All Chapters of OWNED IN THE DARK: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

145 Chapters

CHAPTER 81: COLD WOMAN

MATHEW"What the actual fuck Ciara? Why on earth will you do this without even considering my feeling?" She looked at me and simply walked away. "A bottle of whatever keeps the lights off," I rumbled, my voice thick and rough.The bartender slid a bottle of cheap, unbranded Irish whiskey and a sticky glass across the scarred wood. I didn't use the glass. I uncorked the bottle with my teeth, spat the plastic cap onto the floor, and tilted the flask back.The alcohol hit the back of my throat like liquid fire, burning its way down into a chest that felt entirely too hollow. I wanted to be numb at her coldness.Deal with it.I slammed the base of the bottle onto the bar, a crack cutting through the loud noise of the pub. A couple of blokes at a corner table stopped talking and looked over. I slowly turned my head, my eyes completely black, waiting—hoping—one of them would give me an excuse. I wanted a fight. I wanted to feel flesh fracturing under my knuckles, wanted to bleed, wanted a

CHAPTER 82: MY SON FIRST

CIARAThe entire office seemed at their best behaviour as I arrived at Horizon holdings the next day as they all tiptoed around me...even Mary was being careful but Carlista even while we're in a boardroom kept staring daggers at me." After all staff practically ran out leaving I, Luke, Mary and Carlista she finally cleared her throat. "You do know you're an absolute bitch right Ciara? Why would you do this to my brother?"I exhaled. "I have no idea what you're talking about girl."She scoffed. "Puleaseee miss goody shoes. What happens to Mathew while you stay engaged to a stranger with his brother?""What happened to me for all the years he stayed with Maggie?""So this is about punishing him?""No it's about protecting my son...my only family from the ghosts of the past.""We're also his family. We also get a say.""Oh shut up Carlista and stop acting like some saint. You never even wanted me with your brother in the first place. My child comes first. No one and nothing else matters

CHAPTER 83: WHAT NEXT?

MATHEWI had been miserable for days now, upstairs, the VIP lounge of the Mayfair hotel was quiet, a sterile sanctuary of white stone, gold accents, and the faint, sickening scent of expensive perfume. I stood at the end of the corridor, my back pressed against the wall, my shadow stretching long and jagged under the recessed lighting. I was in a tuxedo. A custom, suffocating straightjacket of black wool that felt entirely too tight across my shoulders. I looked like one of them now. A civilized man.But under the starched white shirt, my skin was still burning from the whiskey I’d drowned myself in last night, and the cuts on my palm from the shattered glass were throbbing beneath a layer of fresh bandages.Then, the door to the ladies' washroom clicked open.She walked out.Ciara.My chest locked. She didn't look like the woman who had cried beneath me in the dark two nights ago. She looked like an ice sculpture. Her dark hair was pulled back into a severe, flawless twist, exposing

CHAPTER 84: LOYALTY

CIARAThe mirror in the executive washroom did not lie, but it was easily managed.I picked up a discarded hairpin from the marble counter and used it to secure a stray lock of dark hair back into the severe, flawless twist at the base of my skull. With a damp paper towel, I wiped the small smear of crimson from my lower lip—a minor physical abrasion, nothing more. My breathing had already returned to its baseline of sixty beats per minute. The adrenaline spike from the previous ten minutes had been completely processed and neutralized.I looked down at my left hand. The five-carat emerald-cut diamond sat perfectly centered on my finger. The visual variable remained intact.The door swung open, the sound from the ballroom downstairs briefly leaking into the quiet space before the hydraulic hinge forced it shut again.I did not turn around. I watched Mary’s reflection through the glass. She didn't look shocked by the state of the room, or by the fact that my hair was slightly damp at

CHAPTER 85: BACK UP

MATHEW The lego fortress on my living room floor looked about as stable as my life.I sat on the rug, my long legs folded uncomfortably under me, still wearing the trousers from the previous night's disastrous gala. My tuxedo shirt was unbuttoned to the sternum, the sleeves rolled up to my elbows, revealing the fresh, white bandages wrapped around my cut palm. My head felt like someone was executing a controlled demolition behind my eyes, the lingering venom of the whiskey mixing beautifully with pure, unadulterated desperation.Adam, sitting opposite me in his Spider-Man pajamas, was meticulously adding a plastic laser cannon to a plastic watchtower. He was five years old, but he possessed the exact same terrifyingly blank, analytical stare as his mother. Looking at him right now was like looking at a pocket-sized version of the woman who had asked me what came next after a quick fuck in a Mayfair restroom."You look lost dad," Adam said, his voice entirely too clear for 0800 hours

CHAPTER 86: SISTERHOOD

CIARA The boardroom table had been cleared of the legal decoy portfolios, leaving only the stark, reflective black wood. I had remained in the seat for exactly forty-two minutes after Mary’s departure, monitoring the market indices on my terminal. The secondary sovereign firewalls were holding. The regulatory delay was active. The metrics were entirely stable but the domestic perimeter was still showing a significant structural fracture.The door did not click open with its usual administrative precision. It was pushed back with a sudden, uneven force that indicated an unmanaged velocity.I did not lift my eyes from the digital screen immediately. I watched the reflection of the emerald-green silk of my gown warp against the glass surface as I shifted my posture.Carlista stood in the doorway. She was no longer wearing the corporate blazer she had donned for the morning session. She had changed into an oversized, faded grey sweatshirt—one that I recognized by its frayed cuffs as bel

CHAPTER 87: MAKE UP

MATHEW She was asleep. Or at least, her body was still.I stepped into the room, my movements completely silent despite the sheer mass of my frame. I’d stripped off the suffocating tuxedo hours ago, replaced by a dark, form-fitting tactical shirt and cargo trousers. My boots made no sound on the heavy rug as I closed the distance to the massive canopy bed.Ciara was lying on her side, her long dark hair spilled across the white silk pillows like ink bleeding into water. My chest ached with a sudden, violent contraction. The cuts on my palm, hidden beneath clean bandages, throbbed in synchronization with my heart.I didn't stop until my knees hit the edge of the mattress. "Stop acting like a ghost Mathew," her voice broke the silence, smooth, flat, and entirely awake.She didn't move. Her eyes remained closed, her face a mask of perfect, unbothered stillness."You were awake," I rasped, my voice a dark, rough growl in the quiet room."The perimeter sensors on the primary staircase f

CHAPTER 88: ADAM'S TANTRUM

CIARA The flashbulbs from the media perimeter were operating at an interval of 1.2 seconds, creating a continuous, strobing glare against the glass facade of the Tate Modern. The entry sequence for the annual Ministry of Infrastructure Gala was heavily congested.Beside me, James Harvour maintained a textbook public alignment posture. His right hand was positioned exactly three inches above my lower back—not touching, but establishing the required visual narrative for the high-society press corps. The five-carat emerald cut on my left hand caught the artificial illumination with optimal efficiency."The Undersecretary for the Home Office is positioned near the western terrace," James said, his lips barely moving as he directed a practiced, tegenic smile toward the financial reporters. "The conflict-of-interest brief has been delivered to his assistants. A five-minute introduction will solidify the administrative delay on your Swiss routing codes.""The allocation is within my paramet

CHAPTER 89: PRESS RELEASE

CIARA On screen, James Harvour was performing precisely as calculated. He stood solo before the wall of flashing lenses, his expression a seamless blend of high-society charm and practiced composure. He was currently delivering the pre-approved talking points to a reporter from Reuters, his baritone voice muffled through the vehicle’s encrypted audio feed."Mr. Harvour, can you comment on Miss Sterling’s sudden departure? Is there a structural issue with the Baltic alignment?""Not at all," James replied seamlessly on screen, his smile uncompromised. "Miss Sterling is simply managing an urgent, high-priority administrative update regarding our infrastructure assets. Horizon Holdings operates on a twenty-four-hour calibration cycle. Our engagement remains active.""He's lying" Adam noted, his voice flat, his tiny finger tapping a rhythmic sequence against his trousers."He is doing what he can thanks to you," I corrected, not shifting my gaze from my own handheld terminal. "James Harv

CHAPTER 90: PREGNANCY THREAT

CIARA The reservation at Scott’s was under my secondary corporate alias, a standard operational countermeasure to prevent the financial press from tracking my lunch hours. The corner booth offered a ninety-two percent visual block of the main dining room, shielded by a column of dark wood and a heavy floral arrangement. I was precisely twelve minutes into my smoked salmon course when I felt an unknown presence. The woman did not have an administrative appointment, nor did she possess the social credentials required to bypass the front maître d'. Yet, she had managed to leverage a sheer, volatile momentum to force her way past the seating barrier. She was young—approximately twenty-four, according to my instant demographic assessment—with bleached-blonde hair that lacked the precision styling of the Mayfair elite, and an expensive leather trench coat that she wore like a shield. She stopped exactly two feet from my table, her chest heaving in short, unmanaged intervals. She sla

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