All Chapters of The Wrong Bride, His Revenge: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The clock on the wall said 7:00 AM.I had been awake for three hours. The bedroom was empty. Rex had left sometime before dawn. His side of the bed was cold. The pillow still smelled like him. Cedar and gunpowder.I sat up. Stared at the camera in the ceiling. The red light was back. Lin had disabled it last night. Someone had turned it on again.Isabella was watching.Or maybe someone else.My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.Three months start today. Tick tock.The pregnancy deadline. The deal my father made. Three months to give Rex an heir.I had my tubes tied at eighteen. There would be no heir. Not now. Not ever.Rex knew. He had known for two years. He married me anyway.But Victor did not know. The man pretending to be Victor. The body double. He expected a grandchild. He expected proof. He expected me to perform.I typed back.Who is this?No answer.I called Rex. He answered on the first ring."Where are you?""In my study. Your mother is here. We are reviewing t

The car was warm. The city blurred past the windows. Rex drove with one hand on the wheel and one hand on my thigh. I did not push it away. "We have twenty minutes," he said. "Until midnight." "Then we should be planning." "We have been planning. All day. All night. There is nothing left to plan." "There is always something." "Then tell me. What did I miss?" I looked at him. His profile was sharp against the streetlights. His jaw was tight. His eyes were focused on the road, but I could see the tension in his shoulders. The way his knuckles were white on the steering wheel. "Victor knows me," I said. "He knows how I think. How I fight. How I react under pressure." "Then do the opposite." "What?" "Do the opposite of what he expects. If he expects you to come alone, bring an army. If he expects you to be scared, be calm. If he expects you to save Lin first, save yourself first." "I cannot save myself first. Lin is in there." "Lin would want you to live." "That does not mean

The warehouse looked different at midnight.Darker. Taller. More menacing. The broken windows stared at me like empty eye sockets. The rusted door hung open, waiting.I parked Rex's car two blocks away. Walked the rest. Alone. Just like Victor asked.My gun was in my waistband. My knife was in my boot. Rex was somewhere in the shadows behind me. I could not see him. That was the point.The warehouse door creaked when I pushed it open.Inside, light. Flickering. Yellow. A single bulb hanging from the ceiling. Under it, a table. Two chairs. A bottle of wine. Two glasses.And Victor.He sat at the table. Smiling. His silver hair was combed back. His suit was expensive. He looked like a king waiting for his subject."Mira," he said. "You came.""You have my mother.""I have many things. Sit."I did not sit."Where is she?""Safe. For now." He gestured to the empty chair. "Sit, Mira. We have much to discuss.""I am not here to discuss. I am here to take my mother home.""And you will. Afte

The study felt different in the morning light. Rex sat behind his desk. His sleeves were rolled up. His hair was messy. He had not slept. Neither had I. The door was closed. The windows were covered. The only light came from a single lamp on the desk. "Sit down," he said. "I would rather stand." "You are going to want to sit for this." I sat. Rex opened a drawer. Pulled out a thick folder. Brown. Worn. Held together with a rubber band. "What is that?" "Your file." "My file?" "I have been keeping it for ten years. Ever since your mother asked me to watch over you." "You have a file on me?" Rex slid the folder across the desk. "Everything. Every photograph. Every report. Every secret." I stared at the folder. Did not touch it. "Why are you showing me this now?" "Because you asked for no more secrets. No more lies." "So you are giving me your file?" "I am giving you everything." I pulled the rubber band off the folder. Opened it. The first page was a photograph. Me.

The mountains were dark.Rex drove. I sat in the passenger seat. My mother sat in the back. The road twisted up the side of the mountain. Trees on both sides. Dark. Dense. The headlights cut through the fog."How much further?" I asked.My mother leaned forward. Looked at the road."Maybe an hour. The cabin is at the top. Near the lake.""Did Victor go there often?""Once a year. Every winter. He said it was the only place he could think clearly.""What did he think about?"My mother was quiet for a moment."About you. About me. About all the things he did wrong.""Did he regret them?""I do not know. He never said."Rex glanced at me. His eyes were tired."We should stop for the night. It is late. The roads are dangerous.""No. We keep going.""Mira...""Victor has been playing games for ten years. I am done playing. We find him tonight. We end this tonight."Rex nodded. Kept driving.The cabin appeared out of the fog.Small. Wooden. A porch. A chimney. Smoke rising. Someone was insi