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CHAPTER 85: BACK UP
publish date:
2026-07-15 21:56:18
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OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 87: MAKE UP
MATHEW She was asleep. Or at least, her body was still.I stepped into the room, my movements completely silent despite the sheer mass of my frame. I’d stripped off the suffocating tuxedo hours ago, replaced by a dark, form-fitting tactical shirt and cargo trousers. My boots made no sound on the heavy rug as I closed the distance to the massive canopy bed.Ciara was lying on her side, her long dark hair spilled across the white silk pillows like ink bleeding into water. My chest ached with a sudden, violent contraction. The cuts on my palm, hidden beneath clean bandages, throbbed in synchronization with my heart.I didn't stop until my knees hit the edge of the mattress. "Stop acting like a ghost Mathew," her voice broke the silence, smooth, flat, and entirely awake.She didn't move. Her eyes remained closed, her face a mask of perfect, unbothered stillness."You were awake," I rasped, my voice a dark, rough growl in the quiet room."The perimeter sensors on the primary staircase f
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 86: SISTERHOOD
CIARA The boardroom table had been cleared of the legal decoy portfolios, leaving only the stark, reflective black wood. I had remained in the seat for exactly forty-two minutes after Mary’s departure, monitoring the market indices on my terminal. The secondary sovereign firewalls were holding. The regulatory delay was active. The metrics were entirely stable but the domestic perimeter was still showing a significant structural fracture.The door did not click open with its usual administrative precision. It was pushed back with a sudden, uneven force that indicated an unmanaged velocity.I did not lift my eyes from the digital screen immediately. I watched the reflection of the emerald-green silk of my gown warp against the glass surface as I shifted my posture.Carlista stood in the doorway. She was no longer wearing the corporate blazer she had donned for the morning session. She had changed into an oversized, faded grey sweatshirt—one that I recognized by its frayed cuffs as bel
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 85: BACK UP
MATHEW The lego fortress on my living room floor looked about as stable as my life.I sat on the rug, my long legs folded uncomfortably under me, still wearing the trousers from the previous night's disastrous gala. My tuxedo shirt was unbuttoned to the sternum, the sleeves rolled up to my elbows, revealing the fresh, white bandages wrapped around my cut palm. My head felt like someone was executing a controlled demolition behind my eyes, the lingering venom of the whiskey mixing beautifully with pure, unadulterated desperation.Adam, sitting opposite me in his Spider-Man pajamas, was meticulously adding a plastic laser cannon to a plastic watchtower. He was five years old, but he possessed the exact same terrifyingly blank, analytical stare as his mother. Looking at him right now was like looking at a pocket-sized version of the woman who had asked me what came next after a quick fuck in a Mayfair restroom."You look lost dad," Adam said, his voice entirely too clear for 0800 hours
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 84: LOYALTY
CIARAThe mirror in the executive washroom did not lie, but it was easily managed.I picked up a discarded hairpin from the marble counter and used it to secure a stray lock of dark hair back into the severe, flawless twist at the base of my skull. With a damp paper towel, I wiped the small smear of crimson from my lower lip—a minor physical abrasion, nothing more. My breathing had already returned to its baseline of sixty beats per minute. The adrenaline spike from the previous ten minutes had been completely processed and neutralized.I looked down at my left hand. The five-carat emerald-cut diamond sat perfectly centered on my finger. The visual variable remained intact.The door swung open, the sound from the ballroom downstairs briefly leaking into the quiet space before the hydraulic hinge forced it shut again.I did not turn around. I watched Mary’s reflection through the glass. She didn't look shocked by the state of the room, or by the fact that my hair was slightly damp at
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 83: WHAT NEXT?
MATHEWI had been miserable for days now, upstairs, the VIP lounge of the Mayfair hotel was quiet, a sterile sanctuary of white stone, gold accents, and the faint, sickening scent of expensive perfume. I stood at the end of the corridor, my back pressed against the wall, my shadow stretching long and jagged under the recessed lighting. I was in a tuxedo. A custom, suffocating straightjacket of black wool that felt entirely too tight across my shoulders. I looked like one of them now. A civilized man.But under the starched white shirt, my skin was still burning from the whiskey I’d drowned myself in last night, and the cuts on my palm from the shattered glass were throbbing beneath a layer of fresh bandages.Then, the door to the ladies' washroom clicked open.She walked out.Ciara.My chest locked. She didn't look like the woman who had cried beneath me in the dark two nights ago. She looked like an ice sculpture. Her dark hair was pulled back into a severe, flawless twist, exposing
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 82: MY SON FIRST
CIARAThe entire office seemed at their best behaviour as I arrived at Horizon holdings the next day as they all tiptoed around me...even Mary was being careful but Carlista even while we're in a boardroom kept staring daggers at me." After all staff practically ran out leaving I, Luke, Mary and Carlista she finally cleared her throat. "You do know you're an absolute bitch right Ciara? Why would you do this to my brother?"I exhaled. "I have no idea what you're talking about girl."She scoffed. "Puleaseee miss goody shoes. What happens to Mathew while you stay engaged to a stranger with his brother?""What happened to me for all the years he stayed with Maggie?""So this is about punishing him?""No it's about protecting my son...my only family from the ghosts of the past.""We're also his family. We also get a say.""Oh shut up Carlista and stop acting like some saint. You never even wanted me with your brother in the first place. My child comes first. No one and nothing else matters
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 6: THE FIGHT
MATHEW I stood in the centre of the ring, my knuckles wrapped in tape, looking at the guy opposite me. Tony. The same guy who had been buying drinks for Ciara at the university bar for months. The same guy who looked at her with those smarmy, possessive eyes and the same idiot who came with her to
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 5: THREAT
CIARAMaggie's eyes narrowed as she took in our dishevelled state-mud-caked shoes, rain-soaked clothes, and the undeniable scent of sex clinging to us like a second skin. I instinctively stepped back, crossing my arms over my chest as if that could hide the evidence of our encounter."Well, isn't t
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 2: ABORTION?
CIARA"You are pregnant.""I beg your pardon?""You're pregnant, Miss.""How could I possibly be pregnant? I'm on the pill, and I take the morning-after pill every time despite my IUD. There is no way those test results are accurate."The doctor stares at me for a while "Do you have your pills with
OWNED IN THE DARK CHAPTER 1: ENGAGEMENT
CIARAIf I had walked away the first time, none of this would be happening.But I don't. And now I'm standing here, trapped in something I no longer want."You petty, pretentious bastard. You don't get to do this to me," I snarl. "I'm done. We're done. Marry her for all I care, but I'm moving on wi
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