Chapter 13: Twenty-Eight Days to Break

Sienna's POV

The room smelled of damp concrete and expensive cologne. My wrists were zip-tied to a metal chair in what looked like an abandoned warehouse office. The two men who had taken me stood guard by the door, silent and professional. Not rough, but their presence alone was enough to keep me still.

Julian Blackwood sat across from me, legs crossed, looking every bit the polished shark in a charcoal suit. Elena leaned against the wall behind him, arms folded, watching me with cold satisfaction.

“You’re making this too easy, Mrs. Voss,” Blackwood said smoothly. “Walking out on your husband the same night he finally tells you half the truth? Predictable.”

I lifted my chin, refusing to show fear even as my heart hammered. “What do you want?”

“Simple. I want what Voss took from me five years ago. Control. And you’re the key.” He leaned forward. “Your husband didn’t just save your father’s company out of sudden heroism. He did it because I was about to expose the real reason he wanted Vance Architecture so badly.”

Elena smiled. “Tell her, Julian.”

Blackwood’s eyes gleamed. “Andrea Voss didn’t buy the company to protect you. He bought it because your father held the only copy of documents proving I financed the original shell company that nearly destroyed Voss’s empire years ago. Elena was my inside woman. Voss thought taking the company would bury the evidence forever. Instead, he handed me the perfect weapon—you.”

My mind reeled. Another layer. Another lie.

Before I could respond, the door burst open. Gunshots echoed outside. Andrea stormed in with three of his men, face thunderous. His eyes found mine instantly, relief flashing before cold fury took over.

“Blackwood,” he growled. “Let her go. Now.”

Blackwood stood slowly, unfazed. “You’re early. I expected at least two hours of panic.”

Security clashed. Shots rang out. In the chaos, Andrea reached me, slicing through the zip ties with a knife from his pocket. He pulled me behind him, shielding my body with his.

“Go,” he ordered one of his men. “Get her out.”

But Elena moved fast. She pressed a gun to my side before Andrea could react. “Not so fast. You still haven’t heard the best part, Sienna.”

Andrea froze. “Elena. Don’t.”

She laughed bitterly. “He never told you why he really went after your father’s firm so aggressively, did he? It wasn’t just Blackwood’s threat. Your father had proof that Andrea was the one who originally recommended Blackwood as an investor years ago. The same investment that nearly ruined him. He wanted to destroy the evidence before it destroyed his precious reputation.”

My stomach dropped. I looked at Andrea. “Is that true?”

His jaw clenched. “It was a mistake. One I’ve spent years fixing. I was trying to protect you from all of it.”

Elena pressed the gun harder. “Protect? Or control? He’s been obsessed with you since the first time he saw you months ago. Pathetic, really.”

Chaos erupted again as Andrea’s men overpowered Blackwood’s. Elena fired a warning shot. In the split second of distraction, Andrea lunged, disarming her with brutal efficiency. He shoved me toward the exit as more gunfire echoed.

“Run, Sienna!”

I ran.

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I made it to one of Andrea’s waiting cars two blocks away. The driver sped off immediately. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Everything was unraveling. The man I was falling for had been carrying far more secrets than I imagined.

We didn’t go back to the penthouse. The driver took me to a safe house on the outskirts—an elegant but fortified apartment I’d never seen. Andrea arrived thirty minutes later, disheveled, a cut on his cheek, eyes wild.

The moment the door closed, he pulled me into his arms, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered fiercely against my hair. “I should have told you everything. I thought keeping you in the dark would keep you safe. I was wrong.”

I pushed him back, tears burning. “You watched me for months? You let me hate you, let me think I was trapped, all because you had a thing for me and wanted to play protector?”

“Yes.” His voice was raw. “And I’d do it again if it meant keeping you alive. But I’m done hiding. No more lies between us.”

He cupped my face, thumbs wiping my tears. Then he kissed me—desperate, hungry, full of everything he’d been holding back. I kissed him back just as fiercely, anger and fear and need twisting together.

We barely made it to the bedroom. He stripped me with shaking hands, reverence in every touch. When he pushed inside me, it was slow and deep, eyes locked on mine. No commands. Just raw emotion as he moved, whispering apologies and promises between kisses.

“You’re mine, Sienna,” he groaned, thrusting deeper. “Not because of any contract. Because I can’t breathe without you anymore.”

I came hard, clinging to him, and he followed, filling me with a broken groan. We stayed locked together afterward, hearts pounding.

But as I lay in his arms, safe for the moment, my phone—left behind in the chaos—lit up on the nightstand with a new message from an unknown number.

‘Unknown: You left the penthouse. Good. Now you’re both vulnerable. The real secret isn’t about the company. Ask Andrea who really killed Elena’s brother five years ago. The man you’re falling for isn’t just a liar. He’s a murderer. — A friend who wants you to survive the next 28 days.’

I deleted it quickly, heart racing.

Andrea stirred beside me, pulling me closer. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” I lied, burying my face in his chest.

But the new twist had just shattered whatever fragile trust we’d rebuilt.

Who was Andrea Voss, really?

And how many more lies would it take before everything between us burned?

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