Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Shattered Blood

Everything hurt.

Not my body—though the pleasant ache between my legs and the faint bruises on my hips reminded me exactly who I belonged to now. No, this pain was deeper. It lived in my chest, sharp and suffocating, every time I looked at the people who were supposed to love me.

I sat in the high-backed leather chair beside Damien in the private boardroom, the emerald dress now feeling like armor that was one thread away from unraveling. My mother wouldn’t even meet my eyes. Serena sat directly across from us, legs crossed elegantly, her expression a perfect mask of righteous fury. Uncle Richard and two other Voss family elders flanked her like guard dogs.

The air smelled of expensive cologne, aged whiskey, and betrayal.

“You’ve embarrassed this family,” my mother finally said, voice trembling with rage she barely contained. “First you take your sister’s place like some cheap imposter, then you… you seduce him. A whore’s trick. I raised you better than this, Lila.”

The words sliced deep. I gripped the edge of the polished table until my knuckles went white. “You raised me to save you,” I whispered. “Serena offered two million dollars if I played pretend for one night. For your treatments. For the hospital bills. I did it for you.”

Serena laughed bitterly. “And look how quickly you forgot your place. One taste of his money and his dick and suddenly you’re the victim? Pathetic. You’ve always been jealous of me. Always wanted what I had.”

Damien’s hand found my thigh under the table, warm and steady. He didn’t speak yet—he was letting them hang themselves. But I felt the tension in his fingers. He was a predator waiting for the right moment to strike.

Uncle Richard cleared his throat. “The board has reviewed the situation. This marriage is a sham. A fraudulent impersonation. We can have it annulled quietly. Serena will take her rightful position, and Lila…” He looked at me with pure disdain. “Lila will return the money and disappear. The Hart family name will survive this disgrace if she does.”

Disgrace. Whore. Imposter. The names kept circling in my head like vultures.

I wanted to scream. To cry. To run. Instead, I lifted my chin the way Damien had taught me in the elevator earlier, when his mouth had been between my legs and the world outside had ceased to matter.

“I’m not giving anything back,” I said, surprised at how steady my voice sounded. “And I’m not leaving.”

Serena’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You think he actually wants you? You’re a temporary toy. A novelty. Once the shine wears off, he’ll toss you aside just like every other woman before you.”

Damien finally spoke, his voice low and lethal. “Careful, Serena. You’re speaking about my wife.”

The word wife sent a confusing flutter through my stomach. I hated how much I liked hearing it from him. Hated how safe his hand on my thigh made me feel while my own blood tore me apart.

Mother stood abruptly, chair scraping loudly. “You’re dead to me, Lila. If you continue this madness, don’t ever call me again. Serena is the daughter who deserves this life. Not some backstabbing little—”

“Enough.” Damien rose, towering over the table. The room went deathly silent. “Lila stays. The marriage stays. And if any of you—Hart or Voss—make another move against her, I will personally ensure you lose everything. Shares. Homes. Reputations. I don’t care which family you belong to.”

He looked at each of them in turn, then down at me. For a second, something almost soft flickered in his storm-gray eyes. “She’s mine now. Get used to it.”

Serena’s mask finally slipped completely. She looked… broken. And dangerous. “This isn’t over,” she whispered, staring straight at me. “You stole my future. I’ll take yours. Piece by piece.”

They left after that—Mother first, refusing to look at me, then the uncles, then Serena, who paused at the door long enough to mouth two words I felt in my bones:

Watch me.

The boardroom fell quiet. Damien pulled me into his lap, arms wrapping around me like iron bands. I buried my face in his chest, breathing in his scent—spice and power and safety in a world that had just turned against me.

“You defended me,” I murmured.

“I meant every word.” His fingers traced slow circles on my back. “But this is just the beginning, Lila. Your sister won’t stop. Your family won’t stop. They’ll come at you harder now.”

I closed my eyes, heart pounding with a terrifying mix of fear and something warmer. Something that felt dangerously like falling.

What scared me most wasn’t Serena’s threats.

It was how much I didn’t want Damien to let me go.

Later that night, back in the penthouse, my phone buzzed with an unknown number. I almost ignored it.

The message made my blood run cold.

Unknown: You think you won? Check your mother’s hospital account. The money’s gone. And that’s only the start. Tell Damien I said hello. – S

My hands shook as I stared at the screen. Serena had moved faster than I imagined. She wasn’t just coming for me anymore.

She was coming for everything I had left to lose.

And I had no idea how far she was willing to go.