Se connecterThe bar was dark or maybe it was just my eyes being puffy from crying. I had to make sure Roberts didn’t follow me because he had insisted that the bar was too rough and dangerous for someone of my status—I knew he meant to say personality.
Well I didn’t care anymore.
If my husband and best friend could join forces and betray me, why should I care? I sauntered over to the bartender and flashed a smile.
“Vodka please” I said and he stared at me, tilting his head to the side.
“You alright miss?” He said in a British accent and I rolled my eyes.
“Give me the damn drink” I snapped, and he nodded and pulled out a glass and vodka bottle. I grabbed the bottle and the glass.
“I’ll pay for the bottle, be ready to give me more if I ask” I said and he stared at me in surprise. I guess it wasn’t everyday he got a female customer in an expensive dress demanding for a drink like a sailor.
Not that I care……at least not now.
I headed over to a dark corner and settled down. A lot of interested eyes followed me, men licking lips, some were openly staring which made me wonder why Jason would ever do that to me. For a moment the emotions came flooding back and my eyes watered.
No, no. No tears
I sucked in my breath and cocked open the bottle pouring a glass of vodka in the glass cup and chugged it down my throat. I gritted my teeth a bit as the sharp taste filled my senses and I sighed. My head felt a bit light and the chatter around me suddenly felt dim.
Good.
This felt like peace, I poured a glass again and raised it to my lips.
“Miss” someone with another British accent called and I sighed..wonderful, now I was being admired by British men, why are they so much here anyway or was my head playing tricks with me.
“Yes Brit” I said and he smiled, he wasn’t bad looking but not handsome either and his eyes were a rough blue and from his face I could tell he was a proper hooligan, but for some reason, or rather for a reason I didn’t seem to care.
“Can I sit?” He asked indicating to the chair across mine and I grinned at him.
“Of course Blud” I said faking an accent, “You can”
He smiled at me as he sat and poured himself a drink without permission and I just smiled.
“Vodka” he said simply, inhaling before drinking. “Good drink”
“Yes it is” I said, sipping mine. I stared at him, “Why are you here?” I said, I never would have asked bluntly on a normal day but things weren’t normal with me right now.
“You’re beautiful, sexy, everything a man wants” he answered simply and I chuckled bitterly.
“Everything a man wants?” I said, trying so hard not to be hysterical, “Are you fucking with me?” I said dangerously close to annoyance—not at him but for everything that’s happened.
He leaned forward and not even backing down.
“Yes, I would fuck you now if you would let me” he said and at first anger was my reaction, then I was reminded of my loyalty to Jason but I stopped. Why should I remain loyal to the man who had no right to deserve my loyalty? Why should I even refuse a man who really wanted me, thug or not? And this was my chance to forget all that had happened, maybe sex is all I need.
“Alright” I said with a drunk grin as I took another sip, the drink going straight to my head.
“Alright?” He echoed and I smiled at him, suddenly happy…..the damn drink.
“Alright, I’ll let you do it, what’s your name?” I said and he raised a brow then he grinned.
“Good girl. The name’s Tom” he said, he stood and pulled me up. He started to lead me upstairs but suddenly our path was blocked by a…
Oh my God was I seeing things.
The man in front of us was tall, maybe six foot eight, his green eyes looked like a mini stormy sea. He was well built and there was his face, in my drunken state I could register it but I was very well aware of how handsome he was….very handsome.
“I want that one….” I slurred and the man in front of us, frowned.
“She’s drunk mate, let her be” his voice was soothing deep and I closed my eyes as it ran through my bones.
“Why, so you can fuck her yourself?” Tom asked and the man in front of us didn’t even react.
“No, not like you Tom, like I said…Fuck off” he said and Tom scowled gripping my hand or tight it hurt.
“Or what?” he growled and the other man laughed. He reached for his waistband and Tom’s eyes widened and he dropped my hand, and raised his.
“Whoa I am sorry mate” he said backing up, “I’ll leave now”
“Scot” the man said and Tom ran off. He watched Tom go then he turned to me.
“Hey baby” I flashed a grin and he didn’t even smile back, he picked me up in his arms and headed outside the pub.
I groaned and thrashed in his arms, “Hey my drink, I need it please” I said and he shook his head.
“No”
“Please” I begged, near tears. “You don’t understand, I need it or……” I stopped and his green eyes suddenly rested on mine and even in my bold drunken state I looked away suddenly shy.
“Or…?”
“Or I’ll remember” I said and he nodded. I could see in his eyes that he knew what I was talking about or had an idea.
“Alright let’s take you home” he said and I stared at him in surprise.
“Home?” I asked and he dropped me in the backseat of his car.
“Shhh” he said and without warning covered my face with a bandana, I felt myself going weak and my eyes widened.
“You…..” I started and he pressed harder and suddenly I went limp.
“Night night” he said before my world went dark.
Detective Rivera's POVI read Victoria's letter three times before the words fully sank in. The accountant. Someone who knew every dirty secret of Four's father's empire. Someone patient enough to wait years for revenge. Someone dangerous enough to terrify Marcus Chen."We need to find this person. Now."My team assembled in Four's damaged library. Forensic accountants. Federal agents. Tech specialists. Everyone who could help us track a ghost."Start with Four's father's financial records. Everything from the last thirty years."Agent Mills looked up from her laptop. "Most of those records are encrypted. Password protected. We will need weeks to crack them.""We do not have weeks. This accountant is already moving. Already planning. We need answers today."Four stood by the window. Silent. Exhausted. Veronica sat beside Monte on the couch. The boy was finally asleep after the trauma of the siege. Margaret hovered nearby with tea nobody was drinking.I pulled Four aside. "Tell me abou
Veronica's POV Marcus Chen stood at the top of the stairs and my breath caught in my throat. Four's board member. The man who had access to everything. Every meeting. Every decision. Every vulnerability. He had been inside our defences the entire time.Victoria's gun hand trembled. "Uncle Marcus. What are you doing here?""Cleaning up your mess. Like always." His voice was cold. Professional. Nothing like the warm businessman I had met at company events. "You were supposed to kill him. Not having a therapy session.""I cannot do it. I cannot kill him.""Of course you cannot. You are weak. Just like your father."Victoria flinched like she had been struck. Four stepped forward but Marcus raised his own weapon. Pointed it directly at Four's chest."Stay where you are. All of you."The police sirens were closer now. Footsteps pounding up the driveway. Marcus heard them too but his expression never changed."You have thirty seconds, Victoria. Kill him or I will.""No. I am done. This end
Four's POVThe security hub alarm screamed red, Interior breach, Someone was inside the house and all my defensive planning meant nothing because the enemy had already gotten past our walls."Location?" I shouted into my radio."East wing, Second floor, Moving toward the safe room,"My heart stopped, Veronica and Monte, I grabbed my weapon and ran, My wound tore open, Fresh blood soaked through my shirt, I did not care, Nothing mattered except reaching my family before Victoria did.The hallways felt endless, Each corner could hide her, each shadow could be death, I moved fast but carefully, Training overriding panic, Weapon raised, Finger on the trigger, Ready.I turned into the east wing corridor and she stepped out from a side room, Victoria Chen, Small, Thin, Holding a gun pointed directly at my chest, We stood fifteen feet apart, two people whose lives had been destroyed by the same man, two survivors of violence facing each other across an impossible divide."Stop," she said, He
Manuel's POVI watched eight screens simultaneously and felt my decades of experience kick in, Victoria's team moved like professionals, Military trained, Coordinated, Dangerous, but I had fought worse and I had something they did not have, Home advantage."Hostiles at northeast corner," I said into my radio, "Team two, shift position and prepare for engagement,""Copy that,"The estate surveillance system was state of the art, Every camera, every sensor, every motion detector fed into my command centre, I could see the entire battlefield from this room and that made all the difference.Victoria's team split into three groups, Smart tactics, Divide our attention, Force us to spread thin, But I had prepared for exactly this scenario, Multiple defensive layers, Overlapping fields of fire, Fallback positions already mapped."Team one, deploy smoke at the main gate, force them to advance blind,"Canisters launched, Thick white smoke filled the breach, I watched thermal imaging as the atta
Veronica's POVI watched Four pace the hospital corridor like a caged animal and made my decision, We were done running, done hiding, done letting fear control our lives."Gather everyone," I said, "Beverly, Thomas, Margaret, Manuel, Everyone we care about, Bring them to one place,"Four stopped pacing, "Veronica, that is too dangerous, If Victoria's team breaks through, everyone dies,""And if we spread out, they pick us off one by one, That is what she wants, to divide us, to make us weak,"Manuel stepped forward, "Veronica is right, Scattered targets are easier to attack, One fortified location with concentrated defence gives us better odds,""Where?" Four asked."Your estate, it has the highest walls, the best security system, most defensible position,"Four looked at me, I saw fear in his eyes but also trust, "If we do this, we do it right, Full lockdown, Armed guards, Surveillance on every approach, no weak points,""Agreed,"We made calls, Beverly and Thomas arrived first, Beve
Four's POVI stared at the bomb in my trunk and felt time slow down, Red digital numbers counted backward, Fifteen minutes, The device was small but sophisticated, Professional work, Victoria Chen was not playing games."Get out of the car," Rivera's voice crackled through my earpiece, "Move away now,"I slammed the trunk shut and ran, Got fifty feet before I stopped and looked back at the car, My hands were shaking, not from fear of the bomb, but from the realisation that Victoria had thought of everything, She knew I would try to help, Knew Rivera would equip me with surveillance gear, The bomb was a message, You cannot outsmart me.My phone rang, Victoria's voice was calm, "Did you find my gift?""You could have killed innocent people,""That would be wasteful, The bomb is on a closed street, No civilians, I am not a monster, Four, I am simpl
Four’s POVThe car hummed steadily down the quiet streets, headlights cutting through the fog of the late afternoon.The baby slept in my arms, wrapped securely in the blanket Veronica insisted on keeping him. He was smaller than I imagined, fragile in appearance but I felt the weight of him differ
Veronica’s POV.The room was quieter than before, dinner, as if the building itself had acknowledged the battle was over.For now.My sons slept peacefully against my chest, a soft rise and fall that anchored me more than gravity ever could.Yet despite the physical quiet, the tension in my chest r
Veronica's POV.The room had finally settled. The chaos of birth, of machines, of nurses rushing and clinking metal, had faded to a quieter hum. But quiet didn’t mean peace. My body still shook with residual adrenaline, exhaustion, and the raw edges of everything I’d been through. My son rested a
Jason.They denied me.Not with force. Not with confrontation or with raised voices, no security escorts, no spectacle that would justify anger. Just a nurse with a polite smile and an administrator who spoke in that carefully neutral tone institutions use when they want refusal to sound reasonable







