ホーム / Romance / The Lies Behind Silence and Darkness / Chapter 51: Not the Victim Anymore

共有

Chapter 51: Not the Victim Anymore

作者: ergnrmt
last update 公開日: 2026-09-19 07:00:35

Chapter 51: Not the Victim Anymore

The breaking point came from an unexpected direction: Lydia, the cook from Whitlock Manor. She sent a message, not through any official channel, but via a encrypted email to a charity address Story had once, years ago, mentioned in her hearing. The message was brief, terrified: Miss Story, they watch the mail. Mr. Whitlock has men asking about your habits here. The bad men with tattoos like snakes. Be careful, my dear girl. They mean you harm.

Orsino enforcers
この本を無料で読み続ける
コードをスキャンしてアプリをダウンロード
ロックされたチャプター

最新チャプター

  • The Lies Behind Silence and Darkness   Chapter 51: Not the Victim Anymore

    Chapter 51: Not the Victim AnymoreThe breaking point came from an unexpected direction: Lydia, the cook from Whitlock Manor. She sent a message, not through any official channel, but via a encrypted email to a charity address Story had once, years ago, mentioned in her hearing. The message was brief, terrified: Miss Story, they watch the mail. Mr. Whitlock has men asking about your habits here. The bad men with tattoos like snakes. Be careful, my dear girl. They mean you harm.Orsino enforcers. In her old home. Asking about her.Evander read the email on her tablet, his face turning to stone. He said nothing for a full minute. Then, he stood, walked to the window, and punched the reinforced glass. It didn’t break, but the impact echoed through the room.“That’s it,” he said, his voice vibrating with a quiet, deadly fury. He turned, and the look he gave her was no longer just protective. It was predatory. “They’ve crossed a line. They’ve brought your past into it. They’ve threatened t

  • The Lies Behind Silence and Darkness   Chapter 50: The Web Tightens

    Chapter 50: The Web TightensThe sanctuary of Evander’s study, the memory of his arms and his kiss, lasted less than a day. The real world, with its claws of greed and vengeance, was not so easily held at bay.The first thread snapped early the next morning. Marco delivered the report, his scarred face grim. The two captured assassins from the estate attack, after days of stubborn silence, had finally broken under “persuasion.” Their story was a dead end leading to a ghost—a middleman who had already been found floating in the river. But the money trail, meticulously followed by Evander’s forensic team, had taken a sudden, sharp turn.“The last payment to the middleman,” Marco said, placing a highlighted spreadsheet on Evander’s desk, “wasn’t just from a Whitlock shell. It was co-mingled with capital from an Orsino-controlled venture fund. It’s a braid. Whitlock provides the motive and the front, Orsino provides the muscle and the subtlety. They’re not just using him; they’re partners

  • The Lies Behind Silence and Darkness   Chapter 49: Stolen Moment

    Chapter 49: Stolen MomentIt wasn’t tentative. It wasn’t a question. It was a claiming and a surrender all at once. His lips were firm and warm against hers, moving with a desperate, hungry certainty. It was the kiss he should have given her on their wedding day—a kiss of possession, of alliance, of a bond forged in fire.For a heartbeat, Story froze, the shock of contact short-circuiting her thoughts. Then, feeling exploded through her—a dam breaking after a lifetime of drought. A soft sound, half-sigh, half-sob, escaped her throat. Her hands flew up, one tangling in the soft hair at the nape of his neck, the other clutching the front of his shirt, pulling him closer.She kissed him back. With all the pent-up fury of the basement, all the cunning of the silent observer, all the fierce, wild hope of the woman who had been given a key. Her kiss was an answer, a confession, a vow. It was fire meeting fire.The world outside the study—the war, the Whitlocks, the Orsinos, the ghost of Lor

  • The Lies Behind Silence and Darkness   Chapter 48: The Kiss

    Chapter 48: The KissThe revelation in the situation room was a detonation that left the landscape of their lives permanently altered. In the days that followed, their partnership took on a sharper, more ruthless edge. The target was no longer abstract—it was Richard Whitlock, the Orsino family, and the ghost of Lorenzo Covelli. Every financial thread Story helped unravel, every weak point she identified in her father’s empire, was no longer just a move in a game. It was a strike against the man who had stolen a life and tried to take another.The work was relentless. They spent hours cloistered in Evander’s study, the satin blindfold now permanently absent in their private councils. Maps of shipping routes were overlaid with diagrams of social connections Story recalled from overheard conversations in Whitlock Manor. Evander’s cold, analytical prowess met the white-hot furnace of Story’s intimate hatred, and together they forged a plan of exquisite dismantling.The tension between th

  • The Lies Behind Silence and Darkness   Chapter 47: Fury

    Chapter 47: Fury“My brother,” Cesario continued, his voice turning to gravel, “took his own life. The shame, the pressure… he saw no way out.” He looked directly at Story, his gaze not accusing, but imploring her to understand the magnitude. “The Whitlock greed didn’t just take money. It took a life. It took a brother. It set our family back a generation.”Evander had gone pale. “You never told me.”“I told you we were betrayed. I told you the Whitlocks were snakes. The specifics were… too bitter. Until now.” Cesario leaned forward, his hands flat on the table. “Richard Whitlock didn’t just inherit his uncle’s fortune. He inherited his cowardice and his avarice. But he lacks even the basic cunning Lorenzo possessed. He is a blunt instrument, easily wielded by smarter, darker men.”He tapped another, more recent file. “The ambush on you, Evander. The funding did flow through Whitlock channels, as you’ve discovered. But the order, the planning, the expertise… that came from the Orsino

  • The Lies Behind Silence and Darkness   Chapter 46: The Past Unveiled

    Chapter 46: The Past UnveiledThe summons to the “situation room”—a newer, even more secure version of the war room—carried a different weight. It wasn’t the usual command; it was a gravity, like a planet pulling them into its orbit. Alistair’s face had been unreadable, but his eyes held a warning.Evander met Story in the corridor outside their wing. He had retied the satin blindfold, but the set of his jaw was grim, his movements lacking the subtle uncertainty of the performance. He held out his arm, not for guidance, but for solidarity. She took it, her fingers curling around the hard muscle of his forearm. They walked in silence, a united front heading into an unknown storm.Cesario was alone in the situation room. The massive digital maps were dark. He stood before the only light source—a single spotlight illuminating an antique mahogany table. On it lay not modern files, but older, leather-bound ledgers, yellowed papers, and a small, faded photograph. The air smelled of dust and

続きを読む
無料で面白い小説を探して読んでみましょう
GoodNovel アプリで人気小説に無料で!お好きな本をダウンロードして、いつでもどこでも読みましょう!
アプリで無料で本を読む
コードをスキャンしてアプリで読む
DMCA.com Protection Status