All Chapters of Sold to the Devil: His Ruthless Vow: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

New York City was drowning in rain.The Gulfstream touched down at Teterboro Airport at 2:00 AM. It taxied to a remote hangar at the far end of the runway.We didn't wait for customs. We jumped from the plane into a waiting black van. Leo was behind the wheel."Welcome home, boss," Leo said. He looked tired. He handed Julian a tablet. "The city is quiet. But they are watching. Every camera in Manhattan is looking for you.""Let them look," Julian said. He plugged the microchip into a secure reader on his belt. "We aren't going to Manhattan.""Where are we going?" I asked."The Foundry," Julian said. "It is an old textile factory in Queens I bought last year. It was supposed to be a crypto farm. It has its own dedicated fiber optic line and a backup generator the size of a tank."We sped through the rainy streets. The skyline of Manhattan glowed in the distance. It looked like a fortress of glass and light. It looked expensive.In an hour, it would all be worthless.We pulled up to the

The glass wall of the server room cracked.It started as a small spiderweb in the center of the pane. Then another bullet hit. The crack expanded."The glass is failing!" Bex screamed. He cowered under the desk.UPLOADING... 88%We were pinned. Three mercenaries moved in a phalanx formation toward the cube. They knew we were out of ammo. They knew they had won.If they breached the cube, they would put a bullet in the server tower. The upload would fail. The Consortium would win.Julian looked at the cracking glass. He looked at the approaching men. He looked at me."Vivian," he said. His voice was eerily calm amidst the chaos. "Stay here.""What are you doing?" I grabbed his arm. My fingers slipped on the blood and sweat coating his jacket."Buying time," he said.He stood up.He didn't fire from cover. He stepped out into the open. He walked right into the kill box."Hey!" Julian roared.The mercenaries turned. They saw the target. They saw the man worth billions of dollars standing

On the fifth day, the vultures arrived.They wore expensive Italian suits and carried leather briefcases. They were the remaining members of the Thorne Corp Board of Directors. The ones who hadn't been arrested in the FBI raids.I stood in the hallway outside Julian’s ICU room. I blocked the door."Mrs. Thorne," the lead director said. He looked at me with thinly veiled condescension. "We understand this is a difficult time. But the company is in chaos. The stock has plummeted forty percent since the leak. We need to appoint an interim CEO to stabilize the ship."He held out a document."If you sign this, it grants emergency power to the Board. We can sell off the shipping division to calm the investors."I looked at the paper. Then I looked at him.I hadn't slept in three days. I was wearing one of Julian’s spare hoodies and leggings. I looked like a college student. But I didn't feel like one."No," I said.The director blinked. "Excuse me?""I said no," I repeated. My voice was low

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the ring.The simple platinum band caught the morning sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse. It wasn't the massive, gaudy diamond Julian had forced on me months ago. It was understated. It was real.I stretched, feeling the ache in my legs from standing in heels all night—and from other activities that had happened afterwe got home."Stop staring at it," a sleepy voice rumbled from beside me. "It's not going anywhere."I turned over. Julian was lying on his side, his head propped up on one arm. His hair was a mess. The sheets were tangled around his waist. He looked younger like this. The hard lines of the CEO were softened by sleep."I'm not staring," I lied. I traced the coordinates engraved inside the band with my thumb. "I'm just... getting used to it. No contract this time.""No contract," he agreed. He reached out and pulled me closer. His skin was warm against mine. "Just a life sentence."I laug

I stood in front of a massive abstract canvas at the Met.It was a swirl of violent reds and calming blues. It reminded me of my life."Too much chaos," a voice said beside me. "Not enough structure."I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The voice was the same one from the phone earlier that morning. Smooth. Cold. Calculated.I turned slowly.Cassia Vane was striking. She was tall, with razor-sharp cheekbones and hair cut into a severe, asymmetrical bob that was dyed a shocking silver-white. She wore a tailored white suit that looked less like clothing and more like futuristic armor."Cassia Vane," I said. "I didn't know Vanguard had an appreciation for the arts.""We appreciate assets," Cassia said. She looked at the painting, then at me. Her eyes were dark, scanning me like I was a line of code she was trying to debug. "And you are Julian Thorne's most valuable asset.""I am his wife," I corrected. "Not an asset.""In Julian's world, is there a difference?" Cassia asked.