All Chapters of WOUNDS OF DECEIT: Chapter 41 - Chapter 48

Elena – POV"You want the key to my brother’s mansion?” Damien asked, one brow arching in suspicion as he leaned against the doorframe of his office.I met his gaze, unreadable. “Yes.”He studied me for a moment. I didn’t flinch, didn’t blink. Just waited.“Why?”I shrugged, pretending I didn’t care more than I did. “To get information. How else am I supposed to uncover the truth?”He didn’t say anything at first. The silence between us stretched long enough to make the walls feel smaller. But then, wordlessly, he turned to his desk, pulled open the drawer, and tossed the key toward me.I caught it midair.“Thanks,” I said simply.As I turned to go, I paused. “Also… can I take your car?”That earned me a slow, suspicious glance. “Gas tank’s full. Don’t crash it.”I smirked. “Wouldn’t dare.”I left his room with the cold metal key pressed into my palm. I didn’t know what I’d find at Lucas’s house if anything but I needed to try. Time was bleeding out fast, and I wasn’t about to waste i

Elena – POV"Charlotte, I’m going to kill her.”The fury in Damien’s voice was like thunder cracking open the walls of his office. His chair scraped against the tiled floor as he stood, fists clenched, shoulders taut with rage. For a second, he wasn’t Damien anymore he was wrath incarnate, pure, undiluted grief twisted into something sharp and dangerous.I stepped in front of him without thinking.“No,” I whispered, my palms pressing against his chest.His heartbeat was a wild, frantic drum beneath my hands.“Move, Elena,” he warned, his voice low, trembling not from fear, but fury. “I need to”“No,” I repeated, stronger this time. “You can’t.”He stared at me. For a breath, I didn’t think he saw me at all. His eyes were glassy, consumed by the image of his brother, by the sound of his voice saying “Adrian and Charlotte are the reason” but then they flicked downward, to the tears streaking my cheeks.“Elena…”I didn’t let him finish. I stepped back, wiping my eyes roughly with my slee

Damien – POV"Elena,” I called, standing just outside the bathroom door, my voice low and still heavy with the weight of the night before.There was a pause, a rustle, and then her voice floated out, shaky and breathless. “Why… don’t you come in?”I chuckled but didn’t move. The door stayed firmly shut between us, but I didn’t need to see her to picture her flushed cheeks, that vulnerable look in her eyes she always tried to hide. God, it was burned into my memory now. Everything from last night was.“I’m heading to work,” I said, more gently this time. “Left the car key on the table. Bring it when you come.”“Okay,” she answered. Her voice was soft almost too soft. Like she wanted to say something more but couldn’t find the words.I waited a beat longer, then turned and headed out the door.But as I stepped into the morning sun, reality hit harder than I expected. We’d had sex. Last night. In the middle of heartbreak, grief, and rage, we’d lost ourselves in each other. I’d kissed her

Elena POVThe sharp ringing of his phone cut through the silence between us, pulling us apart before either of us could make sense of what had just happened. Damien’s lips hovered near mine, his breath still hot on my skin, but his eyes flicked toward the source of the sound.“I have to take this,” he muttered, already backing away, jaw tight.I nodded, saying nothing. My face was flushed, my body still tingling from his touch, from how quickly the space between us had disappeared, only to return again just like that.He left the room, his phone pressed to his ear, and I stood there for a moment longer, hand resting on the edge of the kitchen counter. I swallowed hard and stared out the window like it would give me answers. But it didn’t. It never did.The next morning came faster than I’d wanted. I hadn’t been able to sleep much. The way he’d looked at me, the way our bodies had collided without thought, without planning it played in my mind on a loop. I couldn’t understand him. One