Lahat ng Kabanata ng Masked Desires: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 56

The rain had slowed, falling now in a soft drizzle that clung to Minnie’s hair and soaked through her clothes as she trudged through the undergrowth. Her shoes were caked in mud, and her legs ached from the frantic drive and the alcohol still muddling her blood. But she kept moving—because she had no other choice.She had veered her car off a forest maintenance road over half an hour ago and hadn’t dared return to it. The men—Amanda’s men—had followed her. They were watching. Waiting. Maybe even circling around.Now she was alone in the woods, without signal, without direction, trying to find the main road again before they did.Her breath misted in the cold night air, her coat plastered to her skin. Every snapped twig underfoot made her jump. Her throat burned with exhaustion, and the fog in her head refused to clear. But she pushed forward.Until she heard them.Voices.Rough. Male.Coming from the direction she had just left.She ducked instinctively behind a tree, heart pounding i

The storm hadn’t let up.Rain battered the windshield of the dark sedan as it idled near a lone gas station on the outskirts of the forest road. The flickering fluorescent lights overhead did little to break the gloom of the storm, casting the entire area in a sickly blue hue. Lightning streaked across the sky, followed closely by the rumble of thunder.Inside the car, Minnie’s wrists throbbed where the rough ropes had cut into her skin. Her lips were split and swollen from the earlier scuffle, and every inch of her body ached from being tossed around. Her dress was soaked, clinging to her like a second skin, and her hair was plastered to her cheeks.But none of that mattered.Because they’d made a mistake.The two thugs—brutish, unshaven men reeking of cheap cigarettes and violence—had stepped out to grab cigarettes and drinks from the gas station convenience store. They had assumed she was too tightly bound, too beaten, and too broken to do anything.They were wrong.Minnie’s eyes d

Amanda’s heels clicked sharply against the marble floor of the Hunter estate. Her lips were painted a venomous red, hair twisted into a perfect updo as if chaos hadn’t touched her doorstep. But it had—and Hunter knew it.“I’m done, Amanda,” he snapped, flinging open the French doors to the study. “This is not what I signed up for.”Amanda followed, arms crossed, expression bored. “You say that every time I do something necessary.”“Necessary?” Hunter barked. “You blackmailed my brother’s wife. You released confidential information to the press. You’ve turned this entire family into a circus!”“Oh, spare me the morality act,” she said, smoothing a nonexistent wrinkle on her blouse. “You were more than happy to sit back and enjoy the chaos when it meant Ethan lost everything. Don’t pretend you grew a conscience overnight.”“I was angry at him. Not her.”Amanda’s eyes narrowed. “You’re growing soft. What happened to the man who said we’d burn them both to the ground?”“I found my soul,”