LOGINClaire Smith has everything money can buy, except freedom. As the pampered daughter of one of Las Vegas’s wealthiest families, her life has always been dictated by her father’s ruthless expectations and his obsession with powerful alliances. But Claire has sworn she’ll never fall into his carefully arranged traps, never marry the men he chooses, never play the dutiful daughter he wants her to be. Then comes Carlos. The blind date that wasn’t supposed to matter… the man who made her feel seen, desired, alive. But before she could dream of a future with him, he shattered her world, ghosting her, breaking her heart, and leaving her with nothing but rage. Fate, however, is cruel. After a near-fatal accident, Claire wakes to find out the man who saved her life is the very one she swore to hate: Carlos. Now he’s everywhere, hovering, tempting, and invading her every breath. Is he her savior? Or her ultimate destruction? One thing is certain: Claire is about to discover that some scars don’t fade… and some obsessions refuse to die
View MoreClaire's POVThe gunshot rang out and the sound hammered into my skull. Everything went dark in an instant and the blackness pressed against my eyes like a heavy cloth.I stood frozen with my hand pressed to my forehead. I blinked hard and tried to force my eyes to adjust but nothing worked. The darkness was complete."What's going on here?"My voice bounced off the walls and came back to me.I moved forward with slow steps and stretched my arms out in front of me. My fingers grasped at empty air. I walked like this for what felt like forever and swept my hands back and forth across the space. Nothing. No one. Just air and darkness.My chest tightened and the fear turned into anger."Where the hell is Maria and Lucius?"I called out. My voice cracked at the edges."Who the hell is doing this? What kind of game is this?"I turned in a circle and shouted louder."Maria! Lucius! Where the fuck did you go?"Silence swallowed my words. Then a voice called back from somewhere far away."
Claire's POVI stood there waiting and staring at the security men while my heart beat fast as I anticipated what would happen next. Why did they just gather in a single file suddenly and what are they planning because Desmond Baggins is definitely behind this.The moment I finished that thought a car speedily arrived out of nowhere and the door automatically opened as someone got out of the car. I found it difficult to make out the face because the background was a bit dark but as the person got close I recognized who it was. He stopped walking and smiled before he waved at us.It was Desmond himself in the flesh and he signaled the security men immediately as they surrounded us.I froze in shock because something about what just happened left me in total disarray.Suddenly Anabella pushed Lucius aside and burst into uncontrollable laughter.Lucius froze with his eyes widening and his fists ready and stiff. Maria stood there with her face shockingly normal and she didn't show any
Claire's POVI stood there and waited for Maria to say something but nothing came out of her mouth. She just stood in one spot like someone had glued her feet to the ground and her eyes kept blinking over and over again while she stared at her phone screen."Maria, what's going on? Say something!" Lucius grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him.Maria shook her head like she was waking up from a trance and took in a long breath before she spoke. "Sorry for that. I got overwhelmed for a second there. Ivy just texted me that she managed to escape after she lured him to bed."My brain stopped working for a second. Did she just say Ivy lured Desmond to bed? That could not be the same Desmond Baggins I knew. The monster I knew did not wait for women to lure him anywhere. He forced himself on girls and most of them were younger than him. He would handcuff them to the bed and do whatever sick things came into his head and they could not do anything to stop him. So how was it possible that I
Claire's POVMaria stood there with the phone in her hand and she didn't respond to my question. Her face looked strange and I could see something was wrong."Maria! Maria!" Lucius snapped his fingers in front of her face. "What's wrong?"She blinked a few times and came back to her senses."I'm so sorry. This is hard for me to say." She paused and looked down at her phone again. "I just got a message from that psychopath."I moved closer to her so I could see the screen. My hands were already shaking before I even read the words."Nice try fools. You're forgetting that I'm the Mafia prince. I have eyes and ears everywhere in Vegas. I have your cousin. If you want her back, you know what to do."Lucius grabbed the phone from Maria's hand and read it himself. His jaw tightened and I watched the muscles in his neck tense up."What the fuck. It's like this dude is on drugs." He handed the phone back to Maria and turned toward the door. "I guess I'll take it from here. Claire and Maria st
Claire's POVI stood there staring at Maria Sherwood as the weight of Monica's death pressed down on my chest.My mind raced through possibilities and suspects until it landed on the most obvious answer.Dad sent that message. It had his fingerprints all over it.I turned to Lucius. His jaw was clenched tight and his hands trembled at his sides."Calm down." I reached for his arm. "This feels like a trap. That monster killed an innocent girl to set me up. He wants me running to him for revenge so he can grab me the second I show up.""Not if we play the game differently." His eyebrows drew together as he spoke."What do you mean?" My voice came out higher than I intended."I have an idea. We have to be smart about it." He raised one eyebrow at me."Tell us the plan." Maria stepped closer and her face lost all traces of casual friendliness."Claire needs to play the game exactly how they want her to." Lucius began pacing in front of us. "Look, they expect you to show up and try to ave
Claire's POV I watched my mother and sisters walk away. Their backs stayed turned to me the whole time. None of them looked back even once. The sight made my stomach twist but I refused to let it show on my face.Standing there in the cool evening air I thought about what my mother had said. Am I actually a bastard? The question kept repeating in my head. If it was true then Grandpa must have known. He still chose me as his heir anyway. That had to mean something.Lucius held me close and I could feel his chest rise and fall against my back. His breath was warm in my ear. His father and brother stood a few feet away looking up at the darkening sky.Then Lucius started licking my ear softly. The sensation made me blink several times. Heat spread through my body and I had to steady my breathing.When I opened my eyes and looked around I realized something was wrong. His father was gone. His brother too. Our security team had disappeared and even Liliana was nowhere to be found."
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