All Chapters of LIES OF THE HEART: Sequel to Fragile ties of love : Chapter 11 - Chapter 16

LIAM: Beatrice's father was still fuming, spitting threats, when my father moved.The crack of his hand across my face came so fast, so sharp, my head snapped sideways. My cheek burned, the metallic tang of blood rising in my mouth.For a heartbeat, everything stilled. Even Beatrice gasped.I turned back slowly, meeting my father's eyes. Fury churned in my chest, but he wasn't raging like me. No—his fury was ice. Controlled. Deadly.His voice was low, but it carried like a blade through the air. "You will not humiliate this family again, Liam."I clenched my fists, breathing hard, but he stepped closer, towering over me, his presence heavy and suffocating."You think your anger makes you righteous?" he hissed, his words meant for me alone. "It makes you weak. Pathetic. A liability. If you cannot bury the past and do your duty, then you will be nothing. Nothing but a disgrace to me, to this house, to the name you carry."His hand gripped my jaw, forcing me to look at him. "You want to

LAUREN/ZARAThe stink hit me first—sweat, smoke, stale liquor, and the iron tang of blood.The hideout wasn't much more than a gutted warehouse, shadows stacked in the corners like predators. The flickering bulb overhead gave everything a sickly, yellow pallor, as if the walls themselves had rotted.Two men near the entrance straightened the second I stepped through. Tattoos climbed their necks like vines, their eyes narrowing beneath the brim of their caps. One flicked his cigarette to the floor, grinding it out with the heel of his boot."Who the hell are you?" the taller one demanded, shifting his weight forward like a dog about to lunge. His hand hovered near his belt, where the outline of a gun sat plain as day.My pulse skipped, but I forced my stride steady. No flinching. No hesitation. Lauren didn't hesitate."Courier," I said, voice flat, chin tilted just enough to imply authority I didn't have. I held up the burner phone like it was credentials, the screen still dark. "Your

LIAM: Her weight collapsed against me, heavy and unyielding, like she'd poured every last drop of strength into that final move."Lauren..." I shook her, too hard, my voice already breaking. Her head lolled against my arm, braid unraveling, strands of hair sticky with blood. My chest squeezed so violently I thought it would split open.Her body was going limp. Too limp."No, no, no...stay with me," I begged, my hands frantic, trying to press against the wound at her neck, my palms useless against the hot spill soaking through my fingers. Her blood. Her life. Right there, leaking away while she lay in my arms."Don't you dare..."My throat closed, the words half-choked, half-snarled. "Don't you dare leave me like this."Behind me, boots thundered into the room,Julian shouting orders, guards flooding the hideout,but they were ghosts at the edge of my vision. All I could see was her. All I could feel was her slipping away.I cradled her closer, rocking her like movement could anchor her