ログインBryanI can't let it show, I told myself, staring blankly at the floor of the bar. I can't let anyone see that I still have feelings for Renata after all these years.It had been years since I let myself think about her that way, years since I convinced myself that whatever we once had as kids belonged firmly in the past. Seeing her walk back into my life had cracked something open that I thought I had sealed shut a long time ago, and hearing the fear in her voice on that call had only made it worse.But that call, the panic threading through her voice, the way she had rushed through every word like she barely had time to say them at all. Something was wrong. Was she actually in trouble.Her message had been simple enough on the surface. Go find Edwina. Tell her Drent had her. But who the hell was Drent. Nothing about any of it sat right with me.I turned to my boss. "Mr. Shane, I'm going to need to take today off."Shane looked up from behind the counter, a knowing smile already tugg
RenataIt was a tight vent, barely wide enough for my shoulders to fit through, but I was determined, more determined than I had ever been about anything in my life. I still could not fully believe I was actually doing this, crawling through a metal duct like some desperate fugitive in a movie, my knees scraping raw against the cold metal beneath me.Every inch forward felt like a small victory, proof that I hadn't simply resigned myself to whatever fate Drent had planned for me. I thought of my mother, of Edwina lying helpless in that hospital bed, of the life I had been so close to starting fresh in Mexico, and let that anger fuel me forward through the cramped, suffocating darkness.After Spencer left me in that room, believing I was still unconscious, I forced myself upright the second I heard his footsteps fade down the hallway. I knew I only had a small window before he returned to check on me, and screaming would do nothing here. They had already moved me somewhere deep undergr
SpencerI had served Mr. Drent for eight years now, through every version of him I had ever seen, the calculated businessman, the guarded son, and lately, this desperate, obsessive man I barely recognized. But tonight was different from anything I had ever been asked to do before. Tonight, the fate of his entire company sat balanced in my hands.Eight years was a long time to watch a man change. I still remembered the version of him who used to tip generously without a second thought, who once sat with me in the kitchen at three in the morning just to talk through a bad night rather than order me around like most men of his standing would have. That memory was part of why I stayed loyal even now, even when the requests he made of me grew darker with every passing week.I was just a servant, technically speaking. Yet somehow, in this single evening, I held the power to either save him completely or destroy everything he had ever worked toward. If I moved quickly, hid Renata before the
DrentThe moment I opened the door, I froze in shock. Marcus stood there on my doorstep, flanked by a small army of uniformed officers, that same insufferable smirk plastered across his face.Of course. This weaselly, annoying brother of mine. I should have known he would move on this the second he got the chance.I forced a smile onto my face, drawing on every ounce of composure I had left, presenting myself as a man completely in control of the situation despite the panic already clawing beneath the surface."How can I help you, officers?" I asked, my voice steady, measured.I glanced over at Marcus, my jaw tightening involuntarily. "And I see you brought my brother along."One of the officers stepped forward. "Mr. Drent, we'd like to come in. Marcus here has brought a serious allegation against you."I looked at Marcus, matching his smugness with a fake smile of my own. "I'm sure he does.""So, brother," Marcus said, leaning against the doorframe, clearly savoring every second of w
MarcusSo Drent had been keeping Renata hostage this entire time. What a sly, predictable brother I had. Honestly, I should have expected something this dramatic from him the moment I saw the panic on his face back at that house.I had spent the drive home replaying every second of it, the way he had tried to physically drag me out, the flicker of fear he couldn't quite hide, the strange noise coming from that sealed off wing of his estate. Once I had seen Renata sitting there on the floor, terrified and exhausted, everything clicked into place with a satisfying finality. My brother, the golden child, the one my father always trusted more, had committed a crime serious enough to end his career entirely. I had barely been able to sleep that night, my mind already spinning through exactly how I intended to use it.Payton walked into my office just as I was pouring myself a drink, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. "Where have you been?" she demanded. "What happened to getting
RenataI sat frozen, stunned that Marcus had somehow found his way into this room, and now Drent stood there too, staring him down like he wanted to tear him apart. I had no idea what was happening, no understanding of how any of this had come together in the span of a few terrifying minutes.But the deepest part of my pain came from a different realization entirely. The door had been open this whole time, and I hadn't even known it. I hadn't heard Marcus enter, which meant the door must have been unlocked, unguarded, open for far longer than I realized. If I had known, if I had only checked, I could have run the moment I found the opportunity. But it was too late now. The chance had already slipped past me.That thought alone made me want to scream. All those hours I had spent pacing this room, staring at the shelves of books I never opened, wondering if there was even a single crack in this prison, and the answer had been sitting right there behind an unlocked door the entire time.
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
DrentThere was something unsettling about her. I had asked for a spa therapist, but instead they had sent me something I found far more amusing. A tiny, curvy girl who I found surprisingly tempting.Which was strange, because I had not felt that way about anyone in years. But it felt like a good s
RenataI waited for Edwina outside the class. I had stared at the flyer for so long that if someone handed me a computer, I could recreate it without looking.The bell rang and the students pushed through, rushing out. My eyes strained as I searched for Edwina. When she finally appeared, I dragged
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,







