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Chapter 8: The Collapse
publish date:
2026-06-23 22:12:40
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OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 Chapter 10: Stolen Vault
Vinicio POVThe hospital room felt too quiet after the chaos of the emergency. I had barely left Laurabeth's side when Alex called with the latest update. I stood by the window staring out at the city lights while my shoulder throbbed under fresh bandages. My mind raced with plans to hunt Teresa down but the new information hit like a fresh bullet.Alex's voice came through the phone clear and urgent. "I have the files boss. Teresa was not just stealing company money. She ran a massive embezzlement scheme using shell companies hidden behind the Rossini name. She drained everything penny by penny trying to make the company look like it was failing so she could seize full control."I gripped the phone tighter. "Send everything over. I want to see it now."The files loaded on my tablet. Numbers columns of transactions and forged signatures stared back at me. It was worse than I imagined. My own sister had been bleeding the empire dry from within. But something else caught my eye. Referen
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 Chapter 9: Faint Heartbeat
Vinicio POVThe emergency room lights burned harsh and white overhead. Machines screamed their warnings in a chaotic rhythm that matched the pounding in my chest. I held Laurabeth's hand so tightly I worried I might bruise her delicate fingers but I could not let go. She looked so small and fragile on the gurney. She was only eighteen when she carried our child and now she faced this terror because of the snakes circling us."Save them," I ordered the doctor, my voice coming out like cold steel. "Do whatever it takes. If you lose my wife or my son there will not be a hospital left standing when I am done."The medical team moved fast, wheeling her into the room. I ran alongside never breaking contact. Her eyes locked on mine full of fear and trust. "I am right here pumpkin," I shouted over the noise. "I am not going anywhere. You are mine. Stay with me."Inside the emergency room the ultrasound machine hummed to life. They spread cold gel across her belly. Laurabeth held her breath,
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 Chapter 8: The Collapse
Laurabeth POVThe hospital hallway felt blindingly bright. The sharp smell of chemicals stung my nose with every breath. I hated every second here. The squeak of rubber shoes on the tile floor and the constant beeping of machines made my heart jump each time. My mother lay behind those closed doors. The doctors called it a stress-induced cardiac episode. It sounded like a polite way of saying her heart had given out from all the lies and betrayals we had caused.I stood pressed against the cold wall. My hands would not stop shaking. I was so young and my entire world was crashing down around me. Vinicio was in another room getting his shoulder bandaged. Yet I could not stop replaying my mother's final words before she collapsed. She had accused Teresa of funding the attack on the estate and deliberately ruining my father's company. It was one big ugly web of lies.A doctor finally stepped out. His eyes looked sad as he met mine. "She is stable for now but she needs complete rest," he
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 Chapter 7: Blood and Betrayal
Laurabeth POVThe air in the room felt heavy, like it was about to explode. I could not breathe. Teresa stood there, tall and cold as ice. Her hand stayed steady as she aimed the gun directly at me. My heart pounded so hard I thought it would burst from my chest. I was only eighteen, but at that moment I felt like a little girl trapped by a monster. I stared at the dark hollow end of the gun and squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the end. The shot never came."Teresa, put it down right now," Vinicio roared. His deep voice shook with pure fury.Before I could blink, a tall strong shadow moved in front of me. It was Vinicio. He did not care about his own safety. He threw his body in front of mine, shielding me completely. The gunshot rang out like thunder. Bang. The sound made my ears ring. I screamed and clutched his shirt as he stumbled back, but he did not fall. He grunted in pain. His green eyes burned with wild protective fire. Blood soaked his shirt, yet he looked only at me
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 6: MIDNIGHT THREAT
LAURABETH POVMy fingers trembled so hard that the phone nearly slipped from my grip. There was no number, no trace. Just a cold, precise message.My hands flew to the small swell on my stomach barely noticeable under my loose sweater. “No one’s touching you,” I whispered fiercely. But fear clawed up my throat. How did they know? Teresa was the only one I told about the baby besides the doctor. Vinicio thought I had lost it so who else?A soft knock at the door made me jump. Teresa’s voice filtered through. “Laura? It’s me. Vinicio said you might need company.”I shoved the phone into my pocket and opened the door, forcing a smile that felt like cracked porcelain. Teresa swept in, blonde hair gleaming under the guesthouse lights. She was wearing a tailored coat which hugged her slender frame perfectly, looking like every bit of the poised Rossini.“You’re pale,” she said, her eyes narrowing as she set down a small bag. “What happened?”I hesitated, then thrust the phone at her. “Read this.
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 5: SHADOWS IN THE GUESTHOUSE
LAURABETH POVThe guesthouse smelled of fresh paint and loneliness. I pressed my back against the locked door, my palm still flat over my stomach as if I could shield the tiny life inside from the world. The pain in my abdomen had dulled to a deep, throbbing ache, but every breath reminded me of that boot slamming into me, mother’s “fake” attack, the blood on the pad and the lie I fed Vinicio about losing the baby.I slid down the wall until my knees hit the cool tile. “You’re still here,” I whispered to the secret growing inside me. “Don’t worry. We’re going to be okay. It's just us now.”A sharp knock rattled the door and I jerked upright, my heart slamming against my ribs.“Mrs. Rossini?” Mrs. Felicia’s voice sounded gentle but firm. “Sir insisted I bring dinner. Open up, dear.”I wiped my face quickly and cracked open the door. The head maid stood there with a silver tray, her eyes soft with worry. Behind her, two security men lingered in the hallway like shadows.“Thank you,” I murmur
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 4: THE PRICE OF SILENCE
VINICIO POV“Are you alright?” I finally broke the tension immediately we got to the car. I knew how to handle boardrooms and blood-feuds, and a part of me wanted to simply crush whatever was eating her up so I could have my wife back to her normal self.“Yes-”“No. You’re not coming out of this ca
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 3: CONTROL
VINICIO POVI knew striking a deal with this delicate young girl was a bad idea but she was fiery, as expected, as her father warned me two years back, in a party at her house, I guess she doesn’t recognize me. However, I was out of time and options; I needed to be able to access my inheritance and
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 2: WEDDING NIGHT
LAURABETHThe moment he shut the door with his foot, he dropped me like frilled lace onto the bed; carefully, as though I were fragile. My thoughts were interrupted by the beige coloration of the room. It made the dim light from the window reflect effortlessly against a large portrait of Vinicio ha
OWNED AT 18, CLAIMED BY 28 CHAPTER 1: WEDDING
ELARA“Do you take Vinicio Teo Rossini as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health?”I stared wordlessly at the priest, lost in thought. How did I get here?I felt my heart burst in pain when I found our belongings piled outside the doorpost; my mother clinging t
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