Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 61 - Chapitre 65

The steady tick of a clock filled Bruce’s office, soft and precise.He didn’t notice it.His focus was on the printed contracts spread across his desk, a pen in one hand, a pair of reading glasses in the other. He wasn’t wearing the glasses. He was tapping them against his knee absently, reading a clause for the third time and still not absorbing the words.A coffee cup sat half full to his right, untouched for nearly an hour.His office was quiet, almost too quiet. The floor-to-ceiling windows let in the pale light of late morning, casting long stripes across the polished wood. A stack of acquisition files waited beside a glowing monitor. One deal was closing in Rome, another in Dubai. Two more needed signatures before end-of-day.He should’ve been reviewing numbers. Refining strategies. Watching markets.Instead, he was pacing.He hated how often his thoughts strayed now.. away from spreadsheets and into memory. Sophie’s face in that photo. The way she looked at DeMarco. Her posture

The door slammed hard enough to rattle the glass in the windows.Sophie jumped, her hand tightening around the edge of the blanket draped across her legs. She was curled up on Ryan’s wide couch, still in the oversized sweater Isla had brought her after the warehouse.She looked up just in time to see Ryan storm in.His jaw was locked. His coat still on. Blood dried near his collar from the reopened wound he hadn’t let anyone touch.“You have a death wish?” he growled, voice sharp and echoing in the vast, glass-walled room. “Because that’s the only explanation I can think of.”Sophie stood slowly. “Ryan.. ”“You shouldn’t have been there.”He pointed at her like the words were a sentence.“You weren’t supposed to follow me. You weren’t supposed to step into that warehouse. And you sure as hell weren’t supposed to get in the line of fire.. again.”She folded her arms. “And if I hadn’t come?”“I would’ve handled it.”“You’d be dead.”He stopped.She stepped forward. “You were outnumbered

The call came just after 2 a.m.Ryan had barely slept. He stood by the tall windows of his penthouse, watching the dark city hum in silence. Sophie was upstairs. He’d insisted she rest.. insisted on having eyes on every hallway, every camera, every inch of the building. Still, he couldn’t shake the weight sitting on his chest.His phone buzzed on the table. He didn’t recognize the number, but something about the area code stopped him cold.He answered on the third ring.“DeMarco.”The voice on the other end was rough, dry. “It’s been a long time.”Ryan didn’t move. “Who is this?”“Used to work with your father,” the voice said. “Which means I know the difference between how he handled problems... and how you do.”Ryan’s hand curled into a fist.“You know why I’m calling,” the voice said.There was no reason to pretend. “Bruce sent you.”“No,” the voice replied. “Selena did. Bruce just wants results. She’s the one pulling strings.”Ryan’s jaw locked. “You came here to warn me?”“I came