Cassian’s POVThe lawyer stared at me, mouth wide open, confused and horrified. “But… but you said—”I cut him off with a cold smile. “I said I wanted to know the truth. Not that I’d set her free.”He shook his head, dazed. “I—I don’t understand… why? Why keep the clause if it was fake to begin with?”I tapped my finger against the armrest of my chair, letting the silence stretch.Then I said, slowly, deliberately, “Because Reina doesn’t get to walk away just yet. Not until I decide she’s earned it.”“But she deserves to know the truth. I thought you would want her to know,” he whispered.I chuckled dryly. “Why act all righteous now, Mr lawyer? Weren’t you paid to tie her down with the monsters that destroyed her childhood?”The lawyer lowered his gaze, staring at his trembling hands as if they belonged to someone else—someone filthier, weaker. His fingers were stained with blood and sweat, the knuckles scraped from where he’d instinctively braced against Lucas’s blows. But it wasn’t
Reina's POVThe van rolled to a stop after what felt like hours of bone-rattling backroads and jolts. When the doors creaked open, I didn't move at first. I was too stiff. Too uncertain. But then I heard the soft murmur of the farmhands unloading crates and realized this was my only chance.The old woman who’d helped me earlier looked in, eyes scanning quickly until they landed on me. She gave a subtle nod—then turned her back, shielding me as I slipped out and dropped behind a stack of barrels. We were on the outskirts of town—some dusty produce distribution center near the farmlands. No guards. No eyes. No Cassian Morelli.My knees buckled slightly when I stood. The air was heavy with damp soil and motor oil. I didn’t linger. I didn’t even say thank you.I ran.An hour later, I was sitting in a cramped cyber café tucked between a pawn shop and a rundown tailor’s. The kind of place that smelled like burning wires and stale coffee. A flickering sign outside read “Surge Express – Pr
Cassian’s POV“What do you mean by you can't find her?! Where the fuck is she?!”My roar echoed through the courtyard like a thunderclap, startling the birds into flight and freezing every servant in place. The nearest object—a wrought iron lantern—crashed through the air, smashing into the stone wall and ricocheting onto the trembling maid’s shoulder. She yelped in pain, collapsing to the ground as blood bloomed through the linen of her uniform.I didn’t look twice.“FIND HER!” I barked at the guards, wheeling forward, my cane slamming the ground with each furious turn. “She’s a little fucking person, not a goddamn ghost. What were you all doing?! Sleeping with your dicks in your hands?!”A trembling soldier stepped forward. “Sir, we’re checking the grounds—”“Check the fucking CCTV,” I cut him off, snarling. “And if she’s not in front of me before lunch, I swear on your miserable lives, I’ll have all your heads on spikes outside my gates.”I turned to Lucas, voice ice-cold. “Send f
Cassian's POVAs soon as I sent those commands, Lucas didn’t even nod. He just ran.I rolled back from the table, the wheels of my chair squeaking softly as I turned toward the exit, fury pumping through my veins like molten steel.If they laid one finger on her—if they touched even a strand of her hair—I would make that stepmother watch as I peeled the skin off her son’s face. I would burn everything they owned, salt their land, and mail their ashes back to their ancestors.The courtyard erupted into motion. Engines roared, tires screeched, guns were loaded with a kind of feverish desperation that clung to the air like smoke. I moved with purpose, cane pounding the stones like war drums. My men scrambled like roaches in a flood.I was going to tear that woman’s family apart, brick by fucking brick.If they touched Reina—if they even breathed near her—I’d make their bones ornaments for my garden.If she was hurt—If they broke her—I would shatter the fucking world until I put her ba
Cassian’s POVHe didn’t have to talk after that.The fear alone had loosed his tongue like a blade. “He’s a regular,” he rasped. “He comes in every other morning. Black coffee, no sugar. Sits in the back. Talks to no one. Name’s Joshua. Joshua Rivera. That’s all I know, I swear—”Joshua Rivera.Didn’t ring a bell. But the face—I tapped the screen and zoomed in on the image of the man again. There was something there, something in the cut of his jaw, the way he held himself like he was always ready for a confrontation. My mind ticked like a metronome on fire.Familiar.Too familiar.But it didn’t matter.Within minutes, we had what we needed. My men ran a quick search, and in the time it took for me to pull a cigar from my coat pocket, we had his address. Westside loft. Down floor. Typical. Predictable.We were on the road before the ash even hit the tray.Lucas drove. I sat in the back, staring out at the city through tinted windows, my mind alive with smoke and questions. I smiled d
Reina’s POV“Joshua,” I whispered, my voice like sandpaper.He was in the kitchenette, pulling two mugs from the cabinet like we were just any couple settling in for a quiet night. But my feet wouldn’t move. My pulse was trapped in my throat, thudding wildly.He looked up immediately. “What is it?”“I—I saw something.” I gestured toward the window, backing away. “Outside. Just past the porch light. It moved.”Joshua’s face shifted—his usual softness replaced with quiet alertness. He didn’t laugh it off. Didn’t call me crazy. Instead, he crossed the room in three long strides and peered out the window.The glass was smudged, but clear enough. The porch bulb buzzed faintly, illuminating nothing but weeds and shifting shadows.Still, he watched.“I don’t see anything,” he murmured.I didn’t breathe.But then his shoulders squared. He looked a little too long. Like he was pretending to see nothing so I wouldn’t panic.“Could’ve been a deer,” he said carefully, still staring. “Or a raccoon
Reina’s POVMy consciousness returned in pieces. A shrill pulse behind my eyes. Pins and needles prickling down my limbs. My mouth tasted of metal and something bitter. The air was thick—damp, suffocating.When I opened my eyes, darkness swallowed me whole.No window. No moonlight. Just the dim, flickering hum of a single bulb above. My arms ached—burning, twisted behind my back. Ropes dug into my wrists. My ankles were bound too, something coarse slicing into my skin every time I moved.Then I remembered. Joshua storming in. The gunshot. “Ohmygod,” I cried. What if…No. I shouldn’t think that way. But what if? And where the fuck am I? Who took me? Andrew? Mr Morelli?Panic surged up my throat like bile.“Help!” I screamed. “Somebody—please!”My voice cracked, raw from disuse or screaming—I couldn’t tell. I tried again, louder, until my lungs were burning.Then— A low chuckle answered from the shadows.Mocking. Cruel.“Shut up,” a voice said coldly. “You don’t get to scream.”A fig
Reina's POVI watched the smile on his face widen as he looked down at me.He knelt in front of me again, unmasking—his face now seared into my memory like a brand. And worse… when I looked at him, it wasn't just his face anymore. It blurred with Andrew’s. The same darkness. The same sick hunger.“I can’t be cheated out of life. I must take my own pound of flesh,” he barked with a crazy look in his eyes.I thrashed. Hard. My shoulder twisted painfully, but I didn’t care. I had to move. Had to stop what I knew was coming.He lunged forward—fingers clawing at the waistband of my shorts. The rope around my ankles burned as I kicked out wildly, but he gripped my legs and yanked them down hard, slamming my spine against the cold cement. Pain shot up my back as my breath hitched.My heart slammed so hard I thought it might give out.Stall him.Make him think he’s winning.Play the game.“Wait,” I gasped, forcing my voice to tremble—not just from fear, but desire. I hated myself for it, but
REINA’S POVHow can I forget what happens if I disobey when he taught me that yesterday?“You’re dressed like that to provoke me?” His gaze slid down my legs, to the soft silk blouse tucked into the short. “Or do you think being pretty earns you control?”I stayed quiet. Every instinct told me to push back. But I needed him to crack first.“You disobeyed,” he said. “And now you’ll learn.”He grabbed one of the resistance bands and tossed it toward my feet. “On the floor. On your knees.”“I’m not here to be punished. I’m here to help you move again.”“You’ll help me when I say you can. Right now—” He wheeled closer, his face barely a breath from mine. “—you’re going to remember your place.”My heart thundered, but I sank to my knees on the mat. Not because I wanted to surrender. Because I needed him to believe I would.And because I knew how ruthless his punishments are.He looped the resistance band around my wrists, tight enough to make my skin prickle.“Hold that position,” he said,
Reina’s POVI stood under the shower far longer than necessary, letting the hot water beat down on my skin as if it could erase the night. As if it could scrub away the filth, the shame, the ghost of his touch still seared into my flesh.But no matter how hard I scrubbed, it wouldn’t come off.By the time I stepped out, my skin was red and raw.I should’ve thrown on my usual oversized hoodie and sweatpants — my armor, my invisibility cloak.But they wanted evidence, didn’t they?They wanted me to seduce the devil himself?Fine.Let them choke on the smoke of what they asked for.I reached for something different. A silky blouse that clung just a little too well to my curves, tucked into a high-waisted short that stopped just above my knee. Not slutty. Not overt.But it whispered of temptation.A brush of color on my lips. A spritz of perfume behind my ears. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize the woman looking back.I hated her.But she would survive.S
Reina's POVThe morning sun mocked me.It slipped through the velvet curtains in warm shafts, lighting the corners of my room like a spotlight on shame. I lay on top of the blankets, wondering how I got to my room. The last thing I remember from last night was being in the garden. Maybe I came up half asleep, that's why I can’t remember. I looked down. Wait, I took my clothes off too?Strange.My body felt wrung out, like someone had twisted every nerve, every bone, every thought, and left me in pieces.I should’ve gone back to bed. But I couldn’t.My thoughts immediately shifted to the feel of his hands still seared into my skin. To the shameful moments of choking on his cock and the sick memory of the tub, of his body brushing mine under the water like it belonged there.My thighs clenched together involuntarily at the thought, and I groaned in disgust.What the hell is happening to me?Last night, I’d tasted something I’d never wanted to know existed inside me — something dar
REINA’s POVShame. That was all I could feel.I have never felt so humiliated in my life.Not even when Anthony ripped me apart years ago, body and soul.Not even when he and his mother left me bleeding and trembling, cursing myself for surviving.Because at least then, I knew what monsters looked like.Now?Now the monsters smiled.They whispered sweet promises with one hand, while wrapping a noose around my neck with the other.Why are men such beasts?Why do they get off on seeing women shatter, on grinding dignity into dust?I hate Cassian Morelli so bad it hurts to look at him.I wanted to run — to tear myself out of this room, lock myself away in some abandoned island and scream until my lungs gave out.I wanted so badly to plot a thousand ways to make him pay for this, to return the kindness in full.But then Joshua’s face flashed in my mind.That radiant smile that I dragged into my mess. An image flashed in my mind. The look on his face when the bullet pierced his body. His
Cassian’s POVShe stiffened.“It won’t be the first time now, Mr Morelli. Or do I need to remind you how many times you’ve done this. How many times you’ve seen me naked,” she spat angrily amidst tears.“And yet, I never seem to get enough of you. Now, sweet Reina. Hands at your sides.”Slowly, miserably, she obeyed, lowering her arms and standing there — naked, humiliated, trembling — under my gaze.Her cheeks were burning, streaked with tears, but she didn’t speak again.Didn’t plead.She was learning to take it all in.I let the silence stretch out, savoring the way her shame grew heavier with every second, until it pressed down on her like a physical weight."Now," I said, voice light, almost playful. "Touch yourself for me, little nurse."She hesitated — just for a heartbeat — before one trembling hand slipped between her thighs.But I leaned forward slightly, voice turning sharp."Eyes on me."She jerked like I’d slapped her.And then — slowly — she raised her tear-filled angry
Cassian’s POVI let the silence stretch, watched her struggle to process it — to accept it.It was beautiful.Watching her pride fracture.Watching her soul bend. Watching her grind her teeth in barely restrained fury.I loved every bit of it."But," I added, voice dangerously soft, "if you disappoint me... if you defy me... if you so much as hesitate when I give you an order..."I let the threat hang heavy in the air between us.I didn’t need to say it.She knew.She knew exactly what would happen.Joshua’s face flashed in her mind — I could see it — and she crumpled a little more.Sank a little deeper into submission.Perfect."Now," I said, brushing a knuckle over her tear-streaked cheek almost affectionately, "you’re going to kiss my cock. Just a kiss. Cause you might be tempted to do more.”Her eyes widened in horror."I—" she croaked.I backhanded her across the face — not hard enough to injure, but hard enough to shock.Hard enough to remind her.She gasped, cradling her cheek,
Cassian’s POVShe fumbled with the button of my pants using her mouth, her movements awkward, desperate.I didn't lift a finger to help her.Didn’t even move.I wanted her to struggle.I wanted her to earn every scrap of information she thought she wanted so badly.After an agonizing few seconds, she managed to undo it, the zipper rasping loud in the heavy silence between us.I shifted my hips just enough for her to pull my pants down, freeing the thick weight of my cock.It sprang free, heavy and hard, already leaking at the tip.The sight of it made her flinch slightly—whether in fear or shame, I didn’t know.Didn't care."Take it in your hands," I said, voice like velvet dragged over a blade.She froze. Eyes wide. I struggled to stay sane as I stared into her wide eyes.Trembling fingers reached up, wrapping around the base. I could feel her cursing under her breath.I hissed in pleasure at the first contact.God, she was small.Fragile.I could crush her if I wanted.And she would
Cassian’s POVThe minutes crawled by.I sat there, waiting, in the dim, luxurious expanse of my private wing. Only the low hum of the mansion beyond the windows filled the silence. My wheelchair was positioned just so, facing the door.She was late.Good for her.Let her hesitate. Let her dread.It made the hunt and fun that much sweeter.Then—finally—a soft, tentative knock.My smirk curved slowly and deliberately across my mouth.Let the game begin."Enter," I called lazily, voice carrying the sharpness of a blade hidden beneath silk.The door creaked open, and she stepped inside. Reina. My little captive angel. Her hair still damp from the shower, her frame taut with nervous energy she tried — and failed — to hide.Perfect.I watched her cross the room, head bowed slightly, hands folded in front of her like she thought modesty would save her here.I let the silence thicken until she was standing right in front of me."Tell me about your day," I said, voice low and dark, trailing de
Cassian’s POVThe traitor’s body was dragged out like the trash he was. His screams still echoed faintly down the corridor, but I was done with him. Let him live. Let him heal.Because when he returned, he wouldn’t be feeding them real intel—only the bits and pieces I permitted. Misinformation. A masterful script of lies designed to fracture them from the inside out. Let them swallow it whole.Two traitors in one day.I could feel the headache pulsing behind my temples.My thoughts drifted to the other one. The first of the day—the one whose bones cracked beneath my fists until they screamed with pain louder than his throat ever could.The one Reina tried to help.He’d tried to broker a deal with one of my offshore suppliers. Claimed it was to streamline costs. Turned out, he was diverting product—skimming from my operation and rerouting it to a rogue buyer linked to the Croatians.I didn’t kill him.No. Death was too final for that kind of betrayal.I had him locked in the sublevel w