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I am not staying!
Last Updated:
2025-12-23 18:24:43
Latest chapter
Game over. Playing chess.
Marco’s POVThe bar I am in now is not the kind of place anyone would look for a man like me, and that is exactly why I chose it, because it sits on the edge of the city where the streets are narrow, the lights are broken, and people mind their own business because they know better than to ask questions that could get them killed. The building smells of desperation, and the walls are darkened by years of secrets whispered too close and deals made too quietly, and as I sit in the back room with my shoulders pressed against the wall, I know this place will forget me the moment I leave, which is all I want right now.I do not sit near the window, and I do not sit near the door. I choose the space in between, where I can see everything without being seen, where I can hear footsteps before they reach me, where my instincts can stretch out instead of curling in fear. The chair beneath me creaks softly when I shift my weight, and I still immediately, my body trained to react even to the smal
Game over. He cannot escape me!
Logan’s POVThe drive to the bar feels wrong from the very first moment I turn the key in the ignition, because everything inside me is too alert, too tight, too aware, and I have learned over the years that when my instincts are this sharp, it is never without reason, never without consequence, and never without death.Madeline sits beside me, her body turned slightly toward the window, her hand resting over her stomach in a way that is both natural and protective, and the sight of it makes me worry even more, because no matter how many enemies I have faced, no matter how many men I have killed or buried, nothing terrifies me the way the thought of losing her does, or the children, or the life we are trying to protect while everything around us burns.The city slides past us in streaks of light and shadow, streetlamps flickering like silent witnesses, as if they already know that this night will not end cleanly, and I keep my eyes on the road while my mind moves several steps ahead,
Game over. I am not staying!
Madeline’s POVThe house feels different now. It feels more like a battleground than a house. I am furious that Michelle and Marco brought the fight to my house and my personal space. MY children are supposed to be safe here, but now I feel like I have to protect them in the place where they should be safe. Marco is still out there, still breathing, and that alone makes my skin itch with restless anger. He is supposed to be dead by now, but tonight we will hunt him down and kill him!Logan is already preparing when I enter the study, weapons laid on his desk. His movements are precise, his face calm in that dangerous way I know too well, the way it looks when he has already decided someone has to die because they are a threat to his family.“We leave in twenty minutes,” he says without looking at me.I step closer. “We leave in twenty minutes,” I repeat slowly, making sure he hears the difference.That is when he finally looks up at me, and in his eyes I see it, not fear for himself,
Game over. Singing like a bird.
Madeline’s POVThe house is finally silent.The kind of silence that comes only after pretending for hours, after smiling until your face aches, after laughing while your mind is somewhere else entirely. The party is over, the guests are gone, and the echo of music has faded from the walls, leaving nothing behind but the truth that has been waiting patiently beneath the surface all night.Connor and Carmen are asleep when I check on them, their small bodies curled into their beds, faces peaceful, unaware of how close danger came to touching their lives. I brush my fingers gently through Carmen’s hair and press a kiss to Connor’s forehead, lingering for a moment longer than usual, letting their warmth steady me. Everything I do from this point on is for them.When I close their door, I do not hesitate. Logan is waiting for me at the end of the hall, already knowing where we are going. There are no words between us, no questions, no doubts. We walk side by side down the stairs, our foot
Game over. Fear.
Michelle’s POVThe basement is colder than I expect, not just in temperature but in the way the air feels heavy and dead, as if the walls themselves are listening, waiting, holding secrets that never leave once they are spoken down here. The door closes behind Miriam, who is thrown into the dungeon, with a final sound that makes my stomach drop, and for the first time since I walked into this house tonight, I feel something crack inside me, something sharp and frightening that I have been trying very hard not to feel. Fear.I tell myself Marco will come. I tell myself this is just a delay, just a moment where everything feels wrong before it snaps back into place, but the silence presses in on me, thick and suffocating, and the longer it stretches, the harder it becomes to hold on to that belief.Miriam stands a few steps away from me, her back against the stone wall, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if she is trying to keep herself from falling apart completely. Her face is
Game over. Pretending everything is perfect.
Madeline’s POVI leave the basement without looking back. At this moment, Michelle is nothing more than a problem that has been contained, a loose end that is finally tied down where she can do no more damage, no matter how much she laughs or pretends that Logan will come running to save her. The heavy door closes behind me with a dull sound that echoes through the stone corridor, and as it does, I lift my chin and straighten my shoulders, already shifting my expression, already putting the mask back into place, because upstairs there is music, there is laughter, guests are waiting, and tonight is still my birthday.I turn to the men standing nearby, my voice calm and even, as though I am giving instructions for the wine or the music rather than deciding the fate of another person. “Bring Miriam down here as well,” I say quietly, meeting their eyes one by one to make sure there is no confusion, no hesitation. “Put her in the basement with Michelle. Lock the door.”They nod immediately
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