جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 50

Chapter 42(In the Circle of His Arms)“Doesn’t mean you’ll leave this building alive,” Martha said.Dead?Pearl’s heartbeat jarringly hammered against her ribs.“What do you mean?” Pearl asked, taking hesitant steps back...“Well, let’s find out.”“Talking of the police.” A harsh, jagged laugh tore through the corridor, followed by the sound of something heavy—a brass bust from the lobby—being dragged across the floor.“The police? Miller? They’re playing catch-up, Pearl. They’re halfway to the school, chasing a car I ditched three blocks away. I knew this house before you were even a thought in Ace Warren’s mind.”Pearl reached the heavy oak door of Ace’s study. Her fingers fumbled with the handle, her breath hitching as it turned. She slipped inside, but the scent of Ace’s cologne hit her so hard she wished he was there.She moved behind the sizeable desk, her hands sweeping under the lip of the wood until her fingers brushed the cold, recessed button. She pressed it firmly, holdin

Chapter 44(Home in the Shadows) The next few days at the safe house were a strange, beautiful blur of domesticity that Pearl never thought she would experience with a man like Ace Warren.Without the staff, the roles shifted. Ace, a man who probably hadn’t made a sandwich since college, found himself standing in the kitchen with Mia, attempting to flip pancakes while Pearl navigated the laundry room.“Dad! You’re burning it!” Mia giggled, pointing at a puff of smoke rising from the griddle.“I am not burning it, Mia. I am… caramelising the edges,” Ace defended himself, though he looked at Pearl with a silent plea for help.Pearl laughed, stepping in to take the spatula. “Go sit down, Mr CEO. Stick to hostile takeovers. I’ll handle the breakfast.”Ace sat at the breakfast bar next to Mia, watching Pearl move through the kitchen. He looked relaxed in a way that felt unfamiliar. The sharp, guarded edge he always carried at the mansion had softened in the quiet privacy of the safe house

Chapter 46(The Distance He Chose)The skyline of New York City rose like a jagged wall of glass and steel, but from the top floor of the AW Group headquarters, it looked like a toy set Ace had already conquered.He sat behind his desk, his eyes burning from lack of sleep, staring at a tablet displaying a viral headline from a major tabloid.BLOOD IN THE MANSION: WARREN ESTATE MANAGER ARRESTED IN KIDNAPPING PLOT.Below it was a grainy photo of Martha being led away in handcuffs. The story was spreading faster than his PR team could contain it.His private mobile vibrated against the polished mahogany surface. He didn’t need to check the caller ID to know who it was. Only one person had this number and the audacity to call him three times within ten minutes.He swiped to answer.“Grandmother, I’m in the middle of a—”“You are in the middle of a disaster, Ace,” a sharp, regal voice cut him off.Isabella Warren sounded as if she were speaking from a throne, not from a villa in Italy.“I

Chapter 48 (The Woman in the Shadows)The morning of the Warren Foundation Gala arrived with a clinical, high-speed energy that made the mansion feel more like a command centre than a home. Pearl hadn’t seen Ace since the previous evening. He had been sequestered in the west wing with Isabella, submerged in back-to-back meetings with legal teams and crisis managers. Occasionally, she would catch a glimpse of him through a cracked door—his shirt sleeves rolled up, his face tight with a tension that seemed to be radiating from his very bones. He didn’t look toward the nursery. He didn’t look for her.At exactly 2:00 PM, a knock sounded on Pearl’s door. It wasn’t the familiar, playful tap of Diana. It was a synchronised, rhythmic knock—the kind that belonged to professionals. When Pearl opened the door, she was greeted by four women dressed in identical black jumpsuits, led by a man with sharp features and a tape measure draped around his neck like a noose. Behind them, two security gu

Chapter 50(The Return of the Cold Boss)For a few fleeting seconds, Pearl believed something between them had shifted.She could still feel the warmth of Ace’s hand at her waist and hear the quiet certainty she thought she had seen in his eyes as they moved together across the floor. The ballroom seemed to fade around them, and she had allowed herself to believe that the distance he normally kept so carefully had finally vanished.Then a sharp metallic sound cut through the music somewhere behind them.“Pearl.”The moment shattered. The scent of lilies returned all at once, thick and overwhelming in the air above them, and the bright light of the spotlight suddenly felt too intense again. Pearl blinked as awareness of the ballroom settled back around her and realised they were still dancing exactly as they had been before.Ace’s arm rested at her waist tightly. Not in a protective way but holding her properly.His posture was upright again, controlled and measured, and the warmth she