Lahat ng Kabanata ng Bound by the Billionaire's Claim: Kabanata 211 - Kabanata 220

It was a heavy silence, oppressive in the car. The envelope that Gabriel had given them lay between them like an angry ticking time bomb, its weight far greater than the paper it contained.Maya’s fingers fluttered in her lap. She wanted to tear it open, to learn the name of the man whose instructions they had been instructed to kill, but at the same time she also understood it wouldn’t change anything.Tested they had been by the Order. And the only route to passage was through blood.She glanced over at Zane, noticing the way his jaw clenched, his silver eyes unreadable as city lights flashed by them. He had not spoken a word since they left The Dante Club.Then she spoke up. “Do not tell me you’re seriously considering this.”Zane inhaled slowly, drumming his fingers against his knee. “What choice do we have?”Maya clenched her jaw. “We find another way.”Zane laughed without humor, shaking his head. “There is no other way, Maya. You heard Gabriel. “Either we do this, or we’re dead

Maya leaned against the smooth wooden table in the safe house, rolling a knife between her fingers as she contemplated every possible outcome of what they were about to do.Murder Diego Moreau and pretend he was Luca.It was a dangerous gamble.But everything they did was dangerous now.Zane watched the city beyond the glass across the room, streetlights' glow behind him. There was something stiff about his posture, the way his mind appeared to be racing through every possible scenario, every possible downside.Maya inhaled deeply. “You realize this isn’t going to be pretty, right?”Zane didn’t turn. “Nothing ever is.”Victor laughed and leaned back in his chair. “For the record … this is some next-level insanity.”Elara palmed a smile, fingers dancing over her laptop. “And still, here you are, invested.”Victor sighed. “Yeah, well, I like to live.” He glanced at Zane. “You honestly believe The Order’s just going to take our word for it? They’ll want proof.”Zane finally looked at him

The glow of the laptop screen cast sharp shadows across Maya’s face as she sat in the dark room, studying Camille Devereaux’s routine. Wealthy. Sheltered. Untouchable. That was what she believed. That was what Julian had seen to. But no one was untouchable. Certainly not when they were a liability in a game like this.Zane stood at her side, silent, calculating, his silver gaze running through the same data, but Maya knew his mind was three steps ahead. Zane Moretti had made up his mind, and when one made up their mind, there was no going back.Victor breathed from the corner, tilting a glass of whiskey, his eyes darting between the two of them. “So wait a minute, let me get this straight. We kidnap Julian’s sister, keep her in a nice, warm, cozy spot, and play with her life like a corn cob until Julian decides that betraying The Order is a better bet than getting his sister killed. And if he doesn’t flip?” He shrugged. “Then we bury another body.”Maya didn’t flinch. She had imagined

All was quiet except for the clock on the wall ticking rhythmically. Every second that trickled by was another second closer to the moment that Julian Devereaux would either choose his sister over The Order or prove to Camille that she was nothing but an afterthought.Maya was standing at the window, gazing down at the city lights, arms folded across her chest. She had played a lot of dangerous games before this one? This one was different.This wasn’t about revenge. This wasn’t about power.This was about survival.Zane poured a drink behind her, slow deliberate movements. His eyes, the color of silver, were peaceful, but Maya had seen through that lie before. He was waiting. Calculating.Victor propped himself against the wall, arms extended over his head. So what’s the real plan when Julian arrives?He swirled the amber liquid in his glass. “You’re too smart to believe that,” Zane said with a smirk. “He thinks he has options so we allow him to think he does.”Victor raised an eyebr

The SUV barreled down the darkened street, the city's blinking lights fading behind it as they drove toward the outskirts. The estate where, Julian claimed, he was holding Camille was remote, fortified and precisely the sort of place where a man like Julian would stow someone whose fate he was unsure of.The backseat occupant, Maya, adjusted her gun, in and out in crescent movements. Her hands were steady, her mind a razor. There wasn’t any hesitation, any second-guessing. Camille was leverage, but she was also a test — Julian’s way of demonstrating that he still had the upper hand, that they were the ones who responded to him.That was about to change.Zane was next to her, silent, his silver eyes on the road ahead. He had said little since they pulled away from the safe house, but what Maya knew better than to interpret as anything other than controlled restraint. He was already formulating his plan for disassembling Julian.Victor was at the wheel, one hand guiding the car, the oth