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The Cold Kitchen
Tanggal publikasi:
2026-05-16 21:45:42
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A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS The Breach
The fever had finally broke, leaving my sheets damp and my mind clear. The pain in my side was still there, a dull, steady ache that throbbed every time I breathed too deeply, but I could stand. I had forced myself out of bed, wrapped a clean dark shirt over the thick bandages, and sat at the desk in my bedroom.But I wasn't looking at the papers David had left for me. I was looking out the small side window that faced the courtyard.I had seen Arthur twice today. Both times, he walked with his hands deep in his pockets, his shoulders hunched, looking at the ground like he was trying to disappear. He had always been quiet, but this was different. This was the stillness of a animal right before it runs. He was guarded. Every time a guard walked past him, his body went rigid, and his fingers would twitch inside his pockets.He was hiding something. I knew that look. I had spent my whole life watching men try to hide things from me.A knock cam
A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS The Silver Key
The back halls of the villa were always colder than the rest of the house. There were no thick rugs here, no paintings of old Lionel ancestors, and no bright lights. It was just white walls and stone floors that led to the laundry rooms and the storage spaces. I liked it here because nobody looked at me. The servants moved past with their heads down, and the guards usually stayed near the main entrance or the gates.I had been walking for an hour. My boots made a slow, steady clicking sound against the floor. I still had on my old jeans and the plain white t-shirt. They were starting to smell like the guest room—like old wood and dust—but I didn't care. It was better than smelling like the expensive laundry soap Andreas bought for my suits.Every time I stopped moving, my mind went back to the ledger on the bed. Three million dollars. Two docks. I kept seeing the numbers in my head, written out in David's neat handwriting. I was an expense. I
A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS The Empty Side of the Bed
The door shut with a soft click, and the room became completely dark again. I lay back against the pillows, but the movement made the skin around my ribs pull tight. A hot wave of pain went through my side, making me clench my teeth until my jaw ached. I took short, shallow breaths, waiting for the burning to stop. The doctor said the medicine would keep the pain away, but the medicine was no match for the anger inside me right now.I looked at the space on the mattress next to me. The sheets were straight and cold. For the last two years, that space had belonged to him. I was used to the sound of his breathing in the dark. I was used to the way he would move closer to me when the wind from the ocean hit the windows. Tonight, there was nothing but the smell of the clean linen and the faint scent of the rain he had brought in on his clothes.I reached out to grab the glass of water on the nightstand. My fingers were trembling so hard that the glass rattled against the wood. A few drops
A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS The Broken Ledger
The house stayed quiet until late in the evening. I spent hours sitting on the edge of the small bed in the guest room, watching the shadows stretch across the floorboards. My throat felt dry, and my stomach was empty, but I didn't want to go downstairs. I didn't want to see the servants, and I didn't want to look at the massive portraits on the walls.Eventually, the thirst became too much. I stood up, making sure my simple white t-shirt was pulled straight, and walked out into the hall.As I reached the top of the stairs, I heard voices. They weren't loud, but they were sharp. They were coming from the master bedroom. The door was cracked open just an inch, letting a thin sliver of yellow light spill out onto the dark hallway. I stopped a few feet away, my bare feet making no sound against the wood."He was out of his mind, Andreas," David’s voice came through the crack. He sounded angry, his tone lacking the usual respect he gave to the family name. "You weren't thinking straight.
A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS The Cold Kitchen
The morning came without any noise. In the master bedroom, there were always heavy curtains that kept the sun out until you chose to open them. In this guest room, the window was small and bare. The grey morning light hit my face early, waking me up from a sleep that didn't feel like rest.I lay there for a few minutes, listening. The house was dead quiet. Usually, by this time, I could hear the servants moving downstairs, the smell of coffee drifting up the steps, or Andreas's heavy boots walking across the floor. Today, there was nothing.I got out of bed and looked at the clothes I had packed into the small bag. I picked out a plain white t-shirt and an old pair of blue jeans. Putting them on felt strange. The denim was stiff and didn't fit perfectly like the trousers the tailors made for me. It felt rough against my skin. But when I looked at my reflection in the small bathroom mirror, I saw the boy from the old neighborhood again. I saw Arthur.I opened the bedroom door and walke
A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS The Long Drive Home
The car was big and quiet. The seats were soft leather, and the air inside was cool. It was a huge contrast to the basement we had just left. Outside the window, the trees and streetlights blurred into long lines of yellow and green. I sat as close to the door as I could, watching the world go by. My heart was still pounding against my ribs, but it felt slow and heavy now.Andreas was leaning back against the seat next to me. His eyes were closed, and his face was very pale. He had a clean bandage on his side, but I could see a small spot of red starting to show through. He looked tired. He looked like a man who had lost a lot more than just blood.Every few minutes, the car would hit a small bump. Andreas would let out a low, shaky breath, but he didn't open his eyes. He reached out with his hand, searching for mine on the seat between us. I looked down at his fingers. They were long and strong, but they were trembling.I didn't move my hand. I ju
A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS The First Crack
Ash's POV I didn’t want to go back to The Pit. Not after the gunshot, not after Andreas’s warning, not after the weight of Dante’s emblem burned a hole through my pocket all night. But morning blurred into evening, and fear didn’t change the fa
A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS Blood on the Loading Dock
The note I’d found in my locker felt like it was burning a hole through my pocket. Stop digging if you want your brother alive. Every time my hand brushed against it, a jolt of panic shot up my spine. Someone knew. Someone was in the room when I wasn’t looking, or they’d been watching me since the m
A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS The Collar Game Andreas Pov
Andreas PovThe club was quiet from my office on the third floor, but the monitors on my desk told a different story. Dozens of screens showed lots of movement. Dancers in the dressing rooms, security guards pacing the perimeter, and the heavy bass vibrating through the walls.I leaned back in my ch
A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS The Forbidden Floors
The Pit of Lust was a different world during the day. It didn’t have the usual noise or the smell of sweat and expensive perfume. Marco was helping me more than he realized—or maybe he knew exactly what he was doing. As we walked toward the breakroom for a quick lunch, he’d point things out with a
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