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Chapter 30
publish date:
2026-04-06 02:23:59
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SINFUL ACQUISITIONS Chapter 33
POV: Adrian ValeThe river moves. Constant. Uncaring. We sit on the bench. Mara's hand in mine. The cold biting through my thin coat. The warmth of her hand is the only heat."Jenna is watching," I say. Not looking at the car."I know.""Should we...""Let her watch." Mara squeezes my hand. "She's seen worse. Seen us worse."I nod. The truth of it. The history compressed. Days. Weeks. The fire. The court. The loss."What now?" I ask. The question repeated. The answer still unclear."Now we sleep," she says. "Actual sleep. In an actual bed. Then we figure out what's next.""Together?"She looks at me. The assessment is long. The wanting is visible. The uncertainty matching."Together," she says. "For now. For tonight. For whatever we can manage."We stand. Walk to the car. Jenna exits. Face controlled. Concern visible."You're both frozen," she says. "And stupid. And alive. Come on. My place. Again. Until you figure out...""Until we figure out," Mara interrupts.Jenna nods. The accept
SINFUL ACQUISITIONS Chapter 32
POV: Mara KadeThe penthouse is quiet. Adrian left an hour ago. The board meeting. Richard. The vote I can't attend.I sit on the couch. The city below. Uncaring. Continuing.Jenna is in the kitchen. Cleaning. Or pretending to clean. The noise comforting. Present."You should sleep," she says. Not looking at me."Can't.""Should try."I don't answer. The truth is I'm waiting. For Adrian's call. For the outcome. For the next crisis. The pattern I know.My phone buzzes. Unknown number. I answer."Ms. Kade." A woman's voice. Professional. Cold. "Elena Voss. We need to meet."Elena. Adrian's past. The safe choice. The woman he didn't choose."Why?""Because Richard is winning," she says. "Because your husband is losing everything. Because…" she pauses, "...because I can help. If you meet me. Tonight. Alone."I look at Jenna. She shakes her head. Don't. Dangerous."Where?""The address is sent. One hour. Come alone. Or…" she stops. "Or don't come. And watch Adrian become what his uncle wan
SINFUL ACQUISITIONS Chapter 31
POV: Adrian ValeThe car stops. Not the penthouse. Not the office. The river. The same bench. The same uncertainty."Why here?" Mara asks."Because we need to decide," I say. "Actually decide. The ruling is over. The marriage is real." I stop. "Everything else is unwritten."We sit. The bench is cold. The river moves, constant. The winter air is sharp against our faces."Decide what?" she asks."What we are. What we do. Whether this," I gesture between us, "continues by choice, or by default, or not at all."She is silent. The question is expected, or feared, or both. The river answers with movement. No pause. No hesitation."The contract," she says finally. "The original. It had terms. Duration. Conditions. We never…""We never discussed what happens now," I finish. "The crisis is over. The fire is out. The ruling is made. We are supposed to…" I stop. "What are we supposed to do?""Normal people," she says, "would know.""We are not normal people.""No." She smiles, small and bitter.
SINFUL ACQUISITIONS Chapter 30
POV: Mara KadeThe warehouse is ash. The fire trucks still spray. Smoke rises, black against the gray morning.I stand watching, Adrian beside me. The heat presses against my face. The cold settles in my chest."Ms. Kade?" A police officer, young and uncertain. "We need a statement. About the fire. About Mr. Cross."I turn. The question is expected. The answer is not."He started it," I say. "He admitted it. To us. Inside.""Inside?" The officer's eyes widen. "You went in? While it was burning?""While it burned," Adrian says. "We tried to get him out. To stop this."The officer writes, but the statement feels too small for what happened.Jenna finds us, running from the street, face smeared, coat missing, panic written all over her."Mara. Jesus. I thought..." She stops, looking between us. "You're okay. Both of you. How?""We went in," I say. "Daniel. He was..." I stop. The explanation is too much. Too strange."He's arrested," Adrian says. "Gone. The warehouse..." He gestures to th
SINFUL ACQUISITIONS Chapter 29
POV: Adrian ValeI drive fast. Reckless. The river lies behind us. The warehouse waits ahead.Mara’s phone is pressed to her ear. She keeps redialing. No answer.“Jenna,” she says. “Jenna, pick up. Pick up.”The line connects. “Mara.” Jenna’s voice sounds distant. Crackling. “I’m outside. He locked the doors from inside. The smoke is everywhere.” She coughs. “The fire department is coming. But slow. Too slow.”“Where is he?” Mara asks. “Daniel?”“Inside. With the fire.” Jenna stops. “He’s insane, Mara. Completely. He says he’s finishing it. What he started. What you…”The line cuts off. Mara stares at her phone, then at me.“Hurry.”I push the car harder. The engine strains. The city blurs. The warehouse district approaches. The smell hits first. Smoke. Acrid. Wrong.Then the glow appears. Orange. Flickering. The warehouse is alive with destruction.I stop the car. Mara is out before I fully stop. She runs toward the building. Toward the flames.I catch her and pull her back. “No.”“J
SINFUL ACQUISITIONS Chapter 28
POV: Mara KadeMorning comes. Light filters through the unfamiliar window. The mediation is in three hours.I open the bedroom door. Adrian is on the couch. Awake. Dressed. He wears the same suit from yesterday. Wrinkled. Worn.“There’s coffee,” he says. “I made it myself.”I smile. Small. Automatic.I pour a cup and drink. The taste is bitter. Real.“We need to prepare,” I say. “What we will say. How we will say it.”“No.” He sets down his cup. “No preparation. No strategy. We go in. We answer. We tell the truth. Whatever they ask.”“And if Richard asks about the billing records? About Daniel?”“Then we answer. The shame. The gratitude. The wanting to be saved. All of it.”I sit beside him. The couch is small. Our shoulders touch.“I’m scared,” I say. The admission feels new. Or newly spoken.“I know.” He does not reassure me. He does not say it will be fine. “I’m scared too.”“Of what?”“Losing. You. This. The possibility I don’t understand. That I’ve never had. That I don’t know ho
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