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18. La Fiera

Author: Sarah Raymond
last update Last Updated: 2025-10-19 17:49:11
The acrid smell of gasoline filled my lungs, making me cough. Why would there be—

A loud whoosh erupted behind me, the sound followed by an intense wave of heat that seemed to suck all the oxygen from the room. I whirled around to see flames engulfing the kitchen area.

"No!" I screamed, stumbling backward. The fire spread with terrifying speed, racing along the trail of gasoline that I now realized covered much of the floor.

I turned and ran in the opposite direction, searching desperately for another exit. The dining room led to a hallway, but flames were already licking at the walls there too. I scanned for any escape route that wasn't already blocked.

The glass doors to the pool. That was my only chance.

I sprinted back toward the kitchen, keeping as far from the flames as possible. The heat clawed at my skin as smoke thickened, turning the air into ash.

The sliding doors shimmered through the haze. So close, yet impossibly far.

My foot hit something and I went down h
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  • The CEO's Fake Girlfriend    103. Don't Hate Your Mom

    Camila's POVIris’s little voice cut off mid‑ramble. Seraphina’s fork slipped from her fingers and hit the plate with a sharp clink. Damon went very still, while Silas glared at Natasha.I felt the hit, but I didn’t give her the flinch she clearly wanted. Through all the reactions, Lucien continued cutting his steak with unhurried precision. Now he set his knife and fork down and looked directly at Natasha. “When you come for Camila,” he said, voice soft enough that everyone leaned in to hear, “you come for me. And there is no universe where that ends well for you.” The promise in his tone carried more weight than anyone yelling could have. Natasha’s shoulders drew back a fraction. She knew exactly what she was staring at. I took my time, lifting my glass, swallowing a mouthful of water to cool the heat in my chest. When I set it down and met her eyes, my voice came out steady. “The engagement is a lot more complicated than what the tabloids are printing. There are things at

  • The CEO's Fake Girlfriend    102. Fuck Toy

    The name sat between us like a dare. Camila shook her head. “I still don’t believe it’s him. If anything, my gut says Edmund. You know all the creepy things he did. Also, he's a techie.” I watched the line of her jaw tighten. “Whatever theory you’re building around Damon? Drop it. Don’t mention him being the stalker again.” “I hope I’m wrong,” I told her. “For your sake.” The next few days were something almost normal, if you ignored the fact that we were waiting for a traitor to hand us the evidence to bury my brother. Camila settled into her new remote job—business analyst for some ecommerce startup. Mornings, she and Maya took short walks around the block before diving into their laptops. Sometimes I’d be on a call, glance at my screen, and see a blurry photo from Camila: Maya laughing under a streetlamp, or a stray cat that somehow reminded her of me. Afternoons, Damon would swing by for “accidental” lunch near her place. Photos followed those too. Coffee cups, half‑eaten san

  • The CEO's Fake Girlfriend    101. Damon's Not A Saint

    For a moment, I could only hear the tick of the AC and Camila’s breathing against my shirt. Catherine Moretti. The name didn’t stab the way it used to, but it still wasn’t a wound I liked touched. I went quiet long enough that Camila pulled back to look at me properly. “Before I came along,” she said softly, “all that stuff about Catherine was everywhere. Ronan leaked it to the media. I never knew how much was true.” Her fingers twisted in the hem of my shirt. “Did you really lock her in a mental asylum because she tried to leave you?” My jaw flexed. No matter what I said, it would sound like a defense. I’d earned that. I opened my mouth to answer— The shrill tone of the burner phone cut straight through the room and Camila flinched. I exhaled slowly, forced my shoulders down, and reached for it. “So?” Nadia said, without greeting. “How are we getting the rest of it?” I asked. “You said you have physical documents as well. That won’t fit in my inbox.” “You’ll get all of it th

  • The CEO's Fake Girlfriend    100. He Is Alive

    She deflated. “You’re impossible.” “Say yes, Fiera.” “Fine,” she gave up. “Do your Batman thing.” She started washing fruit. I plucked the knife from her hand and nudged her toward the couch. “You’re not slicing anything with a concussion.” “I’m not sick—” “You’re injured. Humor me.” She rolled her eyes but went. I made a quick fruit salad, called down the hall to see if Maya wanted some. Her muffled “later” drifted back—she was buried in work. While Camila ducked into Maya’s room for a minute, I wiped my hands and called my hacker. The voice that answered was distorted, same as it had been for five years. “Hayes.” I read the text out loud, gave him the short code and some other details. “Can you trace it?” There was a pause, followed by faint typing. “Nothing I can give you,” he said eventually. “Whoever sent it knows what they’re doing.” “Not good enough,” I growled. “That’s all there is.” I hung up as Camila came back. “My techie failed me.“She sat, t

  • The CEO's Fake Girlfriend    99. Camila's Stalker

    LUCIEN“Jessica and Lily should land in Zurich in about two hours.”Rafael stood in front of my desk, hands in his pockets. I rolled the passports between my fingers. Two small booklets. Two problems I’d pushed an ocean away.I crossed to the wall safe, entered the first code and metal clicked. Inside sat a second safe. Another code, then the passports went in with the documents I wasn’t ready to destroy yet.“If Nadia actually betrays Ronan,” Rafael said, “and it helps Camila’s case, what happens with Jessica?”I returned to my seat. The question had been chewing at the back of my skull all morning. If Nadia came through, I could finish Ronan and take the knife off Camila's throat, but Elysium would still be chained to Don’s clause. No loophole yet. “Are you asking if I’d walk away from the inheritance?” “Lucien, I'm asking why you're staying married to Jessica. For the sixty billion, or so you can burn it to the ground once it’s yours.” I swiveled the chair toward the window.

  • The CEO's Fake Girlfriend    98. Grocery Run

    The apartment smelled like burnt sugar and bad decisions. The last pancake went from “almost okay” to “why do you hate yourself?” in three seconds. I flipped too late, stared at the dark underside, and killed the burner. “Perfect,” I muttered. The plate beside me was a sad mix of edible and “we don’t talk about her.” We only had groceries enough to scrape this together, a loud reminder I had to go shopping later.At least some pancakes were semi-presentable. I tossed the worst into the trash, wiped my hands, and padded back to the bedroom. Lucien was awake, propped on one elbow, sheets low on his hips. Bare chest, messy hair, so damn sexy. Golden eyes tracked me as I climbed onto the bed and crawled toward him. “Why didn’t you come out? I thought the smell of burnt pancakes would drag you.” His hand slid up my thigh, drawing lazy circles. “I’m naked. Not letting another woman see what belongs to you.” “Mm...” I murmured. “I like the sound of that.” He rolled us easily,

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