All Chapters of His Darkest Temptation: Chapter 51 - Chapter 56

Morning crept in uncertainly, as if it didn’t belong. Light spilled through the high windows of Adrian’s estate, tracing faint lines across Isabella’s bare shoulders. She stood quietly, dressing without a word, the silence between them heavier than anything they had said. Their bodies had spoken in desperation last night, each kiss a confession, each touch a fragile truce. But daylight didn’t care about longing. It asked for clarity.Adrian didn’t speak as he led her through the estate. They passed solemn-faced staff, all too careful not to meet her eyes. Down the corridors. Past rooms soaked in memory. The floor grew colder, stone giving way to tile, polished and sterile. As they descended, the illusion of comfort peeled away. There was nothing soft about the level below.He moved with purpose—keycard, code, fingerprint, retinal scan. Each lock broke with a hiss, each step taking her deeper into the truth. When the final door opened, Isabella realized she’d been holding her breath.T

The behavioral conditioning wing pulsed with a cold, clinical silence. Beneath the Society’s polished surface, it was a place meant to disarm. The walls were soundproofed. The floors are sterile. And Isabella walked them with her mask—Verity Lane—securely in place, though she could feel it cracking.She hadn’t slept. Not after Merrow’s accusations or Adrian’s guilt. She’d planned to lie low until the ritual. But the board had decided otherwise.That morning, the summons arrived—sterile, final. “Dr. Lane is to undergo a trust-building exercise. Attendance mandatory. Streamed for board review. All personal devices will be surrendered.”She had expected something eventually. But not this soon. Not this public. The board would watch. Allies. Enemies. Waiting to see which way she broke. It was a test, and a trap. If she faltered, she was done. If she played it too well, they’d know.The chamber looked built to unravel someone. Mirrors lined the walls—some angled to reflect her from every

The storm had finally broken, leaving behind a bruised silver dawn over Cornwall. From her suite’s narrow window, Isabella watched the rain-slicked garden shimmer unnaturally beneath the pale sky. The retreat, once pristine, now felt like a bunker. The air inside is too still. Her breath felt caged.Her mind raced. Adrian’s collapse in the observatory. The words they’d hurled. The look in his eyes before she walked away. Whatever tether had bound them now dangled frayed and fragile. The bridge wasn’t gone. But it wasn’t passable either.Her laptop buzzed—a low, persistent vibration. Encrypted call. A secure channel only a few knew. The screen flashed: Secure Line – URGENT.She plugged in her earpiece, checked the door, and answered.“Lily?” she whispered, her voice already threadbare.“Don’t say your name,” Lily snapped, brisk and urgent. “Don’t say your location. Just listen. I’ve got three minutes.”Isabella straightened, muscles tight. “Go ahead.”“I’ve been monitoring chatter sinc