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CHAPTER 49: BIRTHDAY
publish date:
2026-06-22 00:07:09
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OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 51: DRUGGED
CIARAThe intercom on my desk wasn't just buzzing; it was practically screaming. Mary’s voice, usually a model of corporate detachment, was pitched so high it sounded ready to shatter the glass walls of the penthouse suite.I snapped my laptop shut, my reading glasses flying onto the blotter. "Mary, calm down. What is it? I am in the middle of reviewing the European shipping logs.""It’s Mr. Mathew, ma'am! He... he just blasted through the garage security checkpoint!" she gasped, her breathing loud and ragged through the speaker. "He looks completely undone. He's bleeding, he’s shaking, and he almost took out the lower gate reinforcing bolts! They're trying to contain the area, but he won't let anyone near the vehicle!"My heart stopped. The world narrowed down to a single, freezing point of pure terror. Maggie."Lock down the penthouse elevator grid, Mary," I commanded, my voice dropping into that flat, icy plateau as I swept my phone and car keys off the desk. "Tell the floor team t
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 50: CRAZY EX
MATHEW"Look into the lens, Mathew. Don't look at the crew, look through them," the photographer barked, his finger clicking furiously against the shutter button. "Give me that raw, unyielding energy. The 'I could dismantle your entire board of directors' look.""I'm trying not to dismantle your lighting rig," I growled, my jaw aching from holding the same rigid posture for forty-five minutes under the blinding studio arrays.I was standing on a raised platform in a converted warehouse in Shoreditch, wearing a ridiculously expensive charcoal wool overcoat that my marketing team had insisted was necessary for my new security firm rebranding campaign. It felt like a straightjacket. I hated every second of it. Give me a tactical vest or an arena ring any day over a room full of people adjusting my collar every three minutes.Louis was sitting on a plush leather sofa near the catering table, a glass of sparkling water in his hand as he watched my torment with pure, unadulterated amusemen
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 49: BIRTHDAY
CIARAThe gardens of the mansion looked entirely transformed. Streamers in alternating shades of primary blue and green hung from the low branches of the old oaks, and a massive, brightly colored bouncy castle shaped like a stylized tractor stood directly on the manicured south lawn.It was Adam’s third birthday.For months, the sheer reality of organizing an event like this had given me migraines. How do you throw a party for a child whose very existence is a classified security variable? You don't invite the children of Mayfair executives, and you certainly don't post invitations on digital servers. Instead, the lawn was populated by the children of our high-tier perimeter personnel, the off-duty security team, and a few close, thoroughly vetted associates who knew exactly what kind of stakes we were playing for.I stood on the stone terrace, my reading glasses perched on the bridge of my nose as I scrolled through the active tactical overlay on my tablet. My grey blazer was buttone
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 48: INTERRUPTION
MATHEWThe heavy door of the armored SUV clicked shut, instantly cutting off the noise of the Mayfair traffic. In the backseat, Ciara was already busy settling Adam into his car seat, her movements smooth and practiced despite the residual anger radiating from her posture."You really are annoying," she muttered, not looking at me as I climbed into the driver's seat."I'm observant," I corrected, adjusting the rearview mirror so I could see her. She had removed her reading glasses, and those sharp, brilliant eyes were fixed squarely on the back of my head. "There was a clear lack of professional boundaries at that table."Louis strapped himself into the passenger side, pulling out his tablet with a faint, mocking sigh. "If we are quite finished with the midday espionage theater, we have actual security manifests to process for the birthday venue next week.""The venue is locked down, Louis," I said, putting the vehicle in gear and pulling away from the curb. "I went over the bluepri
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 47: SABOTAGE
MATHEW"Dada! Look! Bi-i-ig truck!"Adam was practically vibrating in his car seat, his little sneakers drumming a frantic beat against the leather of the armored SUV. He was clutching a brand-new, bright blue toy excavator—his early choice from the toy store we’d just pillaged."I see it, buddy," I said, catching his eye in the rearview mirror. His dark, hyper-vigilant eyes blinked back at me. My eyes. Every single time I looked at him, it hit me like a physical blow to the chest. "That's a concrete mixer. Big boy wheels.""I have big boy wheels?""The biggest. You're turning three next week, remember? That means you're basically a man.""A man!" Adam cheered, waving the plastic excavator in the air. "Like Dada!""Exactly like Dada. Only you have better manners."Louis chuckled from the front passenger seat, adjusting the cuffs of his impeccable suit. "The boy has his mother's attitude, Mathew. Don't lie to him about having your manners. If he inherits your conversational skills, the
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 46: FIT
CIARA"Don't you dare babe me," I snapped into the receiver, my voice slicing through the noise of the arena's backstage corridor like a razor blade. "How the hell does that slut still get interview time with you after the crazy stunt she pulled with me?""Ciara, listen to me," Mathew’s voice came through the line, heavy and gravelly, completely ignoring the bite in my tone. "It wasn't an interview. She bypassed the barrier. Louis is handling her right now.""I don't care who is handling her, Mathew! I told you Shantel Brooks was a parasite," I said, my heels clicking furiously against the concrete floor as I rounded the corner toward the private locker rooms. My chest was heaving, a toxic mix of corporate fury and pure, unadulterated jealousy blinding my vision. "I am standing outside your door. open it. Now."The line went dead. A second later, the heavy metal door swung inward.Mathew stood in the threshold, looking entirely undone. The silver line of the split above his eyebrow wa
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