All Chapters of A HEART REBORN IN RUIN: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Riya's pov "It was a big black bag," the old man mumbled on without looking at me, lifting his gaze lifted to the evening sky as it deepened into a velvety navy. "Trying to grab whatever fish I could for my next meal, I saw some men dressed in wealthy black dresses just at the edge of that cliff." He pointed a thick, calloused finger towards a dark silhouette in the distance, opposite the tent's entrance.Then he glanced back towards the fire, as the flames reflected in his eyes. "I thought they were throwing away goodies since the black bag looked sparkly." He let out a dry, rasping chuckle. "I honestly thought I'd already hit the jackpot. But when I fished out the sinking bag..." He finally turned his head, squarely landing his gaze on me, taking in my battered state. "...I found an unconscious woman covered in bruises and blood."He studied me for a long moment, with an unreadable expression. "Were you owing them money?" His voice came out a little softer now, almost curious. "D

Riya's pov "Actually..." he let out a soft, broken sigh. "...it's been a few years since we last saw each other."He moved to stand, groaning with the effort from his body. "C'mon. It's gettin’ late. Go to sleep." He began to walk towards the tent, and suddenly, a desperate need to understand, to not let this door slam shut, seized me."No... Please... Wait..."He stopped short, facing his broad, hunched back silhouetted against the tent's opening towards me. He didn't turn fully, but he paused, tilting his head just slightly, listening, while the entire night seemed to hold its breath with me."Please... I..." I muttered, nervously fidgeting my fingers in my lap as I took a steadying breath, raising my head, finding his hunched silhouette with my gaze. "I want to help him…, and I want to help you... If it's even possible for me to do anything about it at all."He stayed silent for a long moment, as the fire cast shifting shadows across his face. "Why do you care so much, youn lady

Mateo's Pov "I... don't think she's going to make it out alive if we don't do something about her in the next few hours..." Sloane's voice sounded fragile, cracking under the strain of delivering the worst possible news.But those words... they detonated in my chest, bringing about the reckless boiling of the rising fury in my blood. And contradictory to the icy dread coiling in my gut, a hot, invisible strength from nowhere began to flood my limbs. I clenched my free fist so tight the bones in my hand protested."The old bastard beat her really badly," Sloane's voice grew thick with a disgust I rarely heard from her. "The way he continuously hit her with that walking stick of his, back and front... she won't stay alive if she isn't hospitalized."The vivid and sickening image flashed in my mind: Riya on the receiving end of Dhaval's cane, rising and falling. The warm trickle I'd felt under my nose moments ago now made sense of the tiny, physical manifestation of the rage I was fig

Mateo's Pov"You're a fool, old man... You know that?"The line went silent for a moment."With all due respect, Don..." he sounded cautious, and I think a sliver of fear finally cut through his arrogance. "Did... Did I perhaps make a mistake?...""Why would you get rid of her?" I growled. "Was that part of the plan? Because I never instructed you to do any of that, and I don't remember agreeing to it. So why would you?""But she went against the contract..." he sputtered."A contract she was never aware of from the start, Dhaval!" I cut him off with the feigned fury of my rising voice. "You're old. You're supposed to be wise. So why can't you think properly?"The line hummed with his stunned silence, and I could almost hear the sweat beading on his brow. "I... I apologize for my misstep, Don...""I don't need your apologies," I hissed. "I need you to fix your mess… Now I'll make this simple. Hold off on tormenting and seizing control of Luxe Hotels, but make sure you find and bring h

Mateo's Pov "You really sweet-talked my men into working for you, huh... little punk?" Dhaval's thick voice, with condescending amusement, continued to pour from the phone's speaker, filling the car's interior. "I'll give you one chance.... Just one... So for now, I'll keep these worthless punks who dared to betray me, and your friend, alive."He paused, letting the threat hang in the static-filled air. "See, I want answers. I want to know why you sabotaged my merger business when it was so close. Why did you sabotage the marriage that would secure that merger for me? And more importantly..." his voice dropped to a menacing whisper, "...who sent you.""But this time, I'll interrogate you myself. So deliver yourself to me, and I'll consider letting these punks walk out with all of their limbs intact." He let out a low, gloating chuckle that made my skin crawl. "I can get impatient, so make it snappy." The line went dead, leaving behind a silence that was louder than his voice.I lea