บททั้งหมดของ Damien's Willing Captive : บทที่ 101 - บทที่ 110

Jace's POV "You want to do right by Jessie? Then come to the mansion. Bring whatever you find about Isabella straight to me there." I straightened, feeling more confident now that I'd gained some ground. "Jessie's been wanting to see you. Mother's been... difficult about letting her leave the house, as you know. But if you come with information about Isabella, with proof that you helped bring her home, well... maybe I could arrange for you and Jessie to have some time together. Properly. Without sneaking around like teenagers." Kyle's expression shifted, and for the first time since I'd known him, he looked genuinely surprised. "You'd do that? Go against your mother?" "For Isabella? For Jessie's happiness?" I nodded. "In a heartbeat." The criminal kingpin who ruled these streets with fear and violence looked, for just a moment, like a young man in love. Vulnerable. Human. "Forty-eight hours," he said finally. "I'll come to your fancy mansion with whatever I find. And Jace?

Jace’s POV The sound of the lock clicking from the outside was louder than thunder in my ears. I froze, hand still wrapped around the doorknob, every muscle in my body straining against the impossible reality…that Mother had locked us in. Jessie’s voice was small, almost childlike. “Jace…?” I shoved the door with my shoulder. The wood groaned but held. “Mom!” My voice bellowed down the hall. “Open this door. Right now.” For a long, suffocating moment, there was only silence. Then her voice drifted through the keyhole, calm and poisonous. “You’re not leaving. Not until this is finished. Alexander will be here soon, and Jessie will meet Alexander properly. This will all be settled before the night is over.” Jessie gasped, stepping closer. “You can’t be serious…Mother, you can’t just lock us in like animals!” Her laugh was low, brittle. “You’re young. You think love is the world. But marriage is about power, legacy. Alexander will protect you, Jessie. He will secure our

Isabella’s POV The bell cut through the laughter like a blade. Everyone froze. Forks hung midair. Even Jaxon’s jaw flexed like he was chewing glass. “Who the hell—” one of the men started. “Mateo,” Jaxon barked. The tall, dark-haired one peeled himself off the wall and padded to the monitor. He bent down, squinting at the screen. A moment later he turned, expression unreadable. “It’s the nurse.” For a beat, Jaxon looked confused, almost like he had forgotten. Then, muttering something under his breath, he smacked his own forehead. “Right. Ellie’s checkup. Shit.” He waved at one of the guys. “Bring her up. And for fuck’s sake, don’t scare her. She’s here for Ellie.” I inhaled deep, flexing my fingers, rolling my neck like I was warming up for a fight. Which, in a way, I was. My fight just didn’t happen in a ring. Mine was a different kind of contest…the escaping contest. I stood, stacking plates. Jaxon’s eyes snapped to me. “Leave it. That’s against the rules.”

Isabella’s POV Oh. My. God. I did it again. The first time, I kicked him down there. That was last week. Right? This time, I knee-jerked him right in his nose. I mean, what are the odds? Twice in a row? I should get a medal in Creative Ways to Die Young. Damien’s glare could’ve melted steel. Blood poured from his nose like the wrath of Satan himself, dripping down his lips, staining his chest. He looked like a cross between a gladiator fresh from the pit and a vampire who bit the wrong artery. Oh geez. I just broke Damien’s nose. Okay, technically I didn’t break it…yet…but judging by the Niagara Falls of blood pouring down his face, I definitely gave it a hell of a head start. My brain screamed Run! but my stupid injured foot screamed louder: Sit your ass down before we both die. Damien’s chest rose and fell like he was one exhale away from turning into a dragon. His nostrils flared wide, blood dripping onto his perfectly ironed shirt, staining it in angry red blotch

Isabella’s POV The voice sliced through me like a blade dipped in acid. I whipped my head around so fast my neck cracked, eyes wide, pulse slamming in my throat. Empty. The hallway stretched behind me, lit dimly, still, lifeless. Shadows danced across the walls, but no figure. No one. My breath hitched, rattling out of me. I wasn’t crazy. I heard her. I know that voice. That mocking lilt. Those vowels, sharpened into knives. That voice that used to crawl under my skin and make me want to rip my ears off just to get away from it. HER. It couldn’t be. “Maybe I'm just hallucinating,” I whispered to myself, pinning my ear harder against Ellie’s door, trying to drown out the questions in my head. But my body wouldn’t stop trembling. Inside, chaos brewed. Ellie’s muffled struggling. The sharp clatter of metal trays crashing against the floor. A nurse’s exasperated sigh, muttering curses under her breath. Something heavy toppled…wood scraping, maybe a table? Or hope