جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 170

Elena shoved him lightly.He didn’t move an inch.“Roman...”He cut her off with another kiss, slow at first, but deepening as she responded despite herself. His hand slid to her waist, pulling her closer, the sheets rustling around them.“Elena,” he breathed against her skin, “I’m not finished with you.”Her fingers tightened around him.“Roman,” she whispered, soft, involuntary.He exhaled sharply. Lost for a second. Completely undone by the way she said his name.“That,” he murmured, “right there. You undo me every time.”She shivered.He noticed.And kissed her again.Elena eventually escaped Roman’s arms.It took strategy. And distraction. And Roman muttering into her shoulder, “Five more minutes,” like a spoiled king refusing to rise.But she managed it.Barely.When she finally reached the dining room after freshening up, she expected an empty table.What she got instead...Roman.Already seated.Already watching her walk in.Already pulling out the chair next to him, not acros

Reporters shouted over each other as Elena’s car approached the precinct.“She is now arriving at the police station...”“...Officers are preparing to escort her inside...”“...Roman Thorne is nowhere in sight, but sources say he is deploying legal countermeasures...”The senator’s lips curled in triumph.“Let him deploy whatever he wants,” he said softly. “She’s in custody. She can’t wiggle out of this one.”His advisor hesitated. “Sir… they say Elena Sinclair is smarter than she looks.”The senator chuckled. “No one is smarter than the law.”He raised his glass toward the screen... Elena stepping out of the patrol car, surrounded by officers, walking into the precinct with calm confidence.“To justice,” he said.His daughter, Lysandra, slunk into the room, still emotionally bruised from yesterday.“Did they arrest her?” she asked, voice trembling.“Yes,” the senator said. “And by tomorrow, the entire country will see her for what she is.”Lysandra’s lips twitched into a cruel smile.

“It’s suspicious behavior...”“No,” Elena said, “it’s normal behavior. People were panicking. I stepped away.”Roman’s voice dipped into a low, lethal growl beside her. “You’re reaching, Detective.”Howard’s hands trembled as he grabbed at the last sheet of paper.“And.. and we have footage of Councilman Harrow speaking to you earlier that night...”Elena leaned back in her chair, looking almost bored. “That’s your best evidence.”Howard blinked. “What?”“You’re basing an arrest on a thirty second conversation,” she said. “With no audio. No conflict. And no context.”Her voice sharpened. “And now you’re dragging me in front of the entire city under an emergency warrant your department barely understood before signing.”Victoria slammed her folder shut.“Detective Howard,” she said crisply, “we are filing a suppression motion on every single piece of supposed evidence introduced today. You have nothing but political pressure and circumstantial nonsense.”Howard’s shoulders slumped.He

The precinct doors pushed open.Light hit them first. Then noise. Then chaos.The barricades strained under the weight of reporters leaning forward.Microphones shot up like weapons.Cameras flashed so violently the air itself felt electric. And into that chaos stepped Elena Thorne.Not in handcuffs.Not flanked by officers.Not escorted out like a criminal.She walked beside Roman, chin lifted, posture regal, eyes glinting like the dawn’s blade.The crowd roared.“ELENA! ARE YOU INNOCENT?”“ROMAN! DID YOU THREATEN THE POLICE?”“MRS. THORNE, DID YOU KILL COUNCILMAN HARROW?”“IS THIS POLITICAL...?”“ARE YOU FILING A COUNTERSUIT...?”Roman raised a hand, commanding silence.It didn’t calm them completely. But it slowed them.Victoria stepped forward, adjusting the mic stand as dozens of cameras zoomed in.Her voice cut through the air clean and sharp, slicing the tension open.“On behalf of the Thorne family,” she said, “I am confirming that Mrs. Elena Thorne is no longer a suspect in t

Jace’s face lit up like somebody had turned the dimmer all the way to heaven.“Oh my God, Marcus, you’re gonna make me blush.”Marcus tilted his head, eyes lowering to Jace’s lips just long enough to send a thrill through him.“Would that be a bad thing?” he asked quietly.Jace’s brain exploded.Words were gone.English left the chat.His soul ascended into the wallpaper.Marcus hid the irritation burning through him.This is the one Elena’s close to?This soft, trusting little idiot?He forced the annoyance down and let his voice dip lightly: “You look good when you smile. And you’ve been stressed. I thought you could use… company.”Jace covered his face. “Please stop, I can’t handle this...”Marcus leaned in just a little. Just enough to breach Jace’s space. Just enough to make him forget danger existed at all.“I like being around you,” Marcus said.Jace peeked between his fingers like a shy child. “You… you do?”Marcus nodded.Internally: He’s gullible. This is almost too easy.Ex