LOGINSiennaMy eyes fluttered open, but all I could see was a blurry white background.I blinked several times, trying to get my eyes and brain to focus. Gradually, the room became clearer, and my memories began returning.I was on the floor outside Adrian's bombed building. I remembered being unable to move for a while, but I'd managed to hide my phone in my underwear before everything went dark.Now, I was in a hospital.I couldn't remember how I'd gotten there. I must have passed out after the police found me.My heart immediately began racing when I couldn't feel the phone I'd tucked into my underwear. I reached down in a panic, checking to make sure it was still there.It was.I hadn't been stripped down to my underwear, although I was now wearing a pair of shorts. But that wasn't what worried me.I couldn't feel anything.I ran my hands over my legs, but there was no sensation. I tried moving them, then attempted to turn my body.My upper body responded, but my legs didn't.I froze.
Adrian“Boss, the house has been bombed and burned to the ground,” Mug reported as I stepped off the helicopter and into the cabin in the middle of nowhere.I nodded.I had made sure Natasha checked the CCTV footage and confirmed that everyone had been cleared before the explosives were triggered. There was nothing left to lead anyone back to us.I let out a slow breath. At least that part was over.But Millian's groaning from behind us quickly ruined the little peace I'd managed to find.I turned to Mug.“The doctor you arranged to wait here. Let him treat Millian first. I'll have a moment to myself in one of the rooms.”Mug shook his head.“Boss, you might not feel it now, but the cuts on your side and back are much deeper than they look. They need to be treated immediately.”I nodded. A headache was beginning to settle behind my eyes, and I didn't have the energy to argue with him.I followed him inside.One of the doctors who had assisted with the earlier surgery was already waiti
SiennaBy the time I reached the estate gate, an eerie silence had settled over the place.It was always quiet here, but right now, something about it felt different. I couldn't quite explain it. The moment I stepped out of my car, I pulled out my phone and called Natasha, who had replied to my earlier message.But before the call could connect, I noticed that the gate was slightly ajar.I stopped.Something in my head was telling me not to go any further, but my feet seemed determined to ignore the warning. I tightened my grip on my phone and switched to the camera, beginning to record as I opened the door, returned to my car, and drove forward.For a moment, I considered sending the recording directly to the company server. Then I remembered the trouble I'd recently had at work. I wasn't exactly on good terms with everyone there, and the last thing I needed was for someone to discover how closely I was connected to Adrian.I switched off my mobile data and Wi-Fi instead, keeping the
Adrian“What artery ruptured? And under what kind of pressure would blood spurt out like this?”I stopped just inside the operating theatre, keeping a safe distance from the surgical area. Blood was still spraying from the patient, and the nurses were struggling to contain it.“Tell him to leave the room! And why would you call to him like that?” Millian shouted at the nurse who had called me.I stared at him for a moment.Then I let out a loud, humourless laugh.There was no time to argue with him. I turned and hurried out of the room, heading straight for the station. I grabbed a set of scrubs, changed, and disinfected my hands before returning to the theatre.Millian was still pacing around the patient, struggling to stop the bleeding. His movements were hurried, his attention scattered. I watched him work for a few seconds, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.Then it became clear.I had made a mistake.I had trusted what I heard about Millian more than what I had seen of hi
SiennaI looked at the text I'd sent earlier. It was still unread.I knew I should mind my business, but I still wanted to make sure he had received the message. Wherever he was hiding the doctor he'd taken, I wanted him to know that the man would eventually be found.I turned my attention to the documents my colleagues had submitted. They were supposed to provide images, theories, and research for the story and script I had to write for our next segment, but most of what I was looking at was useless. I scrolled through page after page, trying to piece together something that would convince people to follow the direction we wanted.“Who is Firecracker? Or is this another criminal operation waiting to happen? Is your life longer now? Could that be referring to the length of the operation to come?” I read aloud from one of my colleagues' submissions.“Yeah, yeah. I'm a criminal operation myself, aren't I?” I muttered.I pushed my chair back and stood up to get a coffee. But the moment I
Adrian“So why is it that I'm only learning about this now?” I asked Michael, who was standing in front of me, nervously staring at the floor.“Natasha said you had to know everything. I initially thought her background wasn't particularly relevant.”“I'll be the one to decide whether it's relevant or not,” I said.“Sorry, boss. I always tell them never to withhold any information from you, whether it's good or bad,” Natasha replied. “It's the same way I told Felipe to inform you about the club downtown and everything else.”She added the last part casually, and the boys all glanced at her for a moment. I shot them a murderous look before she could notice.I nodded. “It's fine. Is that all?”“That's all,” Michael answered.“Well, it's not that important now. We suddenly can't create the luck she needs to survive this surgery. All we can do is hope and monitor the situation to make sure Millian does a good job. That way, the woman's will to live won't go to waste.”Finding out that som
“Boss,” Natasha called as she stepped closer, heels silent on the marble floor. I was just finishing buttoning my shirt.I turned to her, my eyes cold at the thought of Dominic. “Did they find something?”She shook her head. “Dominic’s all bark. Half the contacts he brags about don’t even exist.”“T
SiennaThe weight of what had just happened crashed down on me.I had basically been kidnapped.Shoved into a luxurious car with a mafia leader—or gang leader—or whatever the hell he was—the man I hooked up with last night.And now? I couldn’t escape.The more I stared out the window, the more civi
Adrian"What are you doing here?" I asked as I took my seat beside Sienna."What do you mean, what am I doing here?" she shot back, a little too sharp, a little too defensive.I didn’t have time for this. My gaze flicked to Natasha. "You’ll take care of her, right?"She gave a firm nod before shrug
SiennaI glared at the man—whose name I still didn’t even know—untied me. My anger simmered, but exploding felt pointless when the person I was furious with was watching me like this was exactly the reaction he expected.The moment my hands were free, a dull ache spread through my wrists. I ignored







