LOGINThis chapter marks a turning point in Killian’s story, after years of absence and unanswered questions, he finally comes face-to-face with his father. The focus here is on raw, unfiltered emotion: relief, grief, hope, and the fragile rebuilding of a bond lost to time. Ivy’s presence highlights loyalty and strength without overshadowing the father-son moment. The trap looming at the end sets the stage for escalating tension in the next chapters, balancing emotional depth with high stakes action. This is a chapter about connection, recognition, and the bittersweet reality that danger always lurks, even in moments of reunion.
The phone felt heavier than usual in my hand. Taking a shaky breath, I pressed the call button.It rang once. Twice. Three times. And then, the familiar voice.“Ivy?” Andrew said, low, cautious. There was tension in his tone, the kind that told me he sensed everything even before I spoke.“Andrew…” My voice was soft, strained. I had to steady myself before the words came out. “You need to come see me. Mom… everyone. I need you guys. I know it sounds insane, but you need to see me, Victor is acting so insane.”There was silence on the other end. Longer than I expected. My chest tightened. Panic rose unbidden.Then, finally, his voice came again. Shaken. Quiet. “Ivy… you… you did the right thing. We will come see you soon. Thank you."I froze.“I did?” I asked, disbelief coating my words. “I went back… to him. I...”“Yes,” he interrupted softly. “I know you didn’t go back because you wanted to. You did it to protect Killian. To protect yourself, and maybe even… to protect us all. Thank
The hallway was long and sterile, the walls painted in muted tones that made the air feel heavier than it should.Two of Robert Wolfe’s men flanked me on either side, their presence a constant, silent reminder that this wasn’t just a temporary stay. Every step I took echoed in the cavernous corridor, every creak of the floorboards a countdown. Everywhere felt like a prison here, a decorated prison. Ivy, stay calm, I whispered to myself. Every instinct screamed to run, to scream, to resist, but I had learned long ago that panic solved nothing. Survival required patience. Strategy. Silence.The door at the end of the hallway was heavier than expected. When it opened, I saw the room that would be my prison for the foreseeable future. Not a prison in the traditional sense, spacious, pristine, even comfortable, but the weight of restriction pressed in immediately.Two maids waited inside, bowing their heads politely. And around the room, strategically placed, were men. Not just any men. H
The door shut behind me, and the room felt smaller, heavier, suffocating.Victor was pacing, eyes wild, fists clenched so tight the knuckles were white. I could see the veins in his neck, the shake in his jaw, the fire that had been building since the moment I returned.“Where is she?” he roared, voice cracking, a mix of fury and desperation. “Where is she?! I know she’s here!”I froze, trying to shrink into myself, my hands clasped so tightly I thought they might bleed.Robert stepped forward, calm but firm. “Victor, enough.”Victor’s eyes snapped to his father. A dangerous flicker of something I couldn’t name crossed his face. “Enough?!” he shouted, spinning toward him. “You think you can stop me? You think you get to tell me what to do?! She’s mine! You hear me?! Mine!”He lunged, moving faster than I expected. Before I could react, two of Robert’s men grabbed him by the arms, restraining him.Victor thrashed and screamed, trying to break free, but they held him like iron. His rage
The room was quiet, almost deceptively so.After the chaos of finding Ivy gone, after the screaming, the throwing, the panic that had left my chest aching for hours, a slow calm had finally settled. Not peace. Calm. A brittle, tense kind of calm that felt like waiting for the next explosion.I sat across from Killy, my father, and Uncle Mark at the large wooden table in the kitchen table. “I’ve thought about it,” I said quietly, running a hand through my hair. “She went back… willingly.”Killy’s eyes, dark and serious, met mine. “That means something, son. Something bigger than her fear. She doesn’t walk back into that man’s life unless there’s a reason we don’t yet know.”Mark nodded slowly. “Exactly. This isn’t a mistake. This isn’t hesitation. She made a choice.”I swallowed, the weight of it pressing against my chest. “She made the choice to protect me, I know that. But if she went back willingly… someone has leverage over her. Or she knows something we don’t.”Killy leaned back,
The cab slowed near the estate gates, my hands gripping the door handle as if it could stop everything that awaited me. Every step toward the house felt heavier than the last. My chest constricted, every breath a sharp reminder of what I was doing.I am walking back into a storm.The gates opened automatically, and I was barely inside when the man from security approached. He didn’t even glance at me as he motioned me to follow him. Something was off. The usual hierarchy, the usual rules, they weren’t being applied.Then I saw him. Robert Wolfe, Victor’s father. His eyes narrowed as he studied me through the estate’s CCTV feed. He didn’t wait for Victor. He didn’t wait for protocol.“Take her to my office. Now,” he ordered. The security guard’s eyes widened but obeyed instantly.I froze. “Mr. Wolfe… I..."“Do not speak,” Robert snapped. “You’re safer in my office first, and you will not see him until I say so.”Fear twisted my stomach, but I had no choice. I followed silently, the ech
The city blurred past the taxi window, but I barely noticed. Lights streaked into long lines, cars honked, people shouted, but none of it reached me.I was somewhere else entirely.The road had never felt lonelier.Not with Killian’s warmth gone, not with his hands still lingering in my memory, not with the sound of his voice still echoing in my ears.I was going back. Back to Victor. Back to the engagement, back to the life I had rejected when I met Killian. But this… this was different. This wasn’t about obligation or tradition. This was survival.For him. For us.Victor’s name burned in my mind, and with it, all the things he could do if I did not return. He knew secrets. He knew Killian. And if I faltered, if I hesitated for even a second, everything would unravel.And I won't have killian go down or jailed because of me. Every mile in the cab felt heavier than the last. My hands clenched the seat, knuckles white. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to call Killian, to escape.







