ll be fine soon, just a small scar,” he said, putting away his instruments.“Thank you for your help,” Sebastian replied, his voice neutral. “My lawyer will take care of the payment.”“Try not to get into any trouble for the next few days.”When he was alone, he picked up the bullet from the metal jar and looked at it for a few seconds. It was small and lethal. Another centimeter and it would have been fatal.He picked up his cell phone and called his lawyer.“I need you to come here.”A few minutes later, Richard entered the room carrying a suitcase.“Did I lose my job this time?” he asked with a tired half-smile.“Not yet.”“That’s good news; I hate l

In poker, there is a term called Bad Beat. It is when a player has seemingly unbeatable cards... but still loses.Sebastian knew this concept well. He had seen it happen countless times — men who dominated tables, calculated probabilities, bluffed like gods... until reality crushed them.And that night, Sebastian was losing.“Leave her out of this. If it’s money you want, I have plenty.”“It’s not all about money,” the stranger’s voice interrupted him coldly.“But everything has a price,” Sebastian insisted.A brief silence. Then a low, humorless laugh.“And what is your price, Mr. Sterling?”“You won’t live to find out.”Sebastian waited for the next move, but the silence that followed was too long. Too heavy. A bad omen for someone in a hurry.Sebastian forced his mind to work. He needed to act first and not react.He was a strategic player in the business world. He knew the whole underworld of Las Vegas; shootouts were nothing new to him. Neither were negotiations on the brink of d

Angelina, her eyes still teary, took a step toward him.“I saw the way you looked at her, with a tenderness you never showed me. Your smile always widened when she appeared, and I wondered how that was possible. I was courted by many men, and I chose you, but you never truly chose me. You never truly loved me. You loved an orphan, a poor wretch.”“My heart has always belonged to Meg, since childhood,” he confessed. “But I would have been faithful to our marriage until death.”Angelina’s rage exploded. She threw a vase onto the floor, shattering it.“We are married! Until death do us part,” she screamed desperately.“The fake doctor was arrested. He gave a statement and named all the names. If you think I’m bluffing, go to the police station and confirm.”“But I didn’t do anything. It was William who did everything. He hired the men to kidnap Meg. He got the baby. I didn’t do anything.”“We will tell everyone that you died in childbirth and that our son survived. You will leave on the

James knew it was wrong to disrespect Angelina’s mother, a respectable lady of society. However, at that moment, the rules of etiquette seemed irrelevant. He ran his hands through his hair several times, as if trying to calm himself before continuing.“Did you know that the women who enter there never come out?”“And how would I know?” his wife asked.“Because that was the reason you and William put Meg there. So that she would never leave. So that she would die inside.”Angelina’s thoughts spun at an incalculable speed. All her cunning and intelligence abandoned her at that moment, and all she could do was mumble meaningless words.“I...”“You asked Meg to fetch your dress. You could have asked any servant, but you chose her.” James crossed his arms, staring fixedly at Angelina, his gaze intense. “It was you who called the rental car, but that day there was no request to our address. None.”He paused, taking a deep breath, as if trying to control the frustration growing inside him.“

James collapsed onto the sofa with a heavy thud, his usual composure disintegrating like wet paper. His head fell back, revealing a rare vulnerability that contrasted violently with the image of the polished gentleman everyone knew. After a few moments of near immobility, he recomposed himself in a quick movement, his spine erect again and his sharp gaze fixed on his wife - a predator merely feigning weakness.“These days have left me with too much time for reflection.”His fingers drummed on the arm of the armchair, an irregular rhythm.“I went personally to the pharmacy. Something unusual for me,” he pronounced, each word spoken slowly. “The pain was so great that I could not wait for one servant. The pharmacist, a curious man, asked questions. Many questions.”“Ava always takes care of these...” she began, her voice a barely perceptible thread.“I always slept deeply,” he said, his voice oscillating between incredulity and contempt. “Like a stone, they would say. Until that night.”

It was already night when they arrived at the mansion with a newborn son in their arms and a few lies to tell. Despite the commotion of their arrival, none of the staff came to greet them, not even Ava, the oldest servant, appeared in the room.Angelina shook the dust from her clothes, looking around. Everything was quiet and disturbing, only a few candelabras were lit.“Where is everyone?”Her mother, a high-society lady who valued the subservience of the household staff, frowned.“This is unacceptable.”They remained still until they convinced themselves that no one would help them with the luggage.“Something must have happened,” Angelina tried to justify, although unease grew in her chest.Silence prevailed until James appeared at the top of the staircase; he was especially handsome, wearing a black tailcoat of matte silk. He descended without any haste, each step creaking under his slow footsteps. There was a sinister aura around him, something in the intensity of his gaze that i

The persistent fog covering the fields around the country residence seemed to mirror Angelina’s state of mind. More than fifteen days had passed since her arrival at that bucolic refuge, and longing for London was becoming an increasingly oppressive presence. The days dragged on in a torturous mixture of boredom and anxiety that consumed her from within, undermining her strength.On the other side of the room, the wet nurse rocked a small bundle that would not stop whimpering. The woman, with deep dark circles marking her exhausted face, struggled in vain to calm the child. Angelina watched the scene with a mixture of poorly disguised revulsion and impatience.“You need to at least pretend some happiness, my daughter,” her mother whispered, approaching with silent steps. “Walls have ears, even here.”“How can I pretend anything when I haven’t slept in five nights?” retorted Angelina, running her fingers nervously through her disheveled hair. “This incessant crying is driving me crazy.

The guards and nurses tried to control the inmates.“Lock them all in solitary confinement!” the mother superior shouted.When Sophia managed to lift her head, the image she saw was of the patients eating all the food like a small anthill around a grain of sugar, and the staff using extreme violence to restrain them.She knew it was only a matter of time until they were all subdued. They were greater, but they were hungry, malnourished women against trained, well-fed men. Soon they would be locked in their cells, without food, without water, and without dignity.Then she looked at the lit fireplace. The flames warmed and illuminated the place; she grabbed a torch and ran to the curtains, setting them on fire.“Run outside!” Sophia shouted, throwing the torch onto some books on the bookshelf.“Put out the fire!”The Mother and some employees tried to extinguish the flames, which spread faster than they could put them out. In a few minutes, the entire office was ablaze in a huge incande