LOGINLaura's POVThe moment I reached for the envelope, everything happened at once."Wait!"One of the guards practically lunged forward.Before my fingers could even touch the paper, two of them gently but firmly grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back.I blinked."What the hell?"The envelope remained in the hands of the third guard."I was just opening it.""I'm sorry, ma'am," one of them said immediately. "You can't do that."I stared at him."Can't do what?""Open the envelope."I looked from one guard to another."Why?""Mr. Cardiff has to see it first."I almost laughed."Are you serious?"None of them laughed.Not even a little.Their faces remained completely blank.The realization slowly settled in.They were serious."How would we know if it's dangerous if nobody opens it?" I asked."Exactly why Mr. Cardiff has to see it first."I groaned."That makes absolutely no sense.""It's standard protocol, ma'am."Standard protocol.I was beginning to hate those two words.Everything lat
Laura's POVIf I thought the rumors were bad on my first day back, they were unbearable now.Every day seemed worse than the one before it.And the worst part?Nobody even tried to hide it anymore.At first, people whispered when they thought I couldn't hear them.Now they whispered right in front of me.As if I wasn't there.As if I wasn't a real person.As if I was some strange tragedy they had all bought tickets to watch.Filming was slowly coming to an end, and instead of feeling excited about finishing such a major project, I felt exhausted.Completely exhausted.I was tired of the stares.Tired of the rumors.Tired of being looked at like I was cursed.It wasn't my fault.None of it was.I hadn't asked for any of this.I hadn't asked for threats.I hadn't asked for someone to sneak into my room and nearly strangle me.I hadn't asked to be kidnapped.I hadn't asked to spend days tied to a chair wondering if I was going to survive.And yet somehow I was the one carrying all the sh
Quinn's POVEverything seemed to be adjusting back to normal.Or at least as normal as things could possibly get after a kidnapping.Laura was back on set.The security team had doubled.The private investigator was still digging into every possible lead.The men we had captured were still refusing to speak.And that was exactly the problem.Nothing was actually normal.Because we still didn't know who had done it.I stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows of my office, my jaw tight.The city stretched endlessly beyond the glass.Normally the view helped me think.Today it just irritated me.Someone had kidnapped Laura.Someone had threatened her.Someone had tried to erase her entire life.And despite all my money, all my resources, all my influence, I still couldn't put a name to the face responsible.That pissed me off more than I cared to admit.The door opened quietly.I didn't turn immediately.I already knew who it was.Elena.She stepped into the office carrying several folder
Laura's POVWhen Quinn said he was increasing my security, I hadn't expected him to literally double it.Four armed men.Four massive men who looked like they could break concrete with their bare hands.And they were instructed to escort and follow me everywhere I went, they only retired when I went to sleep and even then they lined themselves at the entrance of my door.And now...The movie set. I felt nervous that I was starting work again after the kidnap but I had to be professional, I had slowed the production of this movie too much anyway.I climbed out of the SUV and immediately felt dozens of eyes turn toward me.Wonderful.Exactly how I wanted to start my morning.Like a circus attraction.The security detail stepped out after me.Two in front.Two behind.A moving wall of muscle.I sighed."Do you really all have to walk this close?"One of them, a square-jawed guy named Collins, nodded."Mr. Cardiff's orders."Of course.I adjusted my bag and headed toward the studio.The w
Laura's POVI was safe.That was the first thought that entered my mind.I was actually safe.But my body didn't seem to understand that yet.My hands were still shaking.My breathing was still uneven.Every small sound made me tense.Every movement made me think I was back in that room.Back tied to that chair.Back wondering if anyone was ever going to find me.It was becoming a pattern.A horrible, terrifying pattern.Why was I always the one caught in situations like this?Why did danger keep finding me?First Hemsworth.Then the threats.Then the attack.Then this.It was like my life had turned into one never-ending nightmare.I was tired.So unbelievably tired.Quinn held me firmly as we drove back to the mansion.Not in the way he usually held me.Not like he was trying to remind me of the agreement.Not like I was some responsibility he had to manage.Just... firmly.Like he was making sure I was really there.That I wasn't going anywhere.Ryker drove silently, his eyes focus
Quinn's POVI was losing my mind.That was the only explanation.Because the more I thought about it, the more the guilt started eating away at me.We were so close.So damn close.And yet somehow, we were still behind.Maybe if we hadn't stopped at the station.Maybe if I hadn't wasted time standing in front of Hemsworth, letting my anger get the better of me.Maybe if I had just listened to Devon and driven straight here the moment we got the lead.Maybe Laura would already be safe.Maybe she would be sitting beside me right now.The thought made my hands tighten around the steering wheel.I was always prepared.Always thinking ten steps ahead.That was how I survived.That was how I built everything I had.I calculated every possibility.Every risk.Every outcome.So how did I miss this?How did I fail to protect her?"Mr. Cardiff."Thomas's voice cut through my thoughts.I glanced at him through the mirror.He looked tense.Focused."Stop the car."My eyebrows pulled together "Wha
Laura's POVI immediately looked around for whoever, or wherever, that text could have come from, my eyesscanning every corner of the room.But there was no one.No one except Quinn and the receptionist who stood behind the desk, quietly working onwhatever she had in front of her.My heart s
Quinn's POVI don't know how long I stood there watching her.Maybe it was minutes or hours.Time had a strange way of disappearing whenever Laura was in front of me.The set was loud, filled with people moving around, cameras adjusting, assistants running backand forth, and yet somehow my at
Chapter 28; Be anything without you.Laura's POVA week.An entire week trapped inside four walls.A week of waking up in Quinn's room and falling asleep in Quinn's room.Although even calling it sleeping with him felt like a stretch.Every night he would tuck me into bed like I was made of g
Laura’s POVIt all still felt like some horrible dream.Only this wasn’t a dream, the bruises around my throat were real, the ache in my ribs was real.The fear crawling beneath my skin every single second was painfully real.Someone had definitely been in my room last night. And whoever it was want







