All Chapters of Her mother's lover : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Scarlett’s POVThe rain hadn’t stopped. It was as if the sky was trying to wash the city clean of all the lies that stained it. But some sins went too deep for cleansing. Some sins were carved into the soul.The wipers dragged rhythmically across the windshield as I drove. My reflection flashed faintly on the glass, pale skin, red-rimmed eyes, lips set in a hard line. Maria’s my dead mother's spirit who always visits but no one knows about. The coordinates blinked on the dashboard like a pulse, leading me toward a part of town I hadn’t visited in years.Every mile closer felt like losing a piece of myself.When I finally pulled up, the world seemed to hold its breath. The house stood behind a wall of glass and steel sleek, expensive, soulless. It suited her.I stepped out of the car, the rain soaking through my coat in seconds. My hands trembled, not from the cold, but from what I was about to do.I hadn’t planned this confrontation. There was no script. Just a lifetime of resentment

Maria’s POVThe night had teeth. Cold wind whispered through the curtains, carrying the scent of rain and smoke from the city below. I stood at the balcony, staring at the glittering skyline, the same view that used to make me feel powerful.Now, it only reminded me of what I was losing.Scarlett and him.Two names that had come to mean ruin in my life.I’d always believed control was an art something earned, shaped, and protected with care. But control was slipping through my fingers like sand.My reflection in the glass looked older than I remembered. The fine lines around my eyes seemed deeper tonight, shadows pooling where charm used to live. I traced the edge of my wine glass, ignoring the phone vibrating on the counter. I already knew who it was.Damien.He’d been distant for days. The kind of distance that wasn’t about space, but choice. The kind that came with another woman’s name written across his silence.Scarlett.My daughter. My mistake. My mirror.The thought made my thr

Damien’s POVThe smell of smoke wouldn’t leave me.No matter how many showers I took, no matter how much rain fell, I could still feel it clinging to my skin that acrid stench of burning metal, soaked wood, and everything that once resembled control.It had been three days since the fire.Three days since Maria vanished into the flames.Three days since Scarlett’s scream still echoed in my head, her voice raw with grief as the building collapsed behind us.And I hadn’t slept. Not properly. Not once.The safehouse was quiet now. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that comes after war, the kind that feels like mourning. Scarlett hadn’t spoken much since that night. She’d sit by the window for hours, staring into nothing, her face pale, her hands trembling when she thought no one was watching.But I always was. Watching her.Protecting her.Failing her.I’d failed them both.The rain came again that morning, gentle at first, then steady tapping against the window like an impatient heartbeat.

Scarlett’s POVThe rain hadn’t stopped. It fell in relentless sheets, washing away the blood but not the guilt.I stood there, trembling, the flash drive clutched so tightly in my palm that the metal bit into my skin. Around me, the shipyard was eerily silent again the gunfire only an echo swallowed by the storm.Damien was on his knees, blood seeping through his white shirt, his breath coming in ragged bursts. He looked up at me like a man seeing the end of the world in human form.“Scarlett…” His voice cracked. “Please.”I should’ve run. I should’ve left him there to drown in the mess he helped create.But my body moved on instinct betrayal warring with something older, deeper.I knelt beside him, pressing my trembling hand to his wound. “You’re losing too much blood.”He caught my wrist. “Don’t… don’t do this. You shouldn’t care.”A bitter laugh slipped past my lips. “You’re right. I shouldn’t.”But I did. God, I still did.He flinched as I tore part of his shirt to bandage him, h

Scarlett’s Morning light filtered through the penthouse windows, soft gold against the cold steel inside me. I’d barely slept. My mind had been slicing through Maria’s financial records, uncovering one buried secret after another until dawn.Every piece was another artery of her empire.And I intended to sever them all.I stood at the marble counter, a cup of black coffee untouched in front of me. Leone waited at my side, tablet in hand, his posture stiff.“The Eastern laundering chain collapsed last night,” he reported. “After you presented Maria’s offshore accounts, half her men defected. The other half are panicking.”“Good,” I murmured. “Let them choke on her downfall.”Leone hesitated. “There’s… another issue.”I lifted my eyes. “Speak.”“It’s Damien.”A pulse of heat flickered in my chest, anger, pain, something else I refused to name.“What about him?”“He’s been asking questions. About your meetings last night. About Kade.” Leone’s voice lowered. “He thinks you’re in danger.”