Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 71 - Chapitre 77

The alley was a storm of chaos shouts, flashes of movement, the hiss of tires on wet asphalt. Ava’s heart pounded, blood roaring through her veins, but her focus was only on Ethan. He moved beside her with lethal precision, every muscle coiled, every motion fluid. His hand brushed hers once, twice, and she felt that fire stir low in her belly, a dangerous heat she couldn’t ignore even in the middle of life or death.“You’re shaking,” he said, voice low, dark, smoldering.“Adrenaline,” she whispered, though her voice quivered with more than that. The tension, the danger, the nearness of him—it made her ache.Ethan didn’t answer with words. He answered with a brush of his lips against hers, fleeting, possessive, hot, and raw. Desire and fear collided, igniting every nerve in her body. She wanted him, needed him, but the danger pressed too close, threatening to swallow them both.Grant’s laugh echoed from the shadows again, cruel and low. “You really think you can survive this?” he calle

When Love Becomes the TargetThe glass shattered before Ava even understood what she was hearing.One second she was wrapped in Ethan’s arms, breath tangled with his, heat and fear still burning through her veins. The next, the balcony doors exploded inward, shards raining across the marble floor like ice,Ethan reacted instantly.He pulled her down hard, covering her body with his, turning them so his back faced the open space. The crash of another shot ripped through the room. The smell of gunpowder mixed with rain.“Ava, stay down,” he ordered, voice sharp, protective, controlled.Her heart was pounding so violently she could feel it in her throat. She clutched his shirt, fingers trembling, but her mind was clear.This wasn’t random.Grant wasn’t trying to scare them anymore.He was escalating.Footsteps echoed from the hallway. Heavy. Intentional. Not rushed.They wanted them to know.Ethan reached behind the overturned couch, pulling the handgun he had hidden there days ago. He di

The drive to the hospital feels unreal.Too quiet.The city moves like nothing happened. Traffic lights change. Pedestrians cross streets. Someone laughs on the sidewalk outside a café.Ava stares out the window and feels like she is underwater.Ethan drives.Too calm.That is how she knows he is furious.Caleb sits in the back seat, phone in his hand, working contacts, pulling reports, calling in favors.“Brake failure,” he says after a while.Ava turns slowly. “What?”“That’s what the preliminary report says. Her car lost brake response before impact.”Ethan’s jaw tightens. “Brand new car.“Yes.”Silence.No one says it out loud.But all three of them are thinking it.Convenient.Too convenient.Ava’s heart is pounding now, but not from fear. From something colder.If this was Grant, then this is escalation.If it was not GrantThen someone else is moving pieces.And that is worse.They pull into the private wing of the hospital.Press is already gathering outside the main entrance.Of

The drive back to the penthouse was silent.Not tense.Not angry.Just heavy.Ava sat in the passenger seat staring out at the city lights, but she wasn’t really seeing them. Her mind was replaying one sentence over and over.He was there that night.She did not look at Ethan.Because she was not ready for what she might see.Grant had gone his own way after the hospital. Caleb stayed behind to secure the security footage before it “disappeared.” They would meet again in the morning.But tonight—Tonight it was just husband and wife.And the truth.When they stepped inside the penthouse, the silence felt different. More intimate. More dangerous.Ethan removed his jacket slowly and placed it on the chair.“Ava,” he started.She turned to face him.“No,” she said softly. “You don’t get to lead this conversation.”He swallowed.She walked toward him, not angry, not emotional. Just steady.“You funded the warehouse investigation.”It wasn’t a question.He did not deny it.“Yes.”The word