Semua Bab They Won’t Let Me Go: Bab 1 - Bab 9

9 Bab

Chapter 1

On my birthday, the stepson I’d raised from a baby emptied a glass of red wine over my head. He screamed at me to get the hell out of his house.For years, I had been a substitute for a dead woman. Now, I was a monster to the boy I had raised as my own.I had endured enough."You bitch! Don't you dare think you can replace my mom just by wearing her jewelry!"My eight-year-old stepson, Leo, stood before me. His little face was twisted with rage.Before I could move, cold, sticky wine soaked through my dress.The next second, his hand shot out, closing around the pearls at my throat. He yanked.The string snapped. Pearls skittered across the marble floor, a hundred tiny, white tears.Damien had given them to me just this morning. He’d looked me straight in the eye and said they were made for me.I thought he was finally seeing me.I never dreamed the pearls belonged to his dead wife, Krista.The ballroom fell silent.Every guest stared. Some whispered. Others pulled out their phones to

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Chapter 2

Damien's face darkened."Is this some game to get my attention?" He sneered. "Stop the drama, Elara. This is childish.""A tantrum?"I repeated the word, tasting it."You're right. I'm not a child. I'm old enough to know what stupid looks like.""Enough," his voice was a warning. "Leo needs you. You can't just abandon him over a momentary impulse.""Needs me?" I turned, looking him straight in the eye. "Or does he need his nanny?""What are you talking about?""The truth," I said, walking to the safe and entering the code. "Eight years ago, my father sent me here. He was desperate for your protection, for business. The deal was simple—I take care of your son. In return, you protect my family."Damien's expression shifted. "That wasn't all of it.""Of course not." I took out a key and a copy of a ledger. "I also had to be her. Her ghost. Wear her clothes, her perfume. Copy that goddamn smile.""Elara—""But you never made it official, did you?"I placed the key and the document on the d

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Chapter 3

I was trapped in that room for three whole days.Damien said it was for me to 'think about what I'd done.'And Leo made it his mission to come and scream insults at me every day, as if it was his new favorite game.On the third day, the door finally opened.My father burst in, out of breath, his suit a mess.His hair was a mess. He looked like he'd driven all night.He saw the bruise on my forehead and his face went pale."Elara, my daughter." He opened his arms for a hug.I stepped back. "What are you doing here?""Damien told me what happened," my father's voice trembled. "Elara, my God, what have you done? You can't leave him. You'll ruin us!""Ruin you?""Without Volkov protection, we're dead. Our business is gone." He suddenly dropped to his knees. "Our enemies will tear us apart. Competitors will swallow our territory. Your brother is still in college, your mother's medical bills—""Enough."But he kept going, his voice growing more desperate. "A thousand people work for us. Thei

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Chapter 4

"You saw that."Damien was leaning against the doorframe. I had no idea how long he'd been standing there.His face was calm, as if everything had gone exactly as he'd planned."Saw what?" I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth."Your father. For who he really is," he said, stepping into the room. "Don't you get it? No one out there gives a shit about you. Only I do."I almost laughed."Care about me?""I've already had my people contact the best art brokers in Europe." He pulled a list from his pocket. "A genuine Monet, a masterwork of Impressionism. And a Rembrandt portrait, once owned by royalty. Rarer and more valuable than your grandfather's painting."I stared at the list, at the names of masterpieces and their prices."I don't want them.""And Sophia?" he said, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "I found her for you. She keeps Leo happy. So you don't have to. See? We can make this work."A balance. He thought this was a negotiation."Damien, you still don't get it." I pu

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Chapter 5

The back window exploded.The Mustang spun out, slamming hard into a concrete pillar in the garage.The airbag exploded, punching me in the face. My head slammed against the steering wheel. I tasted blood.The engine died.The garage went dead silent.Leo stared at the gun, his hand trembling. His eyes were blown wide with terror. He’d never meant to pull the trigger. He sure as hell didn’t think this would happen."I... I..." He couldn't get the words out.I shoved the twisted door open and climbed out of the driver's seat. Blood ran down my forehead. I didn't wipe it away."You tried to kill me?"Leo stumbled back, the gun waving in his hand. "I... I just wanted...""Wanted what?" I stalked toward him. "To shut me up for good?""No! I just don’t want you to go!” he cried, his voice breaking. “You killed my mother. You don’t get to just walk away!"I pulled a dagger from my waistband. The blade gleamed under the garage light.The air turned to ice. Every man in the room held his breat

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Chapter 6

The day after Elara left, an unnatural quiet suffocated the estate.Damien stood before the scorched maw of the garage, his face a mask of stone in the gray dawn.A disobedient woman was gone. Nothing more.The Volkov estate never had a shortage of women.In the dining room, Leo poked at his eggs with a fork, a childish look of victory on his face."That bad woman is gone," he said to Sophia, who sat in the main chair. "Good riddance."Sophia, in a tight silk robe, gave him a flirty smile. "Of course, sweetie. From now on, I'll take good care of you and your daddy."Her "reforms" were swift and tasteless.Day one, Elara's simple linen curtains were replaced with gaudy crimson velvet that swallowed the light and made the air feel thick and cheap.Day two, the old butler who'd served the Volkovs for thirty years was fired for "sticky fingers." Sophia had him replaced with some slick-haired "cousin" she knew from the club scene.Day three, Damien lost his temper with her for the first tim

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Chapter 7

A crack is all it takes. Soon, the whole damn world shatters.Weeks passed. The estate fell into chaos.The new butler was selling off vintage bottles from the wine cellar.The weekly tributes from the unions were light. Kickbacks went missing. The numbers didn't add up, and no one had a goddamn answer.Even the black roses Elara had tended to so carefully in the garden began to wither and die in patches.Damien was drowning in the petty bullshit he’d never had to touch.He nearly broke a captain's jaw over a late ledger. The entire Chicago underworld could feel the Volkov boss's dark, foul mood.For the first time, he realized Elara had been like an invisible shield, protecting him from all the ugly, ordinary problems of the world.Then Leo got sick.A high fever that wouldn't break. Nightmares.The family doctor was useless. In his delirium, he fought every treatment, repeating one name over and over."Elara... Elara..."He cried for the lemon honey water only Elara knew how to make.

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Chapter 8

"Leo needs me?" I let out a cold laugh. "A month ago, he wanted to put a bullet in me."Damien's face tightened. "He's just a kid. He didn't know what he was doing.""He's eight," I said, not moving from Julian's side. "Old enough to know right from wrong.""Elara." Damien pulled a velvet box from his suit pocket. "Let's talk."He opened it. Inside was a diamond ring the size of a goddamn iceberg.Not Krista's ring. A new one. Blindingly bright and worth a fortune."Marry me," he said. "For real this time. You won't be a stand-in. You'll be my queen. The queen of Chicago.""No.""I also brought this." He motioned for a guard to bring forward a thick folder. "A prenup. A ten-million-dollar trust fund. A condo in downtown Chicago. And shares in three of my companies."Ten million.He still thought I was the same girl he could buy."I said no."Just then, Leo jumped out of the car. His eyes were red and puffy. He'd been crying."Elara," he walked toward me, timid. "I'm sorry. I... I shoul

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Chapter 9

"Everyone thought you were dead," Damien said, still in shock. "That explosion three years ago...""I arranged it," Julian said flatly. "One body, one DNA report, a few paid-off witnesses. Sometimes, death is the only way to get away from family.""The Thornes have been looking for you.""Let them look," Julian said, dropping the wrench. "You can't find a dead man."Damien's eyes darted between me and Julian, his face getting darker by the second."So this is your play?" He sneered, his eyes flicking to me. "Trading me for a ghost?""He's not a fugitive," I said, stepping forward. "He's a free man.""Free?" Damien sneered. "He's a coward! Ran away from his responsibilities, threw away his own name!""At least he had the guts to choose his own life," Julian said, looking at Damien. "Unlike you. You found a wildfire and tried to keep it in a gilded cage.""A wildfire?""Her," Julian said. "Have you ever really looked at her? Seen her work? She brings dead weapons back to life. She's focu

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