All Chapters of Daddy's Little Secret : Chapter 31 - Chapter 39

MelissaThe room smelled of rust and old rain and it wasn't just the moisture creeping through the cracked walls of the cannery, it was the kind of smell that came from things that had been left to rot as i kept pacing, my bare feet adhering slightly to the warped floorboards and the pound of my own pulse sounding louder than my feet.The light overhead buzzed flickered then steadied again casting everything in this washed-out yellow. Rashid sat in the corner watching me like a cat watching a mouse that had nowhere to run with his jacket hung open and his shirt sleeves rolled revealing forearms corded with muscle and veins.“Keep pacing like that” he said with a lazy voice “and you’ll wear a trench into my floor”"I wouldn't be pacing if you'd release me" My voice was sharper than i meant it to be but i didn't bother to fix it. My chest felt tight with every breath in like sandpaper.He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed "You're here for your own good, Melissa and Jamal's. Do you

MelissaThe universe fell into the space of that shot and i couldn't breathe for a second as Rashid's pistol was still pressed against Jamal's skull, his eyeballs protruding and his body rigid as though he'd been struck by lightning and then it all broke, he rolled forward and the gun slipped from his grasp.What tore from me was half gasp, half cry.Blood flowered on Rashid's shoulder, his jacket darkening rapidly as he spun around growling and eyes flashing to the doorway. A second shot splintered the wood a mere inch from his temple. He crouched, screaming orders in Arabic and chaos erupted.The man holding me shoved me hard into the wall so i slammed into it and his grip unrelenting on my arm "Run!" he shouted trying to drag me toward the door but Jamal, he was still bound, wrists behind him and blood streaming down his temple but even then, he was staring at me and his body twisted like daring Rashid to try again.Something inside me snapped as i bit down hard on the hand pulling

MelissaFalling is a lot like drowning.The world doesn't rush past you—it closes in around you. Air is ripped from your lungs, pressure crushes the ribs from your chest, and your head reaches out for something solid, something that will never come.That's what it felt like when the ground vanished beneath us, the manor collapsing into a sinkhole of flames and smoke. One minute I was clinging to Jamal, my cheek pressed against the heat of his chest, the next I was airborne, the earth gone, plummeting into a black abyss with only terror keeping me whole."Don't let go!" I screamed, my voice raspy, my throat burning.His arms wrapped around me at once. I felt the tension in his muscles, the strain of his breathing, the way he pressed me to him as if he'd be destroyed before he'd release me."I've got you!" he shouted back, his voice a lifeline in the chaos.But no matter how tight his hold, reality teased me—he couldn't stop the fall.Shards of debris rained down, metal and stone crashi

Jamal's POV Eleanor Kingsley.The mere mention of the name sent a shiver through me but to see her in the flesh, alive, polished and unperturbed in the midst of chaos was another thing altogether and Melissa's fingernails dug into my bicep like claws, her soft-spoken words still echoing within me "She's here"I turned about staring at the broken chamber but Eleanor was nowhere to be found, vanished into darkness. There was only the lingering scent of her perfume a strong, muggy combination of jasmine and smoke."She wants us to know she's watching us" I snarled holding Melissa tighter "It wasn't an accident"Melissa's eyes were wide and pale with a twist of fear and disbelief "I thought she was dead and gone. After everything""She doesn't die that easily" I cut in, my voice low. It wasn't reassuring but it was reality.We walked carefully through the remains of the estate, each sound of our footsteps a weight i did not believe. Michael Whitmoore had vanished into darkness like a man

MelissaThe phone vibrated in my hand like a beast and the name on the screen throbbed in the blackness, slicing through me.Eleanor.It shouldn't have been hard as the natural thing was to have it ring, have it die and toss the phone right into the Hudson but logic has nothing to do with Eleanor Kingsley. She had the ability to reach inside me, twist things until what felt wrong in some way began to feel inevitable.Jamal stood behind me, tight with rage. His hand remained poised like he wanted to grab the phone from me, crush it in his hand. His tone was deep and commanding "Don't answer it."But my fingers rebelled against me. They trembled on top of the screen, torn between obligation and desire. My heart pounded so hard i could barely hear myself breathe back "What if i need to?"Jamal reached out with his hand but i shied away, holding the phone against my chest like something secret. I couldn't explain why not to him, not even to myself but something inside me needed to hear he