Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 71 - Chapitre 80

Mia didn’t leave Mark’s bedside.Not for once,when the nurses came in and out with quiet efficiency. When Luca checked in, eyes sharp, reassured only after seeing her still there. Even at night she stayed.The chair beside the bed had become her anchor. She sat forward most of the time, elbows resting on her knees, fingers clasped tight as if letting go might undo him. The steady beep of the monitor was the only thing keeping her breathing even.Alive.That was all that mattered.Mark lay still, color returning slowly to his face. The bandage across his shoulder was clean now, stark white against his skin. Too clean. Too fragile-looking for a man who carried violence like a second spine.She reached out without thinking.Her fingers hovered, then settled lightly against his hand.Warm.The contact sent something sharp and aching straight through her chest.She swallowed hard and leaned back, eyes stinging.This was supposed to be temporary. Vigilance. Duty. Guilt.That’s what she’d to

By the time they reached the mansion, the fragile truce from the hospital had dissolved into something else entirely—awkward, electric, and mildly ridiculous.Mia went straight to the bathroom the moment they stepped inside.“I need a shower, can I use your bathroom?” she announced, toeing off her shoes. “And if anyone speaks to me before I do, I will commit a felony.”“ Sure,” he answered. Watching her disappear down the hallway, lips twitching. “Duly noted.”He had just shrugged out of his jacket when Isabella appeared.She didn’t knock. Of course she didn’t.“You look exhausted,” Isabella said softly, closing the door behind her. She took in his bandage, her eyes lingering. “Still playing hero?”Mark sighed. “What do you want, Isabella?”She smiled like she’d been waiting for that exact tone. “To make sure you’re alright.”“I am.”“That’s not what I meant.”She stepped closer. Too close. Her perfume hit him first—sweet, overconfident, aggressively familiar. Mark took one step back.

The city had a way of smelling different at night—wet asphalt, lingering smoke, the faint tang of fear. Mia had stepped out onto the balcony of the mansion to clear her mind, trying to breathe past the tension of hospital visits, bandages, and the almost unbearable closeness she now shared with Mark.Her phone buzzed in her hand, a number she had memorized by heart. Ethan.Her stomach knotted. Every instinct screamed to ignore it, to delete, or block—everything she could do to erase him from her life. But something darker, something morbidly curious, made her answer.“Hello?” Her voice was steady, but low. Controlled.“Mia.” The sound was all wrong. Low, sharp, dangerous. Obsessed. Not the man she had loved—the one who had promised comfort, shared laughs, and whispered sweet nothings. This was someone else. Someone hollowed out by desperation.“What do you want, Ethan?” Her knuckles whitened around the phone.“I know you’ve seen the proof,” he said, the words quick, unfiltered, breath

She had no idea whether she had just saved him—or painted a target on them both.The mansion felt too quiet the next morning.Not peaceful.Watchful.Mia stood by the window in her room, sunlight cutting across the floor in sharp lines. Guards rotated below. Security had doubled after the last attempt. Mark had personally overseen it.He hadn’t questioned her again about the call.That almost made it worse.He trusted her.And she had lied.Her phone buzzed.Unknown number.Her stomach dropped before she even opened it.Ethan:You don’t have to lie to protect him.I know you, Mia.You wouldn’t throw something like that at me unless you were afraid.Her pulse spiked.Another message followed.Meet me once. Public place. No weapons. No games.Closure.She stared at the word.Closure.It sounded harmless.Soft.Almost gentle.Her thumb hovered over the screen.She shouldn’t respond.She knew that.Mark would say it was a trap.Luca would track the number.Her father would lock her insid

As they stop in a parking lot to switch to another SUV, so they won't get caught.One of the men smiled again.Polite.Professional.Predatory.“Miss Romano,” he repeated.Mia didn’t freeze.She tries to escape again. One of the men cursed behind her.A hand grabbed her wrist.She twisted hard, elbowing backward like Mark had taught her. Bone met bone. Someone grunted.She kicked.Another grip seized her from behind, arm locking around her ribs. She bit down viciously on a sleeve and tasted blood.“Hold her!”Her scream tore through the air.“Let go of me!”A black cloth pressed briefly over her mouth—she jerked her head away before it sealed.She managed to wrench free for half a second.Then she saw him.Ethan stepped out from behind the SUV.Calm.Controlled.Watching.Her body went still—not from surrender, but shock.“You?” she breathed.The men tightened their hold.Ethan approached slowly, like she was something fragile.Or something owned.“You shouldn’t have run,” he said sof