LOGINHAZEL After a long moment, I gave the smallest nod."Thank you."She smiled, but it wasn't forced. It wasn't the fake smile I had seen on the older woman at the auction house. It was... kind."Can you tell me if you're in pain?"I hesitated. "My whole body hurts," I admitted quietly.She nodded as if she had expected that answer."Do you think anything is broken?"I shook my head."No.""Are you bleeding anywhere?"Again, I shook my head."No.""Okay." She waited another second before asking carefully, "I need to examine some of your injuries, Hazel. But I won't touch you unless you tell me it's okay. If you want me to stop at any point, I'll stop. Is that alright?"I looked at her. Then my eyes drifted toward Axel. He was still standing by the door. He hadn't moved, hadn't interrupted, and hadn't spoken. He was standing there, simply waiting and watching.I turned back toward the doctor."I'll start with your arms first," she whispered.I nodded."Okay. Only arms."She picked up a p
HAZEL Axel didn't look back to see if I was following. He simply started walking, never looking back.For a second, I stayed where I was, staring at his back as he moved toward the abandoned warehouse. There wasn't anyone else around anymore. The SUVs had disappeared down the dark road, taking the rescued women and all the masked men with them. The sounds of the engines faded until all that remained was silence.My eyes drifted toward the dark road and then back to Axel's retreating figure. I could run. The thought came so suddenly it almost startled me. But it was true.I could just turn away from Axel and run. There would be no locked doors, no chains, no Harris, no auctions, no guards standing over me. I could finally be free from all of this....from Axel, from Harris, from everything. But then what?I didn't know where I was. I didn't have any money. I didn't have a phone. I didn't know which direction led back to civilization And somehow, despite everything that had happened bet
HAZEL For one terrifying second, I thought Axel wasn't coming with us."Axel.."Instead, he calmly raised his pistol and fired several controlled shots toward the men pouring out of the house."Fall back!" one of his men shouted."Everyone's loaded!"Axel took one last look toward the house before backing away. Only then did he open the passenger door and climb into the SUV. The instant his door shut, the convoy roared to life.Tyres screeched across the gravel as More bullets chased after us, striking the road and the backs of the vehicles. Someone behind us returned fire through the open window, and within seconds, the house disappeared behind the trees.No one spoke as the car moved; sounds inside the SUV were heavy breathing... And my own heartbeat, still trying to catch up with everything that had just happened.It probably took hours. The car kept driving through the night in complete silence. The only sounds came from the masked men quietly murmuring into their intercoms every
HAZEL Before I could understand what was happening, men dressed in black, their faces covered with masks, stormed into the house. The woman had barely taken a step outside when everything changed.Gunshots filled the air with Silenced weapons. No warning and no hesitation. They moved through the room like shadows, shooting anyone they saw.My first reaction was to scream. But before the sound could leave my mouth, the woman grabbed me and covered my mouth with her hand."Quiet," she whispered.The men kept moving as they shot the cameras and anyone who stood in their way. I stood there frozen, my heart pounding against my chest, unable to understand what was happening!g. For the first time in days, something unexpected happened. Something I never thought I would feel again.Hope. But I didn't know if these men had come to save me... or if they had come for something else.For a terrifying second, no one moved. The woman kept her hand firmly over my mouth."Don't," she whispered. I d
HAZEL The woman led me down the hallway. I knew this hallway; that was the worst part. I knew this house, not completely, not every room, not every door.... But enough.Enough to know the layout.Enough to know where the important rooms were Enough to know every hallway.Enough to know where he had sat beside me and pretended to care.But now, as I walked through it, I realised there were parts of this house I had never seen. Doors I had never been allowed to open, Rooms I had never been taken to and Secrets hidden behind walls I thought I knew.The woman didn't say anything as she pulled me along. I didn't fight her. Not because I wanted to go, but because I knew there was no point. I had fought, I had screamed, I had tried everything, and every single time, I had lost.We reached a door I had never noticed before, and I frowned. I knew this hallway; I had walked past here many times before. But I had never seen this door open.The woman unlocked it."Wait here."I stared at the ro
HAZEL One by one, heads turned toward me. Then complete silence. I had never seen so many eyes fixed on me at once. They weren't looking at me like I was a person; they were examining me, evaluating and judging me. One man lifted a small pair of glasses to his eyes, and another whispered something to the man beside him. Someone else nodded approvingly. I wanted to disappear.The older woman walked confidently to the front."Ladies and gentlemen," she announced, her voice carrying effortlessly through the room. "Our final presentation of the evening."The room erupted into applause, and I wrapped my arms around myself. She smiled."This one is... exceptionally rare."More applause."Young." Another pause. "Healthy."I shut my eyes."Beautiful."The room hummed with interest."And," she added with a satisfied smile, "connected to one of the most powerful men in our circles..."A ripple swept through the audience. Names were whispered, and Questions followed. I heard one name more than
HAZELNatasha was also a dead end. She didn’t like me, and she wasn’t subtle about it. That meant my only option was one of the maids, but not just any maid. One who had access. One who moved quietly between rooms, between people. Someone who heard things. Someone who saw things.I needed an ally.
HAZELThe words barely leave Axel's mouth before his face crashes down onto mine.It’s not a question.He’s not asking.He’s not waiting for permission. He kisses me like he’s starving.Hard. Rough. Desperate.His mouth consumes mine, all heat and fury and hunger, as if the last three days never ha
HAZELI run upstairs into my room after my conversation with Remo and cry. Not quietly. Not politely. A full-blown cry..... I can’t believe how stupid I was. How much of an idiot, a fool, I had been. I actually thought what happened between Axel and me meant something. It should have, shouldn’t it
AXELThe minute Remo walks into the penthouse, I know he’s about to give me another headache.I don’t even look up right away.“What’s that smile for?” I ask.I know Remo. And I know that smile.I don’t like it.He just shrugs. “Nothing.”“Anything you found out about Morozov?”“No. I’m still diggi







