CHAPTER 20

Isaac’s FuneralThe clouds hung low like a mourning veil, thick and unmoving. Rain hadn’t fallen yet, but the air was wet with grief and the promise of a storm. The cemetery was quiet, the usual noise of life muted by the weight of death. Only the wind moved, slipping through the trees, curling around the gravestones, whispering sorrow.Nicholas stood in front of the casket, hands in his pockets, jaw locked so tightly it ached. His black coat fluttered slightly in the wind, but he didn’t move. He hadn’t spoken a word since he arrived.The priest droned on, voice trembling through prayers and hollow reassurances. Nicholas didn’t hear a single word. His eyes were fixed on the polished mahogany casket before him—Isaac’s final bed.His little brother.Gone.He had imagined many things—arguments, bruises, laughter, Isaac storming out and coming back with that smug grin—but never this. Never a grave. Never silence.The priest said, “May he rest in peace,” and stepped back.Nicholas stepped

Last Updated : 2025-04-18

CHAPTER 21

The door chimed as Chloe stepped out of the café into the crisp morning air, Adrian close behind her like a shadow she couldn’t shake. Everything outside looked the same—cars passing, a cyclist ringing his bell, the faint buzz of city life—but to Chloe, everything felt wrong. It was like walking into a dream she couldn’t wake up from.Her legs felt heavy, trembling with each step. Adrian didn’t touch her, but his presence loomed beside her like a loaded gun cocked and ready. He nodded toward a sleek black car parked just a few feet down the street.“Keep walking,” he said, tone light like they were discussing weather.She didn’t want to. Every part of her body screamed to run, to fight, to cry for help. But her mind flashed to the strangers in her café. The couple by the window. The man who smiled as she handed him his croissant. Adrian wasn’t bluffing. He would kill them without hesitation.Her steps carried her to the car, her breath shallow as he reached past her to open the back d

Last Updated : 2025-04-18

CHAPTER 22

Nicholas’s pulse thundered in his ears as the convoy weaved through the streets, engines growling like caged beasts. Rain lashed against the windshield, but his eyes didn’t blink. Couldn’t. Not when the only thing he could see was Chloe’s face.And Adrian Grey’s name etched across her fate.“She’s with him,” Nicholas said tightly, voice like broken glass. “That son of a bitch took her.”Across from him, Luca sat silent, jaw clenched. He knew better than to speak.Nicholas’s grip tightened on the tablet in his lap, the final image of Chloe burned into it—her in the passenger seat of that SUV, head slumped, unconscious.And beside her: Adrian. Calm. Composed. Like this was just another day in the game he never stopped playing.Nicholas hadn’t spoken Isaac’s name in while. Had buried the pain, the rage. But now it was crawling back to the surface like something feral.Adrian Grey. The man who slit his brother’s throat and disappeared.And now he had Chloe.“She’s not just bait,” Nicholas

Last Updated : 2025-06-12

CHAPTER 23

CHLOE’s POV The warehouse was thick with the stench of gunpowder, sweat, and blood. But all Chloe could hear was her heartbeat. Loud. Deafening. Then—footsteps. Slow. Heavy. Nicholas. Her eyes locked on him as he crossed the distance between them. His face was unreadable. Blood smeared across his jaw. His knuckles raw. He didn’t speak at first. Just stood there, staring at her like she was the last puzzle piece in a world that no longer made sense. And then—he dropped to his knees. His hands gripped her shoulders—tight, almost painful—but it wasn’t fear that choked her. It was the look in his eyes. Not rage. Not hatred. Grief. He leaned closer, his voice hoarse, one word rasping from his lips like a blade dragged across his throat. “Isaac.” Her breath caught. Her eyes welled up instantly. She knew. The name hit her like a gunshot to the chest. Adrian had said it—a brother for a brother. And now she understood why Nicholas had come, why he looked

Last Updated : 2025-06-12

CHAPTER 24

Chloe’S POVThe bruises on her wrists had faded. The memories hadn’t.Every morning started the same — mechanically. Eyes open. Breathe. Get up. Don’t think. Coffee. Shower. Breathe again.The sun spilled through the kitchen window like it didn’t know what she’d been through. The birds still chirped. The world, oblivious, spun on.But Chloe hadn’t moved.Not really.She’d managed to walk out of that warehouse alive — barefoot, aching, dirty — with blood still ringing in her ears and Adrian’s twisted smile burned into her mind. She had hitchhiked home in silence, sitting in the backseat of a truck that smelled like gasoline and too many cigarettes. The driver hadn’t asked questions. She hadn’t offered answers.When her mother saw her — the torn clothes, the blank eyes, the dried blood on her temple — she hadn’t said anything at first. She just pulled her daughter into her arms and let her sob until her knees gave out.It was the first time Chloe had ever cried like that. For herself. F

Last Updated : 2025-06-17

CHAPTER 25

Chloe’S POVLATER THAT NIGHTThe night air wrapped around Chloe like a cold shroud as she sat by the window, knees drawn to her chest, her forehead pressed to the cool glass. Her bedroom—usually her sanctuary—felt like a prison now. A quiet, still, echoing place where memories screamed louder than silence ever could.She hadn’t turned the light on. Couldn’t. The shadows felt safer somehow. More honest.Her mother had fallen asleep hours ago, curled up on the couch downstairs after trying everything—tea, soup, prayer, tears. Chloe hadn’t said much. Just the truth, straight and jagged: I was taken. Nicholas left me there. Adrian is dead. And I’m the reason Isaac isn’t alive.Her mother hadn’t spoken after that. Just held her. Just wept.Now, the house was still, and Chloe was alone. The ache in her muscles from the ropes, the bruises around her wrists, the pounding exhaustion in her skull—none of it compared to the storm inside her chest.Nicholas had looked her in the eye.He had gripp