《Her mother's lover 》全部章節：第 21 章 - 第 30 章

Scarlett’s POVThe file with my father’s name on it sat on the desk like a wound that refused to close. Every time I looked at it, the words blurred, but the truth didn’t change. He had been part of Kade’s empire. He wasn’t just collateral damage, not just an innocent man who got caught in the crossfire.He had chosen.And that knowledge was a blade twisting in my chest.Damien paced the length of the safehouse living room, his jaw tight, his eyes like storm clouds. He hadn’t stopped moving since we got back. Every time his gaze flicked to me, it was a war between anger, fear, and something deeper, something I didn’t dare name.“You’re shaking,” he said finally, stopping in front of me. His voice was softer than I expected, but it carried an edge.I looked down at my hands. He was right. They trembled around the file I still clutched. I should’ve put it away, but I couldn’t. “I can’t stop thinking about it,” I whispered. “He wasn’t who I thought he was. My entire life everything was a

Scarlett’s POVThe rain had stopped by the time Damien and I reached the car Reilly had stashed a block away. My body shook not from the cold, but from the surge of adrenaline that hadn’t settled. My hands still remembered the weight of the pipe, the sickening crunch when it connected.I haven't killed before. At least, I had told myself I was ready for it. But tonight felt different. Tonight, I wasn’t just surviving. Tonight, I had stepped into Damien’s world. And Kade had seen it.Damien slammed the car door shut, jaw clenched tight as he started the engine. His knuckles were split, blood still seeping. His silence pressed against me harder than any scolding could.Finally, I broke it.“You’re angry.”His eyes flicked to mine for half a second before returning to the road. “You think this is anger?” His voice was low, vibrating with something darker. “I was one breath away from watching him take you. Do you understand that?”My chest tightened. “I handled myself.”He shot me a sharp

Scarlett’s POVThe world burned until morning.By the time the last of the fire died, the air was thick with smoke and silence. Sirens wailed somewhere far off, but they didn’t belong to us. We didn’t wait for help. People like us never did.Damien stood at the edge of the wreckage, the glow of the dying flames washing over his face. His jaw was tight, his bandaged arm streaked with soot and blood. He hadn’t said a word since Kade’s body disappeared into the inferno.Neither had I.Every sound the hiss of the sea, the crackle of what remained felt like a memory trying to crawl back into my chest.I’d thought that killing Kade would fix something. That it would make the past stop screaming. But instead, it was like cutting open a wound that had never healed.Reilly approached, his face grim. “We cleared the perimeter. No sign of survivors.”“Check again,” Damien said. His voice was rough, low.“There’s nothing left but ash and twisted metal.”“Then check the ash.”Reilly glanced at me,

Scarlett’s POVThe rain had stopped, but the world still smelled like smoke and grief.Maria’s funeral came and went like a scene from someone else’s life. Black umbrellas, whispered condolences, the cold weight of stares that seemed to pierce through me. Everyone kept saying she was a good woman, but none of them knew her the way I did. None of them knew the woman behind the smile the woman who had loved and lied in equal measure.I stood by her grave long after the others left. The air was still damp, the soil dark and raw beneath my boots.“She always wanted control,” I whispered. “Even now, she probably thinks she has it.”My voice cracked, but I didn’t cry. I couldn’t. Tears felt like surrender, and I’d had enough of that to last a lifetime.Behind me, Damien stood in silence, his coat brushing against mine as the wind shifted. I could feel the heat of him even without turning. It was always like this his presence steady, unyielding, but just out of reach.When I finally spoke, m

Scarlett’s POVI sat on the floor in front of the hearth, watching the last bits of ash crumble into grey dust. The scent of burnt paper still lingered, faint but stubborn, curling through the air like a whisper I couldn’t quite escape.Maria’s letters were gone.Her words, her warnings, her twisted truths reduced to smoke and memory.And yet, somehow, she still felt close.Every time I blinked, I saw her handwriting. Every time Damien spoke, I heard her voice layered beneath his. It was as if she’d carved herself into the spaces between us, refusing to fade no matter how many times we tried to erase her.Damien stood at the window, phone pressed to his ear, his tone clipped and cold. I only caught fragments of the conversation—“shipment… false trail… double check the source”—before he hung up and turned to face me.“We have a problem,” he said.I gave a bitter smile. “That’s not exactly new.”“This one is,” he said grimly. “The files we took from Kade’s men they were decoys. Someone