All Chapters of OWNED IN THE DARK: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

MATHEW“Bro this has been the best news I've heard all day. Hopefully this would get her to cancel her arrangement with his "Miss Ciara left the restaurant without a reaction a while back," Luke’s voice came through, flat and dry. "She’s on her way home.""I’ve had the path secure for twenty minutes," I growled back, straightening my spine. My shoulders ached from the tension, the iron-hard muscles across my back locked up like old cables.Then she appeared.Ciara stepped out from under the green awning of the restaurant, her wool coat swinging in a perfect, measured cadence around her shins. She didn't look left. She didn't look right. She held a black umbrella at an exact ninety-degree angle, her dark eyes fixed on the rear door of the rover as if she were walking down a secure administrative corridor instead of a public sidewalk in the middle of a downpour.I fell into step behind her the second her heels hit the wet pavement, my large frame instinctively positioning itself betwee

MATHEWBy the time the Rover rolled through the estate gates, Ciara had already rebuilt every wall I'd spent the drive tearing down.It was honestly impressive.Five minutes ago she'd been sprawled across the backseat looking completely undone.Now?Her glasses were back in place.Her coat was buttoned.Her expression could freeze lava.The woman was terrifying.Luke pulled the vehicle to a smooth stop in front of the main entrance.Before I could even open my door, Ciara was already gathering her tablet."We're late.""We're three minutes early.""That is late."I stared at her.She stared back.“Can you be a bit relaxed Ciara?""Uhm..no."I laughed despite myself.The front doors opened.Apparently everyone in this house operated on military-grade timing.Mary stood waiting at the top of the stairs.Carlista stood beside her.Holding a bottle of champagne.Why? Nobody could say. Possibly not even Carlista."Welcome home!" she announced.Mary frowned."Why do you have champagne?""Ce

CIARAThe weight of the cabin had become entirely suffocating, a thick layer of static electricity that settled right beneath my skin. Everyone else was locked in their own worlds now—Carlista was finally quiet, buried under a mountain of snacks and looking out the window; Mary was back to her muted, frantic texting with her dictator husband; and Louis looked like he was trying to solve the global economy through sheer willpower alone.But Mathew? Mathew was sitting right next to me, and he was completely somewhere else.His shoulder against mine felt tense, as rigid as granite. I could hear the shallow, rhythmic hitch of his breathing over the low, constant drone of the private jet’s engines. Fifteen years of a ghost suddenly taking shape on a grainy security feed in Venice. I knew exactly what that kind of shock did to a person—it paralyzed you while making your heart beat so fast you felt like you were sprinting into a brick wall.I looked down at our joined hands. My fingers were

CIARAVenice was beautiful.Unfortunately, I was too annoyed to appreciate it."Explain to me again," I said, adjusting my sunglasses as our group crossed another narrow stone bridge. "Why exactly are we chasing a boat registration that doesn't exist?""Because it exists enough to be suspicious," Louis replied."That's not an answer.""It's the only answer."Louis looked completely unbothered.Years around me had apparently destroyed his survival instincts.Beside me, Mathew hadn't spoken in almost twenty minutes.That worried me.Angry Mathew punched things.Silent Mathew thought things.Silent Mathew was infinitely more dangerous.The discovery at the dock had shaken him.I understood why.For fifteen years he'd believed his brother was dead.Now every new clue dragged him further into uncertainty.I slipped my hand into his.His fingers immediately tightened around mine.He didn't look at me but he squeezed once."According to the remaining dock records," Louis continued, consultin

CIARAThe glass of the conservatory didn’t shatter when Mathew hit it; it exploded.He didn't use a tactical breach. He didn't wait for Louis to cycle the electronic locks or for Mary to throw a flashbang. He simply threw the entire kinetic force of his six-foot-four frame through the arched pane, converting two hundred and thirty pounds of muscle and raw momentum into a battering ram. I was through the breach half a second later, my sidearm raised, clearing the left flank by pure instinct. Behind me, I could hear Carlista and Mary moving into defensive positions outside the perimeter, but my world had narrowed down to the radius of this single, brightly lit room.The air inside smelled of expensive Earl Grey tea, rain, and the distinct, coppery tang of fresh blood.Maggie didn't even flinch. She sat in her high-backed velvet chair, a stray splinter of glass glittering like a diamond in her perfectly coifed blonde hair. The venomous smile I’d seen through the window remained fixed on