All Chapters of Belonging to Lockhart: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

I hadn’t ever felt the urge to hit another woman until I looked Zinnia dead in the eye. That sly little smirk curling on her lips? I wanted nothing more than to snatch that certificate from her smug hands and shred it into confetti. Even Aveline Chun, usually cloaked in faux humility, lifted her chin like she’d already inherited every cent of the Lockhart fortune. My hands curled into fists, knuckles paling. I could feel the storm rising in my chest, anger boiling just beneath my skin, begging to be unleashed. They were lucky lucky I had more pressing matters on my plate. Otherwise, I’d have delighted in making their lives an endless series of regrets. But now? Now I was making space for a new assignment. Normally, I wouldn’t have wasted energy on women like them. I might have even pitied them after hearing their tragic tales of toxic men and mistreatment. I had almost extended compassion. Almost. But they had just burned the last remnants of sympathy I had left. Now, they were

Three hours had passed since I barged into Manny’s office tears streaming down my cheeks even as I smiled declaring I had found Theron. But now, sitting alongside Lazaro and Renzo, the swell of emotion was even greater. Though I’d stopped crying, my body still trembled, as if it couldn’t contain the storm churning inside, a pressure threatening to break loose at any second. “We need to reach out to someone from that building and find out what condition Theron’s in,” Manny said. Lazaro shot him a sharp look. “And say what, exactly? You think we’re the only ones trying to find him? Those bastards are on the hunt too. The second his location leaks, they’ll trace him and finish what they started.” I drew a shaky breath. “Even if he’s unconscious, we have to get to him and bring him somewhere safe. I want to go there. Right now.” Renzo’s brow furrowed. “Are you out of your mind? Absolutely not.” My fists clenched. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.” He leaned in, his j

THERON POV I was dreaming again. Falling fast, weightless, untethered. For a second, I thought I was flying, but it wasn’t flight. It was freefall. Below me stretched a bottomless field of black. I reached instinctively, pulled a handle, and my body jolted as a parachute tore open above me. I slowed, jerking hard to one side, but I still couldn’t see the ground only endless darkness. And then impact. I gasped awake. My eyes flew open as I sucked in air like a man drowning. I was lying on a narrow bed in a stark, sterile room. A tube ran from my arm to an IV bag. Across the room, a woman entered and offered a dry smile. “Another nightmare?” she asked as she walked to the drip stand and swapped out the empty bag. Her name was Opaline Kinross. She’d told me that two days ago, just after I first woke up. She was the doctor who ran this private clinic. I was her anonymous patient washed ashore unconscious, found by fishermen, nameless and broken. A stranger. And yet, despite

THERON POV I sat inside Manny’s private jet, my eyes locked on a photo of Ami. He had sent it to the new phone he'd given me, and ever since, I couldn’t stop staring at the image of her smiling face. My memory was still a fractured mess full of gaps and blank spaces but she was the one part I was desperate to retrieve. Manny had been doing everything in his power to help me piece things together, but it wasn’t enough. I didn’t care about remembering my childhood or trivial history I needed to remember her. I needed to recall everything about our enemies, too. That was the only way I could save her. I set the phone down on the table and rubbed my temples, frustration rising in my chest like a storm. Manny had told me Ami spent days, weeks even months searching for me. I was only on this damn flight back home because of her relentless efforts. And now she was gone. Taken. Locked away somewhere, possibly hurt. The thought made my chest seize. A boiling mix of fear and fury chur

AMARIS POV I forced myself not to spiral into the terrifying possibilities. Instead, I clung to what progress I had made. Zhenhai was on my side however tentative that alliance might be, it was still something. The next step was figuring out where I was. Once I had that, I could find a way to reach Lazaro or my team. I drew a slow, steadying breath and stepped cautiously toward the window, scanning the outside world. A tall fence encircled the area, beyond which stretched a dense forest. No signs. No landmarks. Nothing that hinted at where I might be. Muttering a curse, I turned away and gave the room another sweep. Off to the side, I found a door that led into an adjoining bathroom Zhenhai’s office had one. I stepped inside and hesitated in front of the mirror. The moment I saw my reflection, the breath punched out of me. A bruise stained my cheek, another marked my jaw. Faint, purpling blotches wrapped around my neck shaped like fingers. God. Had someone tried to stran