جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 60

There are very few things in this world that truly anger me. I pride myself on being a man who has complete control over his emotions but not today. No. Today I was furious. I felt the kind of anger that settles deep in your chest and turns your thoughts into something dangerous. The moment I stepped into Greyhound Holdings, I felt it. The shift in energy, the way conversations dipped just slightly when I walked past and the way eyes flicked away too quickly. They knew I could see them too because they suddenly became very interested in their screens. Cowards. Every last one of them. “Good morning, sir,” one of the junior analysts greeted. I didn’t respond. I wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries. Everyone had seen the rumors that were circulating around online as I had. They had been sent to me within minutes of gaining traction. My PR team had already drafted responses, the legal had flagged accounts. Crisis management had suggestions. All of these thin

The lights are blinding. I’m smiling, Cameras flashing, people clapping, Dominic’s eyes are somewhere in the crowd. He’s proud of me. Vincent was away on a work trip in Singapore. Thank goodness because how would I have been able to juggle them both.My father is present but I had made sure only he was in attendance. I did not want Emilia and Claudia messing my mood tonight.I try to feel proud, too, but the tightness in my chest makes it hard to breathe. “Ladies and gentlemen, the award for most influential woman of the month goes to…… Avery Mane!” The announcer’s voice booms. I step forward, heels clicking, award in hand. Applause thunders. I nod, raise my glass, force the smile wider. “Thank you… thank you so much,” I murmur, heart racing. Then….. BANG. I freeze. Something hot explodes across my chest. My knees go weak. The applause dies mid-sound. My hands go to my chest automatically. Blood. Warm, sticky, everything is spinning. “GUN!!!” someone yells behind me.

The moment I stepped into the hospital, everything in me had changed. A nurse had tried to get in my way then. “Sir, you can’t go in there. visiting hours are…..” “Move.!!” My voice was cold as steel. The nurse who looked fresh out of college, froze mid-sentence. Good. At least she knew when to shut up. My phone was already at my ear and I was talking to the security detail I had hired. “Lock it down.” There was a pause on the other end. “…Sir?” “I said lock. it. down.” My tone dropped. “I want every entrance monitored. No one gets in without clearance. No one leaves this hospital without being checked.” “Yes, Mr. Greyhound.” I hung up. A doctor who seemed familiar enough with me walked up to where I stood. “Good evening, Mr Greyhound” “Where is she?” “I’m sorry?” “Avery Mane.” Recognition flashed across her face. Worry followed immediately after. “She’s in surgery, Mr Greyhound” “Which floor?” “…Private surgical wing.” “Good.” I walked

The first thing I noticed when I drifted back to consciousness was the throbbing in my shoulder. After that, it was the rhythmic, hum of the monitors as well as the fact that my limbs felt like they’d been dipped in concrete. There was also that odd feeling of emptiness. It was a void where something vital used to sit. I stared at the acoustic tiles of the ceiling, my vision swimming in and out of focus, waiting for my brain to catch up to my pulse. The first coherent thought that formed in my head was “What happened to me?” The memory hit me all at once, a jagged playback of the stage, the lights, the bullet and that glowing, ethereal system that had appeared to me when the world went dark. [SACRIFICE 40% OF ACCUMULATED WEALTH TO SURVIVE] I let out a breath that caught in my dry throat. Forty percent. It was all gone. I didn't need to see a bank statement to confirm it. I could feel the structural shift in my mind, like a pillar holding up a roof had been yanked

The knock wasn’t a request to enter.If anything, it was an announcement. It echoed through the hallway of my home. My father didn't wait for me to answer. He was one of the few people who knew about this house. It was one of the places I had come to heal properly.I would not even let Dominic, Vincent or Elias come around.I needed space to think of my next move.My father pushed into the living room with a stride that said he’d already bought and sold the air I was breathing. I suppose all over protective fathers acted this way. “Avery,” he said, his voice clipped.I managed to adjust on the couch.“Hey daddy”He kissed me on the cheek.“How are you feeling today?” He asked and I shrugged.“I’ve been better”I looked past my father and felt the air leave the room. The man standing there wasn't the kind of "bodyguard" you see in movies that were all bulging muscles and cheap suits. He was just… solid. A silent, handsome, immovable object in a leather jacket. He didn't smile