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Chapter Nineteen

Author: Blessing. B
last update publish date: 2026-02-25 17:04:15

LEAH POV

The alarm goes off at 5:45 a.m., sharp and unforgiving. I slap it silently then lie there for a minute staring at the ceiling crack that’s been there since I was twelve.

My body feels heavy, like it’s carrying yesterday’s yelling and broken glass in every muscle. But the apartment is quiet, no shouting, no Victor, and that alone is enough to make me swing my legs over the side of the bed.

I move through the morning routine on autopilot: brush my teeth, pull my hair into a messy bun
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  • Owned By My Best Friend's Father   Chapter One hundred and ninety two

    LEAH'S POV The static from the television screen outside our door hums through the concrete wall. It is the only sound in the dark room. There are no windows here, just gray bricks, cold air, and the smell of wet dust. I don't know how many hours have passed since they threw us into the back of that van and brought us to this warehouse. It feels like days. My stomach is hollow and my throat is dry. I've not had anything since we came here The cold seeped into my bones, and no matter how much I curled into myself, I couldn't get warm. Sophie is asleep on a dirty mattress in the corner, her head resting on Mom's lap. She's shivering even in her sleep and she looks pale. Mom hasn't moved for hours, she sits against the wall, staring blankly ahead. Ever since Elric turned his back on her at the house, she hasn't spoken a single word. His betrayal broke something deep inside her. I sit on the floor by the heavy metal door, my hands still tied behind my back. My wrists are raw a

  • Owned By My Best Friend's Father   Chapter One hundred and ninety one

    UNKNOWN POV I lean back in my leather chair and watch the news footage unfold on the massive screen mounted on the wall. The headline scrolls across the bottom in bold red letters. "CROSS EMPIRE CRUMBLES: STOCK PLUMMETS AS FEDERAL PROBE WIDENS." I smile. The footage cuts to a shot of Cross Tower, the building looking smaller somehow, less imposing. Then to a photo of Damien walking out of the boardroom looking like a man who just realized he's losing control. He is. On my secondary monitor, the live shipping logs from the northern port are scrolling by while Damien is panicking over federal investigators, and the Deluca containers are slipping past his security completely unchecked. I take a slow sip of whiskey and let the satisfaction settle in my chest. Several months of planning, months of hiding, waiting, and watching. And now it's all finally paying off. My phone buzzes on the desk. I glance at the screen. Isabella is calling again. I let it ring twice before picking u

  • Owned By My Best Friend's Father   Chapter One hundred and ninety

    DAMIEN'S POV The boardroom is silent and twelve faces stare at me, waiting for me to make a choice I don't want to make. I look at the paper resting on the polished table. Isabella's public engagement contract. Her lawyer sits at the far end of the room leaning back and smiling like he's already won. The board members shift uncomfortably in their leather seats impatient. "Damien," Johnson says, breaking the silence. "We need an answer. Do you agree to the reinstatement or not?" I don't answer him. I can't. "Your silence is telling," another board member snaps. "We need to know where you stand right now. The company is bleeding and investors are pulling out by the minute. The media is destroying your reputation. We need leadership not hesitation." I look straight at him. Harrison, I remember him, he's been on the board for twelve years now. I remember when he was grateful just to have a seat at my table now he looks at me like I'm nothing but a liability. I let out a cold l

  • Owned By My Best Friend's Father   Chapter One hundred and eighty nine

    DAMIEN'S POV I couldn't sleep a wink just sat at the same spot on the couch gripping my phone tightly watching the tracking app but nothing came up on it. No sign of her. Emily fell asleep against my shoulder a few hours ago her breathing soft and even. I didn't move her. I couldn't. Every time I thought about getting up I looked at the silver bracelet in my palm and stayed frozen. The sun is fully up now, casting bright, mocking light across the city. People are starting their days, living normal lives. They have no idea that somewhere out there the woman I love is trapped in the dark held by monsters who want to destroy me. Emily stirs beside me and lifts her head,Her eyes are still red and puffy as she blinks against the morning light. She looks at my face then down at the dead phone in my hand. "Did you sleep?" she asks her voice hoarse. "No." She sits up and wraps her arms around herself. Neither of us speaks the silence is suffocating. Suddenly my phone rings, buzzi

  • Owned By My Best Friend's Father   Chapter One hundred and eighty eight

    DAMIEN'S POVI shove the phone back in my pocket and stare at the empty yard, Isabella timed it perfectly.She struck right when I was at my weakest and now the whole world thinks I'm guilty.Emily is still crying behind me. I turn to face her and place my hands on her shoulders."Emily, I need you to stay with Marcus. I can't focus on finding her if I'm worried about you too." I tell her "Dad…" she tries to argue."Please," I say in a soft voice trying to coax her. "I'll call you as soon as I have something."She hesitates wiping her eyes then nods. "Promise me you'll find her.""I promise."I turn around to see Marcus crouch down near the back door studying the ground.“Sir…” he calls me I walk over and crouch beside him, following his gaze to the tire tracks carved into the dirt. They lead away from the yard toward the main road, the edges still sharp and clean."Fresh," Marcus says, running his fingers along the groove. "The dirt is still loose. They were here recently."I look

  • Owned By My Best Friend's Father   Chapter One hundred and eighty seven

    UNKNOWN POV I stand in front of the mirror in the private bathroom attached to my office and unbutton my shirt slowly. Looking at my reflection in the mirror I trace the scars that stretch across my chest up to my shoulders. Every one a reminder of what he did to me, the twisted and discolored skin a permanent reminder of the fire that should have killed me. I remember it like it was yesterday. I can still smell my flesh burning the way I crawled out through the wreckage, my hands bloody and raw as I dragged myself towards the door that Damien had locked behind him. He left me there. He left me to die. I reach into the cabinet and pull out my prescription bottle and swallow two pills dry. The physical pain never truly goes away but the medication keeps it manageable enough for me to function. For years my very existence has been fueled by the thought of this exact night. It had taken years of hiding, healing, and planning. I button my shirt back up, step out into the office

  • Owned By My Best Friend's Father   Chapter One hundred and seventy

    LEAH'S POVThe message sat on my screen for several seconds.Damien: We need to talk. Where can we meet?I stared at it until the screen dimmed, then locked my phone and slipped it into my pocket.I couldn’t do this right now. Not with Emily’s cold, professional gaze still lingering in my mind.I d

  • Owned By My Best Friend's Father   Chapter One hundred and sixty nine

    LEAH'S POVIt had been two days since the incident, and I was almost convinced I had no tears left in me anymore. My eyes felt like sandpaper—dry, gritty, and painfully swollen from hours of silent crying that had finally run its course.The emotional storm had left me hollow, a shell of the woman

  • Owned By My Best Friend's Father   Chapter One hundred and sixty eight

    UNKNOWN POVI took off my clothes the moment I stepped into my apartment, the heavy door clicking shut behind me like a seal on another long night. The dim lighting cast long shadows across the sparse room as I stood in front of the full-length mirror.With practiced movements, I peeled off the fak

  • Owned By My Best Friend's Father   Chapter One hundred and sixty seven

    UNKNOWN POV“Speak!” I snapped, trying to keep my irritation subtle, though the edge in my voice betrayed me. The stale air in the dimly lit room felt thicker than usual, heavy with the scent of expensive cigars and unspoken threats.“Watch your tongue,” Samson Deluca growled, his irritation mirror

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