MasukCHAPTER 151AUTHOR'S POV The loud bang cut through the room like thunder.Rafael screamed in pain. The gun flew from his hand and clattered across the dirty floor. Before anyone could react, more shots rang out. Rafael’s men dropped one by one. Some screamed. Others fell without a sound. Bullets came from the dark corners above — hidden walkways and broken windows.Adrian didn’t waste a second. He grabbed his gun from the floor and shot Rafael in the leg. The bullet tore through muscle. Rafael dropped to one knee, shouting curses.Ken rushed to Lara’s side. “I’ve got you,” he said gently. He pulled out a knife and cut the ropes fast. As soon as her hands were free, she tried to cover herself, shaking badly. Ken quickly grabbed a dusty blanket from a nearby crate and wrapped it around her body.Adrian moved like a wild animal. He stormed over to Rafael, who was still on the ground clutching his bleeding leg. Adrian’s fist connected with his face with full force. The punch made a sick
CHAPTER 150AUTHOR'S POV Rafael ended the video call and tossed the phone onto a dusty table. A big, satisfied smile spread across his face as he looked at Lara. She was completely broken now. Tears ran down her cheeks. Her body shook with quiet sobs. For the first time since he took her, she looked truly scared.“Please…” she whispered through the gag, her voice cracking. “Please don’t…”Rafael nodded at his men. “Strip her.”Two of them moved forward. Lara’s eyes widened in panic. She started struggling again, twisting and pulling against the ropes, but it was useless. The men were rough. They tore at her clothes without care, ripping the fabric. Buttons popped. Her shirt was yanked off. Then her pants. She begged louder, muffled cries filling the room, but they didn’t stop until she was left in nothing but her underwear. Cold air hit her skin. She felt exposed, humiliated and terrified.Rafael watched with dark pleasure. “That’s better,” he said softly. “Now you look like what you
CHAPTER 149ADRIAN'S POVThe screen was still loading when Rafael’s face filled most of it. He looked straight into the camera like he was enjoying every second of this. Behind him, I could see her — Lara. Tied to that chair, pale, tired, but alive. My heart slammed so hard it hurt.“Lara…” I whispered.Rafael smiled wider. “Want to see your girl up close, Adrian?”He turned the phone toward her. That’s when Lara realized it was me. Her eyes went wide. She started struggling like crazy, trying to shout something even though a thick gag was tied across her mouth. Muffled sounds came out — desperate, broken noises that tore me apart. She twisted against the ropes, chair scraping on the floor, eyes locked on the screen like she was begging me to save her.“Easy there,” Rafael said, laughing softly. He stepped closer to her.My hands gripped the phone so tight I thought it might crack. “Don’t you touch her.”Rafael ignored me. He looked straight into the camera again, his voice cold and c
CHAPTER 148Adrian's POVI hadn’t slept. Not even for a minute.Every time I closed my eyes, Lara was there. Her smile. The way her eyes crinkled when she laughed. The soft way she’d looked at me that night and said she’d move in with me soon. That one word kept echoing in my head—soon. She had smiled so big when she said it. Now I didn’t even know if she was okay. If she was scared. If she was hurt. If she’d eaten anything.The thought made my chest feel like someone was squeezing it with iron hands. I couldn’t breathe right. Couldn’t think straight. All I knew was that I had to find her. I had to bring her home.I stood outside the interrogation room with Ken and Vincent, staring through the one-way glass. Inside, a middle-aged man sat at the table, looking nervous as hell. He was one of Rafael’s old associates, not a big player, just some guy who ran errands for cash. But right now, he was our only real chance.Ken folded his arms next to me. “You need to stay calm, Adrian.”“I am
CHAPTER 147AUTHOR'S POVThe silence inside the abandoned building was almost unbearable. The only sound was the faint hum of an old light overhead and the distant creak of rusted metal somewhere beyond the walls.Lara sat perfectly still. Her heart still raced, but the panic that had overwhelmed her when she first woke had slowly begun to settle into something else. Determination. She forced herself to take slow breaths. Adrian was looking for her. She believed that with every part of her being.The heavy door opened..Footsteps echoed across the room. Rafael walked inside, a smug smile playing on his lips."So…you've calmed down."Lara didn't answer. She simply stared at him. His smile widened."I like that. It means we can actually have a conversation.""I have nothing to say to you," Lara replied quietly."No?" He folded his arms. "I think we have quite a lot to discuss."Lara remained silent. The less she said, the better. Rafael studied her for a long moment before giving a small
CHAPTER 146 ADRIAN'S POV Every second felt like an hour. Every minute without Lara felt like a knife twisting deeper into my chest. My phone hadn't left my hand since Vincent called to say they had found her phone. Found it…not with her. Just... found. The words haunted me. I stared out the car window as Vincent drove through the city at a speed that would normally earn us several traffic tickets. Ken sat beside me in silence. He had nothing to joke about. No one did. "Lara's phone was recovered near one of the mall's service exits," Vincent reported from the driver's seat. "It appears to have been discarded shortly after she disappeared." I closed my eyes. "So it's useless." "I'm afraid so, sir." She couldn't be tracked anymore. Whoever had taken her knew exactly what they were doing. My jaw tightened. "Rafael..." Ken glanced at me. "We don't know that yet." "I do." "I don't.".His voice remained calm. "And until we have proof, we're treating every p
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXADRIAN’S POVI finally admitted something to myself two weeks after Lara broke up with Chris.I liked her.Not love. Definitely not love.Love was dangerous. Messy. Destructive.I had seen firsthand what love did to people.What it did to my mother.So no— whatever this thing wit
CHAPTER SEVENTEENLARA’S POVGoing back to my parents’ house that weekend felt strangely comforting.Like returning to a version of myself that existed before everything became complicated.Before Adrian. Before the rumors. Before Chris started looking at me differently.I arrived Saturday afternoo
CHAPTER SIXTEEN ADRIAN’S POV Dinner with my father was something I usually avoided. Unfortunately, avoiding Alessandro Romano required effort. And patience. Two things I barely possessed. I stepped into the Romano estate just past eight in the evening, handing my car keys to one of the
CHAPTER TWENTYLARA’S POVBy Thursday morning, my cramps had reduced enough for me to function like a normal human being again.Thank God.I was starting to believe my uterus had personal issues with me.Still, as I stood in front of my mirror getting ready for work, my thoughts kept drifting back







