LOGINChapter 67
The study clock read 12:47 a.m.The midnight deadline had come and gone, yet the mansion remained silent except for the low hum of the air-conditioning and the occasional crackle of the security radio. Lucian stood behind the desk, both hands braced on the mahogany surface, staring at the blank screen where Victoria’s last threat had appeared. His jaw was locked, the muscle ticking steadily. Pain still lingered in the set of his shoulders, but he refused to sit doChapter 83The new room was smaller, darker, and smelled of mildew and rust.My wrists were chained higher this time, forcing me to stand. The zip-ties had cut deep enough that every small movement sent fresh blood trickling down my forearms. My legs trembled from exhaustion, but I refused to let them buckle. Hunger had turned into a constant, hollow ache. Thirst was worse my tongue felt swollen and foreign, sticking to the roof of my mouth with every attempt to swallow.Elena was gone. They had left her behind in the first warehouse. The thought twisted like a knife in my chest. She was safe with Lucian now. She had to be.The door at the top of the stairs opened with a metallic scrape. Two masked men came down carrying nothing but a phone. The taller one crouched in front of me and held the screen up so I could see it.Victoria’s face filled the display, smiling like we were old friends.“Hello, little princess,” she said sweet
Chapter 82The second hideout was colder than the first.They had dragged me out of the van and down another set of concrete stairs into a smaller room with no windows and a single flickering bulb. My wrists were chained higher this time, forcing me to stand. The zip-ties had cut deep enough that blood trickled down my forearms in thin, sticky lines. My legs shook from exhaustion, but I refused to let them buckle. Not yet.Hunger had become a living thing inside me, gnawing at my stomach with sharp, angry teeth. Thirst was worse. My tongue felt thick and foreign in my mouth. Every swallow scraped like sandpaper. I kept thinking about the bottle of water they had left just out of reach in the last room. I had stared at it for what felt like hours before they moved me again.Elena was gone. They had left her behind in the warehouse. The thought twisted something deep in my chest. She was safe with Lucian now, I told myself. She had to be.T
Chapter 81The van jolted over rough ground, every bump sending fresh pain through my bound wrists. My mouth was dry as sandpaper, my stomach a tight knot of hunger that had moved past aching into something sharper, more desperate. I could barely swallow. Elena was still unconscious beside me, her head lolling against the metal wall of the van, her breathing shallow but steady. They had left her behind in the warehouse. They only wanted me.I tried to twist my wrists again, but the zip-ties cut deeper, warm blood trickling down my forearms. The two men in the front seat laughed at something on the radio Lucian’s team was closing in, they said. They had abandoned the warehouse just in time.My head spun. I kept thinking of Lucian’s face the last time I saw him, the way he had kissed me before I left for the safe house. He would be tearing the city apart right now. I knew it in my bones. But the thought didn’t stop the fear clawing at my chest.The
Chapter 80The concrete room smelled of damp and fear.I had stopped counting the hours. My wrists were raw under the zip-ties, my throat burned from thirst, and my stomach had gone from aching to a dull, constant cramp. Elena sat beside me, still tied to the same pipe, her breathing shallow but steady. She had woken once, whispered my name, then slipped back under from exhaustion. I kept my eyes on the stairs, waiting for the next time the door opened.It opened now.Two of Voss’s men came down fast, masks on, guns drawn. The taller one glanced at his phone, then at the other.“They’re coming,” he said, voice tight. “Lucian’s team is two minutes out. Thermal picked up the SUVs. We move now.”The shorter one grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet. The zip-tie cut deeper into my skin. I tried to twist away, but he shoved the barrel of his gun under my chin.“Quiet,” he snarled. “Or we leave your mother with a bullet in h
Chapter 79LucianThe study had become a war room.Maps covered every wall. Red pins marked known safe houses, blue pins marked possible locations based on the van’s last known direction. Laptop screens glowed with live satellite feeds, traffic camera footage, and the blurred still from the photo the kidnappers had sent. My phone lay face-up on the desk, the message still open.how are u without your princessThe photo of Lila and Elena tied in that concrete room was burned into my mind. Lila’s cracked lips. The dried blood on her wrists. The way she stared straight into the camera like she was daring them to try harder.I had not slept. I had not eaten. I had not left this room except to pace the hallway when the rage became too loud to contain.Sophia stood at the head of the table, voice calm but urgent as she coordinated with the tech team on speakerphone.“We have partial plate confirmation from the traffic
Chapter 78The room was a concrete box.No windows. One bare bulb hanging from a chain that swayed every time the van outside rumbled past. The air smelled of damp earth, rust, and old oil. My wrists were zip-tied to a metal pipe that ran along the wall, high enough that my shoulders burned if I tried to sit. Elena was tied to the same pipe three feet away, her head slumped forward, still unconscious from whatever they had used on us.My throat was raw. My stomach had stopped growling hours ago and now just ached with a hollow, constant pain. I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten breakfast at the mansion felt like another lifetime. The bottle of water they had tossed in earlier was long empty. My tongue felt thick and dry, sticking to the roof of my mouth every time I tried to swallow.I shifted, trying to ease the pressure on my wrists, and the zip-ties bit deeper. Blood had dried in thin lines down my forearms. I looked at my mother agai
Chapter 20My heels clicked too loudly across the marble lobby as I stepped out of the elevator, heart hammering against my ribs.I shouldn’t be doing this.Lucian had explicitly told me to stay on my floor. To let him handle Derek Voss. But the threat in that last text
Chapter 19The penthouse felt different now that my suitcase sat unpacked in Lucian’s massive walk-in closet.I woke the next morning tangled in black silk sheets, Lucian’s heavy arm draped over my waist, his morning erection pressed hot and insistent against my ass. His cu
Chapter 17 The rest of the afternoon passed in a haze of sticky thighs and racing thoughts. Lucian’s latest load leaked slowly down my inner thighs as I tried to focus on the Q3 campaign revisions. The black V-neck dress felt too tight, too revealing, every shift in my chair reminding me of the r
Chapter 17 The rest of the afternoon passed in a haze of sticky thighs and racing thoughts. Lucian’s latest load leaked slowly down my inner thighs as I tried to focus on the Q3 campaign revisions. The black V-neck dress felt too tight, too revealing, every shift in my chair reminding me of the r







