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chapter 6

Author: Eric Nicole
last update publish date: 2026-03-10 18:18:21

The clock on the warehouse wall ticked past midnight.

Brianna hadn't moved from Dawson's chair in three hours. The glass office felt like a cage. Below, the warehouse sat empty and dark. Just security lights and shadows.

She kept staring at the safe.

The photos were still inside. The Governor's face. Her mother's smile. The word TARGET burned into her brain like a brand.

Her phone screen glowed. 12:48 a.m.

Twelve minutes until Dawson came back. Unless he didn't. Unless leaving her here all nigh
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  • My Stepbrother My Ruin   Chapter 73: The Devil's Terms

    The study was warm, the fire crackling, the whiskey amber in Declan's glass.Eric stood by the window, watching the gardens darken. He had been waiting for this moment for years. The old man was finally desperate enough to deal."I've been thinking about your proposal," Declan said.Eric turned. "And?"Declan swirled his drink. "The girl. What makes you think she's worth anything to me?"Eric walked toward the desk. He did not sit. He stood across from Declan, his hands in his pockets, his smile easy."She's worth everything to your son. And your son is worth everything to you. Whether you admit it or not."Declan laughed. It was a cold sound."You think I care about Dawson?""I think you care about control. And Dawson has been slipping out of your control for years. The girl is the leash." Eric leaned on the desk. "Give her to me, and I'll give you back your son."Declan set his glass down. He studied Eric's face."And what will you do with her?"Eric's smile widened. "That's my busi

  • My Stepbrother My Ruin   Chapter 72: The Price of a Girl

    Eric found Declan in the study.The old man was sitting behind his desk, a glass of whiskey in his hand, his eyes fixed on the fire. He did not look up when Eric walked in. He did not acknowledge him at all.Eric closed the door. Leaned against it."You've been avoiding me."Declan took a sip of his whiskey. "I've been busy.""Busy covering your tracks? Destroying evidence? Making sure no one can tie you to the Governor's death?"Declan set his glass down. He looked at Eric. His eyes were cold."What do you want?"Eric pushed off the door. Walked toward the desk. Stopped in front of it."I want the girl."Declan's face did not change."Brianna.""Who else?"Declan leaned back in his chair. He studied Eric for a long moment."She's not mine to give.""She's not yours to keep either. She's a pawn. A tool. A way to control your son." Eric leaned on the desk. "Name your price."Declan laughed. It was a dry sound."You think I need your money?""I think you need what I have. Protection. Si

  • My Stepbrother My Ruin   Chapter 71: The Numbers Speak

    Eric's office was on the second floor.Brianna had never been inside it before. The walls were lined with books she doubted he had read. A large desk sat in the center, covered in papers and screens. A window looked out over the garden where she had walked with Dawson on that first morning.She sat in the chair across from the desk. Her hands were in her lap. Her face was still.Eric stood by the window, his back to her, his hands behind his back."You're not going to fight me?""Would it make a difference?"He turned. His smile was thin."No.""Then why waste the energy?"He laughed. It was a dry sound, not warm."You really are different from your mother. She would have been begging by now. Crying. Promising anything.""My mother is weak. I'm not."He walked toward her. Stopped in front of the desk. Leaned on it."We'll see."He put her to work.The ledgers were on a small table in the corner of his office. Old records. Years of them. He wanted her to find discrepancies, to track pa

  • My Stepbrother My Ruin   Chapter 70: The Iron Spine

    The foyer was full of people.Brianna walked into the house and felt every eye turn toward her. Some she recognized. Carlo, the driver, standing near the stairs with his hands in his pockets. Viktor, the traitor, leaning against the wall with a smile that made her skin crawl. Others she did not know. Men in dark suits. Women in expensive dresses. All of them watching.Dawson walked ahead of her, his strides long, his shoulders straight. He did not look back. He did not slow down.She followed.The living room had been cleared of furniture. Chairs were arranged in rows, facing a table at the front. On the table, a folder. Red. Thick. The list.And beside the table, Eric.He was dressed in black, his hair combed back, his smile wide. He looked like a man who had already won."Ah. The guests of honor." He spread his arms. "Welcome, nephew. Welcome, little wolf."Brianna kept her face still. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her flinch.Dawson stopped a few feet from the t

  • My Stepbrother My Ruin   Chapter 69: The Blade in His Voice

    They stood in Dawson's room, the weight of the coming night pressing down on them.Brianna had her hand on the door. She was ready to walk out, to get in the car, to drive to the estate and face Eric. Dawson was behind her. She could feel him there, close but not touching.She turned."What's the plan?"His face had changed.The softness was gone. The warmth was gone. In its place was the ice she had seen that first night in the study. The cold mask of a man who had learned to feel nothing."We go to the estate. Eric will have the list. He'll have your mother. We trade.""Trade what?"He looked at her. His eyes were empty."You."She went cold. "What?""You heard me. Eric wants you. He's always wanted you. So we give you to him. In exchange for the list and your mother."She stared at him. Her hands began to shake."You're joking."He stepped closer. His face was inches from hers."Do I look like I'm joking?"She searched his eyes for any sign of the man who had held her, who had said

  • My Stepbrother My Ruin   Chapter 68: The Question That Broke the Ice

    The morning light grew stronger, pushing through the curtains, falling across the bed where they sat.Dawson's hand was still in hers. His breathing was slow, steady, but she could feel the tension in his fingers. He was waiting. For what, she did not know.She looked at their hands. At his thumb tracing circles on her skin. At the way he held on like she might disappear."Tell me about Geneva," she said.His hand stopped moving."What about it?"She turned to face him. His profile was sharp in the light, the scar on his neck pale, the shadows under his eyes dark."What it meant. To you."He was quiet for a moment."It meant everything."Her chest ached. "Then why did you pretend it didn't?"He pulled his hand away. Stood up. Walked to the window."Because I had to."She rose. Followed him."Had to? Or chose to?"He turned. His face was tight."Brianna—""Tell me it meant nothing." Her voice cracked. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that Geneva was just a mistake. That the way you hel

  • My Stepbrother My Ruin   12

    The car sped through the countryside, leaving the estate behind.Brianna sat in the passenger seat, watching fields and small villages blur past. Dawson drove in silence, eyes on the road, jaw tight. He hadn't spoken since they left.Her phone sat in her lap like a bomb.Eric's last message glowed

  • My Stepbrother My Ruin   Chapter 10

    The estate felt different when Brianna got back that night.Quieter. Darker. Like the walls themselves were waiting for something.She walked through the massive foyer, her footsteps echoing on the marble. No sign of Dawson. No sign of anyone. Just the soft hum of the house settling around her.Her

  • My Stepbrother My Ruin   Chapter 38: What Belongs to Me

    The hallway was quiet again.Brianna's heart was still pounding, her lips still tingling from the kiss, her body still pressed against the wall where Dawson had backed her. She could feel his hands on her waist, his breath on her cheek, the weight of everything that had just happened settling betwe

  • My Stepbrother My Ruin   Chapter 31: Armor of Silk

    The dress hung on the back of her door like a ghost.Brianna had found it in the back of her closet that morning, buried under clothes she never wore. Simple. Navy blue. Long sleeves. A neckline that didn't invite attention. It belonged to Dawson's mother, left behind in a room that had been untouc

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