All Chapters of I Slept With The Wrong Man: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

71 Chapters

Broken Mask.

~ Lucien ~ The engine of my SUV roared as I jerked the wheel, weaving through three lanes of midday traffic like a predator chasing a scent. My knuckles were white against the leather steering wheel. On the passenger seat, my phone was on speaker, Elias’s voice cutting through the hum of the engine. “Lucien, the signal at the penthouse just went flat,” Elias said. His voice was usually as cold and steady as an ice bath, but now there was a sharp edge to it. “Someone just dropped a professional-grade ‘kill zone’ dampener. It’s a complete blackout. No cameras, no comms, no alarms. It’s a professional setup.” I slammed my palm against the wheel, the horn blaring as I forced a taxi to swerve. “What about Marcus and the detail?” “Dark. I can’t reach them. The whole floor is a dead zone,” Elias replied. I could hear his fingers flying across his keyboard at the Blackwood Tower. “Lucien, you need to pull back. If you go in there now, you’re walking into a tactical nightmare. The board i

The Shattered Glass.

~ Lucien ~“Stay down!” I shouted over the ringing in my ears.The living room was a mess of sparkling glass and broken dreams. I held Seraphina tight against the rug. Her heart beat fast against my chest, like a bird trying to fly away. I didn't look up yet. I knew the red dot was still looking for us.“Lucien?” her voice was tiny. It was a whisper that cut through the sound of my own heavy breathing.“I have you,” I promised. I meant it. I had spent my whole life winning at business, but right now, the only thing that mattered was the woman in my arms.A shadow moved by the kitchen. I saw the long, black tube of a silencer. It pointed right at my heart. The shooter wore a dark mask that hid his face. He looked like a ghost in the dim light of the penthouse.Just then, the front door burst open with a loud bang.“Down! Everyone down!” a voice roared. It was Marcus. My assistant had finally made it.The masked man didn't wait. He fired. The bullet whizzed past my ear and hit a vase on

The Secret Blackwood Estate.

~ Seraphina ~“We are safe here,” Lucien said as the car slowed to a crawl. He reached for my hand, but his grip felt like a shackle.“You said that about the penthouse,” I replied. I pulled my hand away and tucked it under my arm. My voice was sharp, a blade I was finally learning how to use. “Safe just means I am in a different cage. This one just has thicker bars and more trees.”The estate appeared through the mist like a ghost. It was a massive stone house with small windows and heavy doors. It didn't look like a home. It looked like a castle built for a war. There were no warm lights in the windows to welcome us. Instead, men in dark suits stood on the lawn, their eyes scanning the thick woods.The car stopped. Lucien climbed out first and reached for me, but I ignored his hand. I stepped onto the cold ground myself. The air out here was different from the city. It was thin and smelled of wet pine and old stone.“Inside. Now,” Lucien ordered. He didn't look at me. He was looking

The Counter-Suit.

~ Lucien ~“You brought her here?” Elias’s voice cracked like a whip in the silence of the study. He stood by the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of the Blackwood estate, his face pale with a mix of exhaustion and fury. “To the one house that isn't on a single public record? You might as well have pinned a map to the front door of the penthouse and invited Victor Vale for a second shot.”I sat behind my desk, my hands flat on the polished wood. “The penthouse was a glass target, Elias. You said it yourself—the signal was jammed, the security was neutralized. She’s safe here.”“She is a liability!” Elias slammed a hand onto the desk, rattling the crystal decanter. “I warned you months ago when you first slept with her. I warned you again when the medical reports leaked. This child isn’t just a secret anymore; it’s a bullseye.” “He is a Blackwood,” I said, my voice dropping into a low growl. “And we protect our own. I’m not hiding her because I’m afraid. I’m hiding her so I can focus

Mina.

~ Seraphina ~ The bedroom in Lucien’s safe house felt more like a very expensive prison cell. I sat on the edge of the large bed, my fingers digging into the soft velvet spread. Outside, the wind rattled the window glass. I looked at the heavy wooden door. It was closed. It was always closed. The handle turned, and Lucien walked in. He looked tired. His dark suit was perfectly pressed, but his eyes were hard. He didn't look at me first. He looked at the tray of food on the table. It was untouched. "You need to eat," he said. His voice was flat, like he was reading a report. "I want to see my best friend , Mina," I said. I didn't move. I kept my back straight, the way my mother had taught me. "I’ve been here for days, Lucien. I need my best friend." Lucien finally looked at me. He crossed his arms over his chest. "It’s not safe. Adrian is desperate. He has people everywhere. Bringing your friend here is a risk I won't take." I stood up. My legs felt a little shaky, but I did

The Public Narrative.

~ Lucien ~“Look at the screen, Lucien. She’s doing it. She’s actually doing it.”Elias stood in the center of my study, his face pale in the blue light of the monitors. I didn't answer. I couldn't. I sat in my leather chair, my hands gripped so tight the knuckles were white. On every news channel, the same face stared back at me. Naomi Vale.She wasn't crying. She wasn't angry. She looked like a concerned sister, sitting in a brightly lit studio. Behind her, a graphic flashed: THE VALE BETRAYAL.“My brother is a good man,” Naomi said, her voice soft and perfect for the cameras. “He tried to give Seraphina everything. He even suggested they find a way to be happy in their own ways because he loved her that much. But we see now that it wasn't about happiness for her. It was about a takeover.”A series of photos appeared on the screen. They were grainier and blurry, but the message was the same. Seraphina and I on the balcony. Seraphina entering the Blackwood Tower. Then, a new image po

The First Deposition.

~ Seraphina ~ “I’m going, Lucien. Stop trying to move me like a chess piece.” I stood in the center of the guest suite at the Blackwood estate, my hands trembling as I buttoned my blazer. Outside the window, the dense forest that surrounded the property looked like a wall of emerald spears. It was beautiful, but today, it felt like a prison. Lucien stood by the door, his large frame blocking the only way out. He didn’t raise his voice, but the air around him felt heavy and hot. “It’s a trap, Seraphina. Richard Sterling isn't a lawyer; he’s a butcher. He doesn't want the truth. He wants to carve you up so the public can watch you bleed.” “Then let him try,” I said, stepping closer to him. I had spent years being the ‘perfect wife’ who stayed in the background. I was done hiding. “Naomi is on every news channel calling me a unfit. Adrian is pretending to be a victim. If I don't show up to this deposition, it looks like I’m afraid. It looks like they’re right.” Lucien’s jaw tightene

Strategic Intimacy.

~ Lucien ~“You should be sleeping, Seraphina. It’s three in the morning. The meeting you had with Adrian and Richard Sterling is quite a tough one. you should rest”I stood at the entrance of the library, the heavy oak doors creaking slightly as I pushed them open. The room was mostly dark, except for a single lamp glowing in the corner. Seraphina sat in one of the large velvet chairs, her feet tucked under her. She didn't look up from the thick book in her lap, but I saw her shoulders tense.“I couldn’t sleep,” she said, her voice soft and a little tired. “The baby is kicking. I think he’s restless.”I walked further into the room, my footsteps muffled by the thick rugs. Four months. That’s how long it had been since the world turned upside down. Her stomach was no longer flat; a gentle curve showed through her silk robe. It was a physical reminder of the night that was supposed to be a simple business transaction.“Restless like his mother,” I muttered, stopping a few feet away fro

The Mistress Flip.

~ Seraphina ~“Do you really think I’m going to sit here and wait for permission to breathe?” I asked, talking to nobody but myself, my voice much steadier than I felt inside.I paced the length of the library in Lucien’s secret estate. The room smelled of old paper and expensive leather. Outside the tall windows, the morning mist clung to the trees, hiding this place from the rest of the world. It was a beautiful prison, tucked away where no map could find it.I touched my stomach. The baby—Lucien’s baby—gave a small stir. My mind kept drifting back to last night. The way Lucien had looked at me, the heat of his hand on my waist, and that kiss. It hadn't been a gentle kiss. It had been desperate. It made my heart race just thinking about it, and I had to force myself to stay calm. I was falling for him. It was a scary thought. Lucien was a man who planned everything like a game of chess. He was strategic to a fault, and I wasn't sure if I was a partner to him or just his most importa

Victor Step In.

~ Lucien ~“Look at this, Lucien,” Seraphina said, her voice shaking as she burst through the heavy oak doors of my library.I stood by the tall window, watching the rain lash against the glass. The sky was turning a bruised purple. I didn't turn around immediately. I didn't have to. I could hear the frantic rhythm of her breathing. Marcus followed her in, his face a mask of professional calm, but I saw the way his hand rested near his holster. He was on high alert.Seraphina held up a small, silver digital recorder. It looked like a toy in her hand, but I knew it was a bomb.“I met her. I met Chloe,” Seraphina said, walking toward the mahogany desk. She looked pale, but there was a new light in her eyes. It was a fire I hadn't seen before. “Adrian didn’t just lie to me. He’s been hurting her, too. He’s been ‘privately cruel,’ just like he was with me.”I finally turned around. I leaned against the edge of the desk and crossed my arms. “Tell me everything.”She spoke quickly. She told

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