Lahat ng Kabanata ng Stripper by Night, Doctor by Deception : Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

RYANRicardo didn’t answer me.Instead, he turned slightly and snapped his fingers at one of the guards standing by the door."Bring in the chef," he barked, and that made my stomach twist tighter.A few seconds later, the door swung open again and in rushed a woman in a white chef's jacket, her hands trembling, her eyes darting between me and Ricardo like she already knew she was standing in the middle of a war zone."Tell him," Ricardo growled. "Tell Ryan exactly what you told me."The chef swallowed hard, wringing her hands."I…" she squeaked, then cleared her throat and tried again."Yesterday, while I was taking Ricardo's dinner up to his room... Ryan stopped me in the hallway."I stiffened."What?" I said sharply, but she didn’t even glance at me."He said..." she continued, voice shaking, "he said Ricardo had ordered something special for the night. That he… Ryan… had made changes to the meal based on Ricardo's new preference."She squeezed her eyes shut for half a second, as i

ELENA I looked at Rafael, and for a split second, the disgust I’d been suppressing twisted inside me like bile rising up my throat. Almost everyone in this godforsaken house reeked of secrets… rotten motives, false loyalties, and buried truths so deep they thought no one would dig them up. Ricardo with his obsession for control. Marco, pretending to be harmless while cloaked in shadows. Bella, hiding behind silence and feigned concern. Even Rafael wasn’t left out. I forced a breath, composing myself before the emotions showed on my face. I had to stay sharp. Rafael was still staring at me, waiting. “It’s Marco,” I said flatly. His eyes widened. “What?” His thoughts screamed louder than his voice; Who the hell was this girl, and how did she know it was him? See her here spouting nonsense. I almost laughed. Idiot. He didn’t even try to hide his disbelief. I forced a small smile instead. “Yes. Marco. It’s him.” He opened his mouth, probably to challenge me again, but I turned

RICARDOI stumbled back and hit the floor hard, but I didn’t feel it.What the hell had I done?My breathing turned ragged, shallow, like my lungs couldn’t remember how to work. My hands trembled as I stared at the spot where Ryan had been… blood-stained, broken, barely holding on. And it was me. I did that. I fucking did that.I gripped my hair, dragging my fingers down my skull like I could tear the guilt out of me.“Fuck,” I muttered. “Fuck… fuck, fuck!”My voice echoed off the walls, but it didn’t make me feel any less hollow.I thought he wanted me dead. I really believed that. After everything I’d given him… every piece of myself I let him see, every wall I let down… I thought he was playing me. That he'd been waiting for the perfect moment to twist the knife.And now?Now I find out he was innocent.I’d hurt him.Nearly killed him.All because of Marco’s lie. Because I couldn’t see past my own damn paranoia.I slammed my fist into the concrete. Pain shot up my arm, but I didn’t

DETECTIVE JOHN“This shit’s taking too long.”I slammed the file shut and leaned back in my chair, the leather creaking under me. The clock on the wall ticked past midnight. Two damn weeks. That’s how long it’s been since we talked about bringing Bella in for questioning.And still… nothing.She hadn’t left that building more than a handful of times, and every time, it was for less than twenty minutes. No chance to intercept. No go-ahead from the boss. Across the room, Clara was lounging on the couch with her legs tucked under her, sipping from a can of soda and scrolling her phone like we weren’t waist-deep in a swamp of dead ends.“You even listening to me?” I snapped.She finally glanced up, raising a perfectly sculpted brow. “I heard you. Loud and whiny.”I stood, pacing. “We were supposed to have her in here by now. Instead, we’re still playing surveillance like a couple of rookies waiting for crumbs. You don’t find that suspicious?”Clara finally looked up, her eyes sharp despi

BELLAAs I drove back home, my heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.How the hell did they find out I knew Michael?How did they even know I was seeing him?“Shit… shit… shit,” I muttered under my breath, gripping the steering wheel tighter until my knuckles turned white.I swerved into a quiet side street and parked.Then I screamed. Loud and raw. The kind of scream that ripped out from somewhere deep inside me.It echoed in the empty street, bouncing off the walls. slammed both hands against the steering wheel and dropped my head against it, panting.I was turning into someone I didn’t recognize. A monster. Since the day I stepped into that damn house, I’d been making choices I swore I’d never make. Lying. Scheming. Breaking things inside me I once thought were unbreakable.But it was too late to back out now.I wasn’t going to give up. Not now. Not ever.I sat up straight and let out a long, shaky breath. Thank God I hadn’t said anything to them. No matter how m