My heart hammered as Killian and I followed Adeline to her study. She walked a few steps in front of us. Her wavy ginger hair fell from side to side as she confidently strode through the long corridor in her four-inch heels. Her black fitted dress hugged her every curve, emphasizing her beauty and elegance. I wished I could have a mere percentage of that gracefulness at her age… Or, rather, I wouldn't mind having a sliver of it right now. That woman oozed power while I rattled with each step I took. Had I made a mistake by agreeing to talk to her? I would soon find out.I drew a shaky breath. Killian was supposed to be the one who talked. I was supposed to be the one who listened, smiled, and nodded. Now it looked like I would be forced to tell Adeline our story myself—the story I had yet to figure out.I glanced at my fake boyfriend and instantly felt the rage vibrating from his body. His jaw was clenched, his eyes fixed on his mother's back. He resembled a tiger seconds before attac
KILLIAN“Your mother doesn't believe us,” was all Josie said when she exited my mother's study.She was pale, her hands were trembling, and it was clear my mother had done something to intimidate her, but no matter how many times I asked, she remained silent. She stayed that way—silent and pale—on the way back to the penthouse.“I knew I shouldn't have left you there alone with her.” I dragged my hand down my face and cursed.“She would have found another way to meet with me then,” Josie murmured, staring blankly through the side window.I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Talk to me, Josie. I need to know everything she told you.”Her throat worked on a swallow. “Please… not now.” She glanced at the driver and then returned to staring through the window.I hated not knowing, but I understood she might not feel comfortable here. I could press the button and pull up the privacy glass, but I doubted she kept silent only because of the driver.Her state didn't improve after we returned
JOSIEThis moment had to come. I knew that one day I would have to release all my hidden nightmares and face them. I hoped for a gentle approach, like when you enter a cold lake, taking slow, cautious steps while breathing deeply to get used to the temperature. Right now, I felt as if someone pushed me into the deep and icy sea, and I struggled to keep my head above the surface.Adeline's ultimatum gave me only one option: I had to tell Killian the whole truth. I wasn't sure I could do it. Even admitting what needed to be done sent chills down my spine. He hadn't believed my words before. How could I assume he wouldn't trust the rumors instead of trusting me?I'd been having nightmares for three days now, and each time they appeared, I saw my father's mortified face. I saw him kneeling in front of the police officers, convincing them all the accusations were wrong. And then my mind viciously displayed the scenes from that night he had fallen to the ground, slowly becoming lifeless.I
KILLIANTony's words swirled in my head long after our call had ended. A few rumors had ruined Josie's life and even led to her father's death. Tony tried to find the source of those rumors, but even with his skills, he found no evidence. It was obvious that someone must have worked hard to cover it, which only confirmed my suspicions that the rumors had come from one of the students at my old high school.The high school I went to wasn't just an ordinary private school. That particular one, Flower Hills Private High School, had been founded by my grandfather, Joshua Blair. All the students there were either rich, powerful, brilliant, or all three at once. Of course, that filled the school with rich assholes—mostly dumb assholes—but the school also had a scholarship program. Josie was one of the brilliant kids who received the full scholarship, while I was one of the assholes who practically owned that school.My friends' parents were either wealthy owners of various companies, invest
JOSIEI woke up on a bed in a bright room that sure as hell wasn't my bedroom. I drew a deep breath, and my nostrils were instantly hit by an unfortunately-recognizable scent of antiseptics. Hospital. This was a hospital room. I blinked a few more times before my sight finally adjusted to the brightness. Someone's warm hand touched mine, and my whole body jolted.“It's OK, Josie.” Killian's deep voice soothed my sudden anxiety. My eyes turned to the side of the bed, and my heart lurched.He was wearing a white button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves, no suit jacket or tie. His hair was ruffled, and his chin was coated by gentle stubble. Was he here while I was unconscious? Was he… watching over me?He reached for my hand again, his fingers delicately tracing the lines on my palm. “You're safe. He's not going to hurt you.”He… Dylan. His face instantly appeared in my mind. I could hear his vicious laughter as he choked me, as he was trying to kill me. My hand drifted to my neck, and I f
Us. This one word sounded surreal. Dylan was my ex-boyfriend and was supposed to be my problem, but somehow, I knew that Killian would never leave me alone with this mess. Of course, I was well aware of the fact he hated Mr. Grant Ricardson's guts. He would have never missed an opportunity to crush him. Still, he was mainly engaging in all this for me…Killian told me to focus on my recovery while he and Mr. Morgan were going to prepare us to battle against Dylan and Mr. Ricardson. I tried to object, but I also knew I was no help in my current state. Unfortunately, this case came up at the worst possible moment. I still had to find the right time to tell Killian about my past before Adeline made her move, and the clock was ticking…“Maybe you should call him and tell him you need to talk,” Ashley suggested. With Killian busy talking to his lawyers about the potential strategies, I constantly had the twins or someone from my team visiting me in the hospital.I shook my head. “I can't i
A gentle stroke on my cheek woke me up. I opened my eyes, slowly adjusting my sight to the dim light of Killian's bedroom. He was standing by the bed, doing the buttons on his shirt and smiling at me.“What time is it?” My hoarse sleepy voice was barely louder than a whisper.“It's almost six. I need to go to the office. I would have let you sleep, but I didn't want you to wake up in an empty room,” he said a little nervously. “Of course, you can go back to sleep and—”“No.” I lifted myself to sit. “I planned to go to the office today anyway. I may as well go with you.”His brows knitted. “Are you sure? You don't have to go back so soon.”I sucked in a breath. “I do. My team members count on me, and I want our presentation to be ready by the end of the next week.”He nodded, processing my words. “All right. I'll make us breakfast. Can you get ready in thirty minutes?”A wide smile spread across my face. “That's more than I need.”I dragged myself from the bed and rushed to my bathroom
KILLIANJosie's chest rose and fell as she stared at me. A glossy layer of tears coated her eyes. “Thank you,” she murmured, lowering her head.I grabbed her chin, lifting it until our eyes leveled. “Tell me about everything that happened after I left for England.”She bit her lower lip and nodded. Her trembling hand reached for the glass, and she took a few greedy gulps before putting the glass away. “Actually, I'd like to start my story a little earlier... You should know what happened after I saw you in that classroom with your girlfriend.”I didn't want to go back that far, but I realized it was time I finally heard her version of the story. I drew a deep breath and nodded. “Fine. Tell me.”She cleared her throat. “Despite what you believed back then, I was too embarrassed to tell anyone about what I saw. I kept it to myself, but…” She trailed off, nibbling on her lip.“But?” I urged.Her eyes met mine. “The next day, a girl I didn't know caught me when I was walking to my class.
Four Years LaterYan Hao, Estelle, and Isabelle had become nothing more than a bad memory. Lou Zichen had been quickly convicted and sent to prison. Estelle and Isabelle landed behind bars six months later. The remains of Yan Hao's army and all his collaborators had been caught one by one. Special Agent Brooks made sure they all ended where they belonged. As if sensing there was no more danger around us, Aria, our beautiful daughter, was born a day after the final trial ended.My once filled with dread and nightmares life had become nearly blissful. Certainly, large areas had needed to be rebuilt, but Killian and I had pieced it back together. I had never returned to Blair Digital. After a year, Blair Digital merged with Tony's company, becoming Blair & Melton Interactive. Killian and Kaiden had recreated the Blair Consortium, making it twice as profitable as before. Of course, they both had wanted me to work for the consortium, assuring me I would find a place there. I'd refused. Inst
Killian didn't like my decision. He'd spent hours trying to make me change my mind, but I knew that this was the only way to end this. Since my leading doctor refused to let me out of the hospital, my team moved into my room, computers and other tech gear included. Killian brought me a laptop table so I could work while lying in bed. Well, at least I wasn't breaking the doctor's orders, not entirely.In two days, we managed to add over fifty more locations to the Eye. We focused on private airports, harbors, and train stations. Then we slowly began to plug as many traffic cameras as we could. The area watched by the Eye extended its range with every second, but it still wasn't enough to find Yan Hao.“Ryuu should have helped us search for his former boss,” Ashley grunted, her eyes locked on the computer screen.I let out a long sigh. “Ryuu has done enough. I cannot blame him that he took his mother and left. Now they can be family again.”Ashley shook her head. “Still, he should have—
JOSIEHe had come for me. He had found me. I remembered his lips on mine. I remembered a vague smile curving his lips. I remembered my voice cracking. I remembered the tears mixed with laughter… Then the sounds and images became blurry. Killian's voice softened and faded.I must have fainted afterward.Returning to awareness was followed by the pain. It pulsed through different parts of my body, but it didn't bother me that much. Perhaps I owed it to painkillers, or perhaps I felt that way because I knew I was safe.Despite the ache, my lips curled up slightly as I opened my eyes. I was lying in bed—a hospital bed—covered with soft sheets. A drip was connected to my arm, most likely the reason the pain I felt was almost acceptable. But none of that put a smile on my face or filled my chest with warmth. Killian's touch did it.He was sitting by my bed, his hand holding mine. His head rested next to our joined hands, his eyes closed. I slowly rose to sit, carefully not to move my hand o
After carefully analyzing the route and comparing it with the plans Tony had found before, we continued through the woods according to Ryuu's instructions. We climbed a small hill and finally saw it—a ten-foot-tall barbed wire fence with watch towers.“Son of a bitch,” Kaiden breathed out as his eyes took in the ridiculously well-guarded facility. “I've seen prisons with less security.”My lips formed a thin line. “Well, now we know for sure that the tunnels are the only way in.”I contacted Gunner and the rest of the groups searching other areas, informing them of what we found. I looked at my watch, and my stomach churned. We had less than twenty minutes, and that was only if Yan Hao decided to stick to his own rules. A part of me knew he might choose to kill Josie sooner...My chest tightened at the thought. I needed to get inside. I needed to find her. Now. “How long until you get here?” A low growl rang in my tone.“Three minutes,” Gunner replied, panting. I knew that he was prob
KILLIANThree Hours EarlierThe Happy App, Josie's creation, no longer existed. Yan Hao must have gotten desperate to get money, and he most likely forced some poor bastard to hack the system, using all means necessary. As Ashley and Kei explained to me, the hacker had entered the system thanks to a small device planted in the server room. Of course, that meant someone from Yan Hao's army must have broken into Blair Digital... I made a mental note to fire the head of security upon hearing the news.This attack might have ended in a huge disaster. I didn't even want to imagine the chaos such a monstrous leak of data could have caused. Certainly, Josie had created a drastic solution in case everything went south. She anticipated the worst scenario. She might have sacrificed her dearest creation, but she sure as fuck saved the entire company.I loved her for it... and for many other reasons... and perhaps a few more I still couldn't remember. Now I could only hope the rest of my memories
My body began to rattle as I stared at Ryuu. Again, his expression was unreadable. Was it just a part of an act, an improvised solution, or did he decide not to respect the deal we made?“You bastard,” I breathed out.Ryuu responded with a cold smirk. “We both know Killian will do anything to have you both back... alive. Let's make him hope he'll get to see you again.”Yan Hao looked at me before bursting into cold, disgusting laughter. “Then should we let history repeat itself? Should I let him pay a generous amount of money before slitting your throat? It would be quite poetic, don't you think? Like father like son. Maxwell Blair thought he was saving his brother... I bet that his son will pay just as eagerly.”A shudder rushed through my body, and my eyes filled with tears. I didn't even know if Killian was conscious. They didn't know that either. Then again, this was a way to buy more time. If Yan Hao wanted Killian's money, he would need to wait for his answer, probably send proo
JOSIEI tried not to think about what was happening on the upper floors. I tried not to think about that arrogant hacker or that the Happy App might no longer exist had he decided to break into our system. Instead, I tried to make those hours count. I talked to Mrs. Satoh, slowly establishing her condition and if there was a chance either of us could escape her cell. The good news was that she wasn't cuffed or otherwise restrained; the bad news was that she had already tried everything, scaling the wall to find a single loose rock included. Well… shit.“So you've been talking to my son?” Mrs. Satoh's voice cracked slightly. “I haven't seen him for more than three years…”My chest tightened. “How long has Yan Hao held you captive?”“I lost track of time,” she murmured. “But I wasn't always locked in a cell like this. Sometimes, I was given a nice room. I was fed well too. My conditions changed depending on…” She trailed off, but I knew what she was about to say.“Depending on Ryuu's ob
KILLIANI stared at the large map displayed on the wall-size screen. The red dots marked the places where Yan Hao's men were recently seen—the possible places where they gathered. We had today's war meeting at Gunner's base, in his office. The base, seldom occupied by more than twenty people at a time, was currently filled with more than two hundred. We all could sense that Yan Hao had been preparing for his final strike, and we had to make sure we could respond to whatever he came up with.The door opened, and Samuel Brooks entered the room. The FBI agent gave Gunner, Kaiden, and me a tight smile before walking over to the map and stopping beside me. “Good to see you alive and well,” he muttered by way of greeting.“Good to be alive.” I smiled wryly.Gunner rose from his chair behind the desk and stepped toward us. “I hope you left your badge outside like I told you to, Brooks,” he warned, giving the agent a firm stare. “If you're not certain whether you'd like to be part of this, be
“What do we do now?” I choked out when Ryuu finally opened the bathroom to let me out.“We need to go.” He grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the door.Panic surged in an instant. “I can't! I don't even know if the encrypted message passed! I didn't find your mother either!”Ryuu grabbed my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. “We don't have more time. If I don't bring you to Yan Hao now, we're both as good as dead.”I sucked in an uneven breath, ineptly trying to calm down and failing. “So... what will happen now?” I finally managed.He exhaled slowly and looked me up and down. “You'll have to lie, and you'll have to be very convincing. You'll have to put on your best act, as if your life depends on it because it will.”I swallowed a thick knot in my throat. “Tell me what to do,” I breathed out.“First of all, you'll have to act like you're disoriented,” he said. “A few people saw me when I carried you here. You'll have to pretend as if you were unconscious most of the t