All Chapters of WOUNDS OF DECEIT: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Elena POVAdrian extended his hand, the smile on his face bordering on arrogant. “Care to steal her for a dance?”I felt Damien’s hesitation ripple through his body like an aftershock. His hand twitched against my waist, as if unsure whether to pull me closer or push me away. Then, slowly—grudgingly—he let go.“Okay,” he said, his voice tight. “Go ahead.”My eyes snapped to him. “What?” I whispered, incredulous. But he was already stepping back, jaw locked, eyes refusing to meet mine.I turned to Adrian, swallowing the sick taste rising in my throat. The man standing before me was the man I once watched destroy everything I loved he was grinning like a wolf with blood on its teeth. He had no idea who I was. My new face, my new name, and the carefully sculpted mask I wore—it had worked.He didn’t recognize the woman he’d helped ruin.I slid my hand into his with a composure I didn’t feel.“For the cameras,” I told myself.The ballroom melted into gold and motion again as we began to da

Damien’s POVThe sound of the door slamming woke me up before the alarm could. I didn’t need to check to know it was her. Elena has a very specific way of making her presence known subtlety was never her style. I stayed in bed for a few more minutes, staring at the ceiling. Peace was a currency in this house, and mornings like this meant I was already bankrupt. Eventually, I got up and made my way down the hall, the cold marble under my feet doing little to ease the tension growing in my spine. I passed by her room, her designated room, and paused. The door was cracked open. The first thing I noticed was the mess. Clothes were strewn across the floor like a storm had passed through. A pair of heels was tossed near the foot of the bed, one overturned. The bed itself was only half-made, pillows scattered, a blanket hanging off one side like it had tried to escape her in the middle of the night. And on the vanity? Lipsticks without caps, jewelry tangled into knots, a half-eaten croi

Adrian’s POV“Eighty percent.”The number echoed like a curse in the boardroom.I stared down at the report as if the sheer force of my glare could change the numbers printed there in black ink. But no amount of fury could alter the fact: someone had swept the floor out from under us. Charlotte’s company, our company, had been stripped without a whisper of warning.The room was filled with whispers, gasps, and panic as the board tried to process the news. But I wasn’t listening. I was watching Charlotte, who sat across the table like a marble statue, pale and unreadable.The chairman cleared his throat awkwardly. “The shares were bought in blocks over the past two weeks through various shell companies. As of this morning, eighty percent ownership now belongs to a single anonymous investor.”Anonymous.I clenched my jaw so hard it ached.“Who authorized the sale?” I growled.“Technically… they didn’t need to. The shares were public. It’s legal.”Legal.Right.That didn’t make it any le

Elena’s POVHe really strangled me.The memory hadn’t faded, not even a little. His hand, crushing and merciless, had wrapped around my neck like I was nothing more than a pawn that had failed him.But I hadn’t begged. I hadn’t cried. I had walked away.Not from the mission.Not from the truth.Just from him.I packed my bag in silence, collected the few things I’d dared to call mine in that house, and stepped out of the room that had once felt like a temporary haven.I didn’t leave the estate. That would’ve been too easy. Too simple for someone like Damien to forget me.Instead, I moved into the one place no one cared to enter, the appliance room.It was tucked behind the kitchen, reeking faintly of detergent, oil, and time. But it had a door. It had space. And it was far away from Damien Blackwood.I dragged in an old blanket and propped myself against the wall, the hum of machinery and the occasional rattle of pipes keeping me company through the long nights.He didn’t come looking

Adrian POVThe house was too quiet when I got home. No cheers, no relief, just a hollow silence that made the walls close in around me. The shares were back. The company was mine again. But inside, I was a storm barely contained.The phone call had come from someone unknown, a voice clipped and cold with a plan that had saved me. Sell what didn’t matter, buy back what counted. The pieces had moved silently, and before anyone knew, control was back in my hands.But the victory felt like ashes in my mouth.Charlotte was in the kitchen when I walked in. She didn’t turn to greet me, just leaned against the counter, scrolling through her phone, jaw tight, lips pressed into a thin line.“You’re late,” she said flatly.“Meeting ran long,” I replied, trying to sound casual, but the exhaustion leaked into my voice.She snorted without humor. “You got the shares back. Big deal. What else did you screw up today?”The bitterness in her tone cut deeper than I expected. I closed the distance betwee