All Chapters of Sold to the Devil: His Ruthless Vow: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The Motel 6 on the edge of the city was a far cry from the penthouse.The sheets smelled like bleach and stale cigarettes. The neon sign outside flickered with a buzzing sound that was driving me insane.I sat on the lumpy mattress, my laptop open in front of me. I had been staring at the screen for three hours, my eyes burning.I had left Julian. I had walked out on the man who saved my life because I couldn't stomach his past. But now, alone in the dark, the silence felt less like freedom and more like a mistake.Focus, I told myself. Find the truth.I had Julian’s credit card number memorized (a habit from my librarian days), but I didn't dare use it. He would track me in seconds. Instead, I was using the free motel Wi-Fi to dig into the public records of "V&T Imports."I scrolled through property tax records from 2004.Owner: Vencetti & Thorne Holdings. Status: Dissolved (2005).I clicked on the dissolution paperwork. It was a scanned PDF, grainy and faded. I scrolled to the botto

I woke up to the smell of wet ash and rot.My head was pounding, a rhythmic thudding behind my eyes that matched the dripping of water somewhere nearby. I tried to move my hands. I couldn't.My wrists were zip-tied to the arms of a heavy metal chair. My ankles were bound to the legs.I blinked, my vision swimming into focus.I was in a concrete room. The walls were stained black with soot. The ceiling was low and cracked, with rusted rebar poking through like exposed ribs.It was a basement. A basement of a building that had burned down a long time ago.The warehouse."You're awake."I jerked my head up.Luca Vencetti was sitting on a wooden crate across from me, casually cleaning his fingernails with a small, serrated knife. A single bare bulb hung from the ceiling between us, casting long, dancing shadows on his face."Where am I?" I croaked, my throat dry as sandpaper."You know where you are, Vivian," Luca smiled, standing up. "You found the photo. You did the research. Welcome to

"MARCUS!" I screamed, my voice tearing at my throat. "HELP HIM!"The sound of heavy boots thundered down the stairs. Marcus and the rest of the security team burst into the basement, weapons drawn.They stopped dead.They saw the carnage. The unconscious body of Luca Vencetti on the floor. The blood splattered on the walls. And their invincible boss, Julian Thorne, lying pale and broken in my arms."Secure the perimeter!" Marcus barked, snapping out of his shock. He Holstered his weapon and slid to his knees beside us. "Code Red! Man down! I repeat, the Principal is down!""He’s bleeding out," I sobbed, pressing my hands frantically against Julian’s lower back. The blood was hot and sticky, seeping through my fingers faster than I could stop it. "The knife... it’s still in there.""Don't touch it," Marcus ordered, his face grim. "If we pull it out, he bleeds out in seconds. We need to move him. Now.""The ambulance is five minutes out," a guard shout

The doctor pulled down his mask. He looked at me, at the blood dried on my skin, at the trembling in my hands and his expression softened. "He made it," he said. My knees gave out. I didn't fall, but I had to grab the back of the plastic chair to stay upright. The air rushed back into my lungs in a painful gasp. "He is in the ICU," the doctor continued, his voice grave. "The knife nicked his left kidney and severed a minor artery. We had to remove the damaged kidney. He lost a significant amount of blood, Mrs. Thorne. If he had arrived five minutes later..." He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to. "Can I see him?" I whispered. "He is sedated," the doctor warned. "He won't be able to talk. But... yes. You can go in." I followed him down the long, sterile hallway. The smell of antiseptic was overwhelming, stinging my nose. It was a sharp contrast to the smell of rain and smoke that still clung to my hair. The doctor opened the door to Room 101. "I’ll give you a moment

"I am leaving this place."Julian stood by the hospital bed. He was pale. His hands shook as he buttoned his shirt, but his voice was firm."The doctor said you need three more days," I said, crossing my arms."The doctor is an idiot," Julian muttered. He winced as he tucked his shirt in. The movement pulled at his stitches. "I can heal just as well at home. And the coffee here tastes like battery acid."He grabbed his jacket. He swayed slightly.I stepped forward and caught his arm. "You can barely stand.""I can stand fine," he growled, pulling away. But he didn't move toward the door. He leaned against the bed frame, breathing hard.He hated this. He hated being weak."Fine," I said. "If you want to go home, we go home. But we do it my way."I picked up his tie. I walked over to him and draped it around his neck. I tied the knot efficiently, my fingers brushing against his throat."There are fifty reporters in the lobby," I told him. "They want to see if the rumors are true. They w