All Chapters of REBEL IN MY HEART : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

‎The words hit me so hard I almost forgot how to breathe.‎‎Planted on me?‎‎Zayden’s head jerked toward Evelyn so fast I thought he’d snap something in his neck. Gregory stepped forward too, but not out of concern, more like a man who suddenly realized the ground under his feet wasn’t solid.‎‎My pulse slammed in my throat.‎“Mom… what are you talking about?”‎‎Evelyn’s eyes glistened with something that made my stomach twist, fear. Real fear. She didn’t even look at Zayden or the others. Just me.‎‎“They put something on you,” she said, her voice barely holding together. “Something from the Sun Slashers.”‎‎The world tilted.‎‎Zayden moved first. He reached for me so quickly it startled me, but then he stopped himself halfway, like touching me would make everything worse. His jaw clenched.‎‎“Vivienne,” he said quietly, “don’t move.”‎‎Gregory exploded. “Don’t move? Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? She’s my daughter”‎‎“Dad, stop,” I snapped, because I could no

‎For a moment, none of us moved.‎‎The street felt too quiet.‎Too empty.‎Like the whole night had sucked in a breath and refused to let it go.‎‎Gregory’s voice still echoed in my ears, sharp and cracked in a way I’d never heard before.‎‎“YOU’RE FOLLOWING THE WRONG MAN!”‎‎Zayden stiffened under my hands. I could feel the tension coil through his back, like a wire pulled tight enough to snap.‎‎“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he muttered, eyes locked on my father.‎‎But Gregory wasn’t looking at him anymore.‎‎He was staring at me.‎Just me.‎Like I had just stepped onto a landmine he’d been trying to cover with dirt.‎‎“Vivienne,” he shouted again, softer this time but still urgent, “step away from him. Now.”‎‎Something in his tone made the hair on my arms rise.‎‎Not anger.‎Not control.‎‎Fear.‎‎Real fear.‎‎My fingers tightened on Zayden’s jacket.‎‎“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on!” I yelled back. “You can’t just bark orders l

‎‎The three words on Zayden’s phone had landed in my chest like a brick. He’s with us. Midnight.‎‎For a moment everything else was just the sound of my blood, loud and ugly and impossible to ignore. Derek’s smug face, the motorcycle engine, the distant hum of the city , it all slid to some background frequency I couldn't tune into anymore.‎‎Zayden’s jaw throbbed. He looked at me like someone trying to map a very dangerous territory a fraction too close to his boots. For all his calm, for all the things he’d learned to hold in, his eyes were raw.‎‎“Your father’s been taken,” he said again, the words clipped like they hurt when he said them. “We have to move.”‎‎Derek folded his arms, putting himself between us like a prop in a play. His smile,God, that smile stretched too wide, not pleasure but something that liked watching edges. I had never liked it, and now it crawled under my skin.‎‎“Taken?” Derek echoed. He sounded bored. “That’s… dramatic.”‎‎Zayden’s whole body went

‎Everything happened too fast for my brain to catch up.‎‎One second I was trying to figure out why the hell my father’s chauffeur , the quiet, polite, never-lifts-his-eyes Lewis had a Sun Slicer chain around his neck, and the next‎‎The lights died.‎‎I didn’t even hear a switch. It was like someone ripped the electricity out of the walls. The darkness was thick, suffocating, the kind that crawled under your skin.‎‎Then‎‎A hand clamped over my mouth.‎‎Not rough at first. Weirdly gentle, like someone handling breakable things.‎‎I panicked anyway.‎‎My heart shot straight to my throat. I tried to scream but the palm blocked it, muffling the sound into my own breath.‎‎I twisted. Fought. My nails scratched against an arm, fabric, thick, maybe a jacket. The smell of cologne hit me, something familiar and clean and‎‎“Vivienne.”‎‎The whisper was harsh, right against my ear.‎‎Zayden.‎‎Relief slammed into me so hard my knees buckled. He loosened his grip, letting me bre

‎The tap on my window didn’t stop.‎‎One…‎Two…‎Pause.‎Three.‎‎Like some creepy Morse code I didn’t want to decode.‎‎I pressed myself against the wall. The shadows outside didn’t move away. They just stayed rooted there, staring up at me ‎‎My father had locked me in, but apparently the monsters lived outside now.‎‎I swallowed hard and forced myself toward the dresser, keeping my eyes flicking between the window and the half-lit hallway under my door. Everything felt wrong. Too quiet. Too dark.‎‎My phone buzzed again.‎‎Not the unknown number this time.‎‎Zayden: V, answer me.‎‎I didn’t answer, not yet. My hands were shaking too much.‎‎“Think,” I whispered to myself, even though my thoughts were doing anything but that. “Think, Vivienne.”‎‎My father was still storming somewhere downstairs. Evelyn’s voice floated faintly through the house, anxious, trembly, trying to argue with him. I had no idea if they knew someone was outside or if I was the only one aware of it.