MasukHey loves đ
Quick update...things might be a little slow around here for a bit. Iâm in the middle of preparing for an important exam this month, and honestly, my focus is split. I also feel like some of the earlier chapters arenât hitting the way I want them to, so I might go back and polish them up once my exam is out of the way.
I promise Iâm not abandoning the story, I just want to give you my best, and right now, my best will come after I get through this exam. Thank you for your patience and for sticking with me. Youâre the reason I keep writing. đ
â Feesa
AARONI didnât bother knocking.The moment I reached the hospital room and saw the empty bedâthe pulled-out IV, the missing bag, the cold dent on the pillow where her head shouldâve beenâSomething inside me snapped so fast it felt like bone giving way.Sabine shot up from the chair with a startled gasp. âAaronâwaitâââWhere is she?â My voice was too calm. Too steady. The kind of calm that made grown men shake.Sabine paled. âIâI fell asleepââI didnât need the rest.The bandage on the floor.The discarded hospital gown.The faint scent of her perfume still lingering by the door.I didnât need to ask what direction she went.I already knew.Venus always ran toward danger, never from it.And there was only one place sheâd go in this conditionâhalf-broken, half-bleeding from the inside out:The last ghost she needed to bury.Gerald Marlowe.My jaw locked so hard pain crackled up the muscle. I pulled out my phone before Sabine could speak again.âSir?â my head of security answered instan
VENUS The moment the door slammed behind Gerald, the silence hit me like a physical blow. For a long breath, I just sat there. Staring at the metal door. Listening to the fading echoes of his chains, the fading sound of his laughter, the fading ghost of his final words: Youâll never find her. My stomach twisted. My vision blurred. I gripped the edges of the table until my fingers burned, grounding myself in the cold metal because everything else felt like it was slipping. I forced myself to stand. My body didnât appreciate that. Pain shot through my ribs, sharp and white-hot, slicing through the thin layer of adrenaline that had carried me through the confrontation. The room tilted for a second, walls leaning in, and I pressed my hand against the table until I found balance again. Then I walked. One foot. Then the other. Each step felt like dragging weights through mud. The guard outside straightened immediately when I pushed the door open. His smugness was gone, now repla
VENUSThe door clanged shut behind Gerald, the echo scraping down my spine like cold metal fingers. He shuffled forward in slow, deliberate steps, the chains on his ankles rattling with each movement. His wrists were pinned tight in front of him, silver cuffs biting into skin that looked both paler and meaner than I remembered.He watched me.Not the way normal people look at someone they hurt.Not with remorse.Not even curiosity.He looked at me like I was a painting heâd memorized long ago and was now examining for damage. He sat in the metal chair opposite mine. The guard behind him stepped back but didnât leave the room.I forced my voice steady. âCan we have the room, please?âThe guard hesitated, eyes flicking between me and Gerald like he wasnât sure which one of us was the danger here. Smart man. He inclined his head toward the door.âIâll be right outside,â he said. âAnd there are cameras. If anything happensâââI understand,â I cut in.His jaw tightened, but he stepped out
VENUS I woke to the soft hum of machines and the faint antiseptic chill that seeped into every inch of the hospital room. For a moment, I didnât move. I just stared at the ceiling â too white, too bright, too empty â and tried to make sense of the pounding behind my eyes.My body felt heavy, thick with the sedative Aaron had insisted on. I remembered fighting it, begging him not to let them put me under. I remembered his voice â low, apologetic, breaking somewhere around the edges â as the world blurred and dissolved.Now, the world was painfully sharp again.A soft snore drew my eyes sideways.Sabine sat hunched in the chair beside my bed, her head resting awkwardly on her folded arms. Her curls spilled over her elbows, rising and falling with her breaths. She must have fought sleep until her body gave out. Her hand was still on the side of my mattress, like sheâd been holding it.But Aaron wasnât here.The space heâd occupied last night â the shadow in the corner, the anchor when e
IRIS I wake up because something is shaking.Not gentle shaking, like when Mommy tries to wake me up for school and says, âRise and shine, sleepyhead.âThis is rough. Like someone grabbed my shoulder and moved me too fast.My head hurts. My eyes feel sticky. My mouth tastes like when I forget to brush my teeth after eating candy.Everything is blurry.Everything is loud.The car is moving but I donât know where itâs taking me. The window beside me shows trees, then light, then shadows and I donât know any of them. Thereâs a man in the front seat and another beside me. Theyâre big. Too big. Their clothes are dark and their voices sound like rocks rolling.I try to sit up.The man beside me pushes me back. âSit still.âI donât want to sit still.I want George.I want Sabine Jr.I want Mommy.I want Daddy.âWhereâs my brother?â My voice comes out tiny. It sounds like someone else. Not me.They donât answer.âWhereâs my mom?â I try again. âWhereâs George? Heâhe was holding my hand. He wa
AARONLucas Derraneâs name was barely out of his mouth before the metallic taste of anger hit my tongue â cold, measured, razor-edged. I leaned back just enough for him to feel the space between us shrink, the weight of my attention locking him in place. His breath hitched.âYou staged an interaction to make it look like I was cheating on my wife,â I said.Lucasâs shoulders snapped tight like a man bracing for a blow. âI didnât stage anything,â he blurted. âIâI was paid to put some kind of substance in the air conditioning. Thatâs it.âConnorâs jaw flexed beside me. Colton didnât move, but I felt him lean forward â the subtle shift of a predator catching a scent.I kept my voice level. âWho was your partner?ââP-partner?â His confusion looked real â but fear often did.âThere were two of you in the footage,â I said. âDonât test me, Lucas.âHe flinched. âI swear, I donât know who he is. They said someone would meet me in the lobby and hand me the package. We didnât talk. We just plante







