Alle Kapitel von Two worlds that collide: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 4

"Happy birthday to you... happy birthday to you..."The voice was deep, gravelly, and slightly off-key, but to Vivienne Blackwood, it was the most beautiful sound in the world. It was a anchor in the drifting fog of sleep, pulling her back to the surface of consciousness. She stirred against the cool, high-thread-count silk of her pillow, a sleepy smile spreading across her face before her eyelids even fluttered open."Happy birthday, my angel," Arthur Blackwood whispered.Vivienne blinked, her vision clearing to find her father standing by her bedside. The room was still mostly draped in the soft, blue shadows of early morning, but a single flickering flame illuminated his face. He was holding a small, elegant white cake on a silver platter—a single gold candle dancing in the center."Dad?" she croaked, her voice thick with sleep. She sat up, pushing a curtain of dark hair behind her ear. "You’re home. I thought the London board meeting ran through the weekend."Arthur sat on the edg

The valet stand at L’Ermitage was accustomed to high-end machinery. Usually, a line of sleek silver Mercedes and the occasional matte-black Bentley formed a muted parade of wealth. But as the clock struck one, a sound tore through the refined atmosphere of the boulevard—a mechanical, predatory shriek that bounced off the glass storefronts like a physical blow.Vivienne saw the crowd on the terrace before they saw her. She shifted the Lamborghini into a lower gear, the needle on the tachometer jumping as she gave the engine a deliberate, aggressive rev. The V12 howled, a guttural, earth-shaking roar that silenced the clinking of champagne flutes and the polite murmur of gossip.Every head turned. It was an instinctive reaction, the way prey turns toward a predator.On the terrace, Chloe Montgomery stood up so abruptly her chair scraped harshly against the stone. Her face was a mask of pale disbelief, her eyes narrowed as she watched the orange blur approach. She was likely praying to a