جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 50

Chapter 41: The GalaThe cameras flashed before we even got out of the car. Blinding white lights. Voices shouting questions. Microphones shoved toward the window."Mr. Volkov, is this your new girlfriend?""What happened with Amara?""Is it true she's pregnant?"I opened the door. Stepped out. The noise hit me like a wall. Cameras clicking. People shouting. Security trying to hold them back.I turned. Held out my hand for Rihana.She took it. Stepped out of the car in a red dress. Tight. Low cut. Slit up the thigh. The kind of dress meant to stop traffic. Meant to make a statement.The cameras went insane.She pressed herself against my side immediately. Her arm wrapped around mine. Her body molded to me like we were one person.Click. Click. Click."Look this way!""Over here!""Give us a smile!"I smiled. Put my arm around her waist. Pulled her closer even though every nerve in my body screamed to push her away.She looked up at me. Her eyes shining. Happy. Triumphant.She thought

Chapter 43: The DoubtI walked back into the ballroom. Fixed my tie. Buttoned my jacket. Tried to look normal.Rihana was at our table. Talking to someone. Her back to me. Good.I sat down. Picked up my water. Drank. My hand was steady. My face was calm.Inside, I was still in that bathroom. Still feeling Amara's skin. Still tasting her.Rihana turned around. Smiled at me. "There you are. I was starting to worry.""Sorry. Ran into some business associates. You know how it is."She moved closer. Put her hand on my arm. Her eyes scanned my face. Looking for something.I kept my expression neutral. Relaxed.Her eyes moved lower. To my neck.Shit.I'd checked the mirror. Thought I'd covered everything with my collar. But her eyes narrowed. Just slightly."What happened to your neck?""What do you mean?"She reached up. Touched the spot right below my collar. Where Amara had bitten me.I forced myself not to flinch. Not to pull away."It's red. Like a—" She stopped. Her hand dropped. "Like

Chapter 45: The FallI drove like the devil was chasing me. Eighty. Ninety. A hundred miles per hour. The city blurred past. Lights streaking.Rihana sat in the passenger seat. Crying. Talking. I didn't hear her. Didn't care.My hands gripped the steering wheel. The leather cracked under my fingers. My wolf was right there. Right at the surface. Gold bleeding into my vision.Amara. I could smell her. Even from here. Blood. Fear. Pain.I was going to kill him. Going to rip Viktor apart with my bare hands."Lucian, please—" Rihana's voice cut through. "Please listen to me. Viktor has changed. He's not—he's not the same person. He's more ruthless now. More dangerous. This is a trap. You have to know this is a trap.""Shut up.""He's going to kill you. He wants you dead more than he wants the money. More than he wants anything.""I said shut up."My phone lit up on the dashboard. Dimitri. Text after text."Police 20 minutes behind you.""Don't engage alone.""Boss, wait for backup."I ign

Chapter 47: The FuneralThey said it was him.The coroner. The police. Even Marcus, who'd flown in the moment he heard. They all looked at that bloated, damaged face and said the same thing."It's Lucian Volkov. I'm sorry for your loss."I didn't believe them.Couldn't believe them.That thing on the table—waterlogged, features barely recognizable, skin gray and peeling—that wasn't him. That wasn't my Lucian."The dental records match," the coroner said gently. He had kind eyes. Probably practiced that expression in the mirror for moments like this. "The height, build, the old fracture in his left arm from childhood. It all matches.""Then the records are wrong.""Ms. Castellanos—""They're wrong. That's not him." I stood. Backed away from the viewing window. "Lucian is alive. He's out there somewhere and you're all wasting time looking at the wrong body."Marcus took my arm. "Amara, I know this is hard—""You don't know anything." I yanked free. "None of you do. If that was Lucian, I

Chapter 49: The MaskI woke before dawn.For the first time in nine days, I woke before the alarm. Before the nightmares could drag me under. Before the crushing weight of grief could pin me to the bed.I stared at the ceiling. At the faint gray light creeping through the curtains. Another day. Another breath. Another moment of existing without him.But something was different. Something had shifted in the night.Maybe it was Rachel's words. Maybe it was seeing Kai's face yesterday—the fear, the grief, the desperate hope that his mother would come back to him. Maybe it was the weight of that lawyer's briefcase. The knowledge that thousands of people were waiting. Watching. Wondering if Lucian's empire would crumble or stand.Or maybe I was just tired. Tired of breaking. Tired of being weak. Tired of drowning.I sat up slowly. My body ached. When did I last eat a full meal? Three days ago? Four?Didn't matter. Food could wait.I walked to the bathroom. Flipped on the light. Blinked aga