Chapter 75. The door to Jerald’s room creaked open and Jerald stepped in, still holding Jasmine in his arms.They hadn’t said a word to each other. Not after the blood, not outside the shadow house, not in the car, and not even now.Jasmine’s eyes remained locked on his face, her heart thudding wildly in her chest — too loud, and too heavy.So it was true. Jerald was Frank?Her master was Frank?He was the little boy she had saved that terrible day — the day her entire world had burnt down? And he was still Manhor De Luca?The one she had vowed to destroy? The apple of the De Luca's eyes she vowed to kill? Jerald’s jaw flexed as he noticed her stare. She had been staring at him for that. From the moment he walked out of the building to the moment he picked her up from the car. He didn’t say anything, he just allowed her stare, walking to the bed then slowly bent down and lowered her onto the mattress with so much care it nearly broke her.Her body twitched as it met the sheets — t
Chapter 75. Anita was about to pull the trigger when suddenly, a loud gunshot cracked through the air.The room froze.Jasmine stilled. Lucas stilled. But Anita—Anita stilled the most. She hadn’t heard the sound of the gunfire; she had only felt it—sharp, piercing, tearing through the flesh of her shoulder. Her eyes watered and her hand fell limp as her head tilted in confusion and pain.Then slowly, from the shadows, Jerald stepped into the light like a knight in shining armor.For a split second, no one moved. Then Lucas’s men reacted, pulling their weapons—but Jerald was faster. He spread his arms wide and, with brutal precision, pulled both triggers at once, sending bullets through their skulls in perfect synchrony. The bodies dropped.Anita’s heart cracked, shattering in the most unbearable way. Seeing the man behind the trigger broke her more than she wanted to admit. She had loved him. Loved every inch of him and wanted him to herself. But him? He didn't care. He pulled a tri
Chapter 74. The moment the call ended, silence hung in the air like fog — thick, heavy, and suffocating. Lucas turned slowly, walking back to Jasmine, who was still seated there, tied to the chair, her eyes wide and distant, her body frozen in place. She hadn’t moved since the call. She couldn’t, not when everything had just come crashing down on her. Aside from being tied to the chair, the words that had filled her ear these past minutes were enough to have her rooted and frozen against a spot. Her mind spiraled as she asked herself how he knew, how Lucas knew she was Nella. Her name — the name she buried long ago — wasn’t something anyone could just find. So how? How? Had he figured it out? Had he been following her? Watching her? Listening? Had he dug through her past just to pull her back into this nightmare?Her heart pounded louder. Did Jerald know she was Nella?And then it hit her again — Jerald was Frank, the bloodied boy she had saved that day, the one she gave water to,
Chapter 73. Lucas smiled, slow and taunting, the corners of his mouth curling like a serpent watching its prey fall apart.“You’re surprised?” he asked, voice low and cruel. “Surprised that the man you love… is the same man whose father killed your father?”Jasmine’s chest tightened and her eyes snapped up in his direction. But Lucas wasn’t done.“The same man you gave your water and food to… on the very same day your parents were murdered?”Her eyes widened. Wide. Shaken.What?The question left her lips like a whisper. Her voice barely there — stolen by confusion, drowned by fear. Wait. How the hell did Lucas know that his father killed her father? Did she kill her family? How? Lucas chuckled again. He could see the panic rising in her eyes, the broken pieces of memory fighting to resurface.“You want clarification?” he asked softly, almost mocking her.Jasmine didn’t answer. She couldn’t.She just sat frozen in the chair, her wrists aching, her lips parted. Her head spun. It was
Chapter 72. Jasmine stirred slowly, pain slicing through her spine. That was the first thing she felt the moment her eyes opened. A dull, throbbing ache was crawling up her arms, spreading across her back. Her wrists burned where the ropes held her too tightly against the arms of the chair, and her ankles felt just as raw.Her head was heavy. Like the world around her was swaying.Then her eyes fluttered open — the light was dim, the air cold. Her breath came in short, shaky gasps as her vision adjusted.She was in a room with concrete walls. No windows. Just shadows.A single bulb hung from the ceiling, its glow flickering like a dying heartbeat.Panic surged in her chest and her heart hammered in her chest. Why was she here? Why was she tried up here in this lonely room? Her eyes darted across the room, searching — anything, anyone, something that would explain why she was here.Then a voice came in, smooth low, and cruel.“Looking for me?”Jasmine froze at the sound of that v
Chapter 71.Jasmine stood in front of her mirror that morning, quiet and still. She was dressed in a beautiful two-piece — soft, elegant, and just revealing enough to make her feel confident. She was on her way to her aunt’s house.But as she stared at her reflection, his image flashed across her mind.Jerald.The way he had spanked her. The way he had taken her. The way she had shamelessly melted into it — every sound, every movement, every part of her giving in without resistance.And the way she had loved and enjoy every inch of it. Her breath hitched and she moved her hands up pressing a palm to her forehead and rubbing gently, trying to steady herself. Her skin still tingled with the memory, with the ache he’d left behind. She let out a slow breath, lips parted, heart tapping softly beneath her ribs.How had it gotten to this?She had promised herself — sworn even — that whatever happened between them would stay where it belonged. That it would remain a simple arrangement. Nothi