LOGINDrentI sat alone in the hospital room while the nurse administered another dose into my IV, the cold rush of it spreading through my arm."How did I even survive this," I asked her, more to myself than to her."You were lucky, sir," she said, not looking up from the monitor. "The accident didn't damage any of your vital organs. Still, you need to rest. You haven't fully recovered, and any strain or unnecessary movement could put you in a wheelchair permanently. Or worse."I sat with that for a moment, refusing to let the fear show on my face. "How long have I been out?"She hesitated before answering. "Close to a month, sir."I froze.A month. A full month gone, swallowed up while I lay unconscious in a hospital bed. A month during which I had given Renata every right to stand in my place, to run things so Marcus couldn't get his hands on what wasn't his. And yesterday, when I'd tried to ask her how everything was going, she had run out of the room without a single word.I remembered
RenataHis hair was still as long as mine, pulled back into a loose bun. A few dark strands had escaped near his ear, curling messily against his jaw, and I hated how much I noticed it.His cologne reached me before he did, and I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it until it filled my lungs and made my chest ache.His eyes hadn't changed. Still dark, still intense, still sweeping over me the way they had the very first day we met, like he was memorizing something he was afraid to lose.The tattoos across his chest were visible where his hospital gown hung open, sprawling and inked deep into his skin, and God help me, even now, even here, they looked good on him.What was I doing. Standing here lusting after a man who had barely survived, a man I had waited on for hours just so I could see him and then walk away, back out, protect myself the way I always did.A man who might be the only person alive who could stand between me and Marcus. The only one who could maybe save my mother."
Renata"Renata." Edwina was already moving toward me, her eyes narrowing the way they did when she was reading me like a book she'd memorized years ago. "What happened?""Nothing." The word came out too fast, too thin. "I'm fine.""You're not fine. Is it your mom? Did something happen with her?""I said I'm fine, Edwina." I tried to step past her, toward the hallway, toward anywhere that wasn't this conversation, but her hand caught my arm and held it with a gentleness that somehow hurt worse than force would have."Something is wrong. Talk to me."And that was when it cracked open in my chest, all of it, the fear and the exhaustion and the helplessness I'd been carrying since the moment Marcus had smiled at me across that boardroom table. It came out of me in a voice I barely recognized as my own."I don't know!" I nearly screamed it. "I don't know, Edwina, I don't know anything anymore!"Her face fell. I watched the hurt land in her eyes, watched her flinch back like I'd struck her
RenataI hadn't seen my mother in two full days, and the not knowing had become its own kind of torture. I hired one of Drent's private investigators, a man named Jey, to track her down, and he called me the very next afternoon."Hey, I've got a lead," he said. "Call me back by three. Let's talk."I could not stop glancing at my phone after that, watching the clock crawl forward far too slowly, willing the hands to move faster so I could finally call him back. I needed to know if my mother was alright, needed some kind of proof that she was still breathing somewhere out there.I had no real clue who had taken her, no name to attach blame to, only suspicion and dread tangled together. But I had decided I was done waiting. I was done sitting in fear, letting whoever was behind this dictate my next move. This time, I was going to find whoever took her and bring her home myself.Every hour that passed without her felt like a small betrayal of the promise I had made at her bedside, the pro
DaineThe first thing I noticed was the silence.It was too quiet.No hospital machines. No nurses talking in the hallway. No distant footsteps. Just an eerie stillness that wrapped around me until my skin crawled.I blinked slowly, my head pounding as I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling above me. Everything felt heavy, as though I'd slept for days.Where... am I?Panic rose inside me.I pushed myself upright, my muscles trembling from weakness. The room was spacious, far too elegant to be a hospital room, yet something about it felt cold. There was a large bed with crisp white sheets, expensive furniture, thick curtains covering the windows, and a polished wooden floor.It looked more like a luxury bedroom.But it wasn't.It felt like a prison.My breathing became uneven.Reneta.The name exploded into my mind.Had Reneta brought me here?Maybe... maybe she'd finally arranged somewhere for me to recover after everything that had happened. Perhaps she wanted to surprise me."Reneta?" I
RenataI went to the hospital before I had to leave for the date with Finn, needing to see my mother one more time before facing whatever the evening had in store for me. The nurse handed her the next round of medication while I stood watching, relief settling slowly into my chest as I saw the color returning to my mother's face."How is the treatment going?" I asked, keeping my voice low so I wouldn't wake her."She's doing well," the nurse said, adjusting the drip beside the bed. "She should make a full recovery soon. We were lucky, honestly. The poison wasn't nearly as heavy as we first thought."I let out a slow breath, some of the tension I had been carrying for days finally easing from my shoulders. I crossed the room and pressed a soft kiss to my mother's forehead, careful not to disturb her rest."I'm going to end all of this with Finn tonight," I whispered to her, even though I knew she couldn't hear me. "And once I do, I'm going to take you somewhere far away, somewhere Marc
DrentThe applause soon faded, the unexpected kiss between me and Renata had amused everyone. I didn't know we had the attention of everyone, and most especially, my father, who seemed to stand from afar with a smile of approval.That alone made me feel so close to getting the company than ever, bu
RenataAfter three straight days in the hospital, I had not taken calls from anyone. I had stayed off social media, away from school, and away from everything else. Just sitting beside my mom and watching over her, hoping she would be alright.I had applied for a job at Tinnies, a fast food spot ne
RenataA week passed and all my efforts to get into the tournament had failed. A part of me began to regret not taking Drent up on his offer, but another part of me was glad I had not. I did not trust him or his family.They were probably the kind of rich family that believed only money mattered, o
Renata"You will never be a boxer, Renata." The coach screamed it so loud that it echoed through the hallway. My heart sank. This had been my dream since I was six, to be a professional boxer. But the school system seemed dead set on the fact that it was a male sport, and it had always been."Wait,







