Chapter Forty-sixRafael CarusoYesterday was… okay. Not good. Not great. Just okay.It didn’t go the way I expected. It didn’t go the way I wanted. It didn’t go the way I had pictured.The bastard didn’t say a word of value. He kept quiet when I needed him to speak, smug and silent about the things I asleep, until the very last moment—and I lost my cool. I killed him in a fit of rage.Maybe I shouldn’t have. Maybe I should’ve kept him alive a little longer, drawn it out, broken him down until he finally cracked and told me something—anything. But the way he kept running his mouth? The way he looked me dead in the eye and told me I’d never find who I was looking for? That I’d never get close to their boss? That the best I could hope for was meeting the third in command?Who the hell did he think he was talking to? Who did he think he was dealing with? That smug son of a bitch dared to laugh, he laughed in my face, he dared to act like I was nothing, like I was wasting my time. He dar
Chapter Forty-fiveMaisieIt was Mr. Caruso.He was here too.I stared at his hand. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The same hand that now held mine so gently. The same hand I had seen drenched in blood just yesterday, few hours ago. That image—so vivid, so raw—rushed back into my mind like a flood breaking through fragile gates. The way he cleaned every bit of blood off his hand but I could still see it, I could still smell it.The memory was like a punch to the chest.The blood on his knuckles.The cold, unbothered look in his eyes.The way that man would have begged before he fell silent forever. Before this man holding my hand right now killed hun.I yanked my hand from his grasp, stumbling back a step like I’d been burned. I didn’t know I was doing that until I had done it. My heart was pounding so loud I could hear the frantic, unsteady rhythm, my lungs screaming for air that suddenly felt too heavy to breathe. I wanted to go away from there, to leave, but my legs felt too heavy
Chapter Forty-fourMaisieIt was a new morning.I woke up feeling lighter—calmer, somehow. Not completely at peace, but as though sleep had pressed a gentle hand over my bruised soul and whispered, you survived the night.I had gone to bed scared, terrified, haunted by everything I had seen. That blood. That darkness. That man. The weight of it had crawled into bed with me and laid its head right beside mine. But now… now I felt like someone else. Someone who had stared the monster in the eye and still found a way to breathe.I hadn’t made any final decisions. I wasn’t sure what path I was going to take, what step to follow next. I only knew that I wasn’t the same woman who stood frozen outside that door, paralyzed by the truth she had just uncovered.Yes, I still carried fear. A quiet, burning fear that flared up in my chest every time my mind replayed that scene. It wasn’t the kind of fear that held me down anymore—it was the kind that fueled something else inside me.Clarity, stren
Chapter Forty-threeMaisieI didn’t understand a single thing about what was happening. Not from what I saw back there—and definitely not from what I walked back into.The image of those men dragging a body out like it was nothing, walking away without a scratch, without anyone stopping them… it was still burned into my mind. And now this?This?Hadn’t I just heard this same man—Finn—slamming into another woman only minutes ago? Moaning her name like she was the air he breathed? And yet he had the audacity to stand here now, in front of me, chest heaving, eyes furious… questioning me about where I had been?What the fuck was wrong with him?Who the hell did he think he was—to come at me with all this rage, when he was the one doing the very thing he wanted to accuse me of?I scoffed. I couldn’t help it.His eyes darkened. “Did you just scoff, Maisie?” he thundered, stepping toward me.I flinched, instinctively taking a step back.“I asked you a damn question!” he shouted again, his vo
Chapter Forty-twoAuthor’s POVIn the dimly lit room, where the soft scent of lavender swirled through the air like a beautiful spell, Finn sat on the plush velvet couch, his legs crossed, a glass of expensive whiskey cradled in his hand. The amber liquid caught the light with every slight movement, glowing like temptation itself. He took a slow sip, the warmth sliding down his throat, grounding him just enough to keep from losing his mind.Because in front of him, moving like sin wrapped in silk, was his woman.His love.Every curve, every sway of her hips, every delicate lift of her fingers over her own body—it all belonged to him. She danced as though the music was hers, as though the room bent to her rhythm, and he was just another instrument she played. Her narrowed eyes locked with his, full of unspoken promises that settled deep in his gut and made his cock throb hard against the confines of his pants.God, he wanted her. More than he had ever wanted anyone.More than he could
Chapter Forty-oneMaisie I was terrified.Every part of me was starting to vibrate with fear. I couldn’t control it.I thought I could let go of the fear—God knows I’d tried—but not after what I just saw. Not after watching him casually wipe blood off his hands like it was nothing. Not after seeing them zip a body into a bag like it was just some discarded doll.How could someone be so calm… so unbothered? That was a human! They killed him and packed him a fucking back, how was I going to live with this?I didn’t know if I should be glad or sad that I came here at this moment. I didn’t know if I was glad I found out about this part of him and knew well not to mess with him now, or sad that everything I had plan could shatter because of this. Mr. Caruso wasn’t a man I should be messing with, he wasn’t a Man I should be tricking into my own twisted plan. But what do I do now? I had already started this, how do I stop it?My chest rose and fell too quickly. I was shaking. I couldn’t mov