Alle Kapitel von Ashes of Love; Fire of Vengeance : Kapitel 51 – Kapitel 60

“I object, Your Honour.”Watson rises to his feet. His spine is straight, jaw set, eyes fixed on the bench like a blade drawn halfway from its sheath.The judge doesn’t even look at him. “Objection overruled.” His voice is calm, almost bored. “Let him finish.”Mr Benedict glances at Watson, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smug, fleeting smile.Watson remains standing for a second longer, before sitting back down, slowly, deliberately.Mr Benedict steps forward, fingers tightening around a file in his hands. The papers tremble just slightly.“Emma Moore was shot dead just a few hours ago, Your Honour.” He pauses, letting the words sink into the courtroom like smoke. “She was the host of the television program where that video was revealed.”A murmur ripples through the benches.“She had no known enemies,” he continues, voice sharpening. “She was a reputed journalist, someone who worked only for justice.”“Do you have any evidence, Mr Benedict?” The judge leans back in his chair,

“Were you having a nightmare?”The voice comes from beside me, low and careful.I turn my head. Mr Shaw sits upright in the back seat, his coat folded neatly on his lap, eyes studying my face. My throat feels dry.“Yes… just a bad dream.”My hand moves on its own, palm flattening against my stomach. Solid. Unchanged. The car hums steadily beneath us. Tires roll over smooth asphalt. Outside the window, streetlights pass in slow, even intervals. We’re inside a residential area now, quiet houses, trimmed hedges, lives continuing as if nothing is wrong.I let out a breath I didn’t realise I was holding. Mr Shaw breaks the silence. “Does Jason know about your situation?”I turn toward him, frowning. “What situation?”He drops his gaze, fingers tightening together. “About your pregnancy.” After a pause, he asks carefully, “Is it Mr Hale’s?”The air between us thickens. I stare at him, heat crawling up my neck. For a moment, words abandon me. Then my jaw sets. “Do you think I’m a woman with

Seeing my reaction, Mr Shaw chuckles. “Relax. All Smith & Hale accounts are frozen, except Adrian Hale’s. One card is still being used. To pay Watson. To buy groceries. To fill the car with fuel.”His smile lingers. “It’s not rocket science to figure out who’s using it.”The fear drains from my chest, leaving only a dull ache behind. I can’t tell anyone that Adrian is only pretending to have broken up with me. We are still in touch. He still looks at me the same way he did before everything shattered.Steady, possessive… like nothing else exists outside me.My lips can still feel the warmth of his mouth. Heat blooms there without warning, a memory that refuses to fade. I can still feel the ache of his hunger, the way his body pressed its need into mine, wordless and relentless.“What are you thinking about?” Mr Shaw asks.His voice pulls me back. I blink, meeting his gaze in the rear-view mirror. His eyes are sharp, observant… too observant.I smooth my expression, tuck the chaos away

“Jenny… help us.”Sara’s sob drifts out from the inner room again, thin and broken, like she’s running out of air. The sound slices straight through my chest. My body reacts before my mind does.I call out quickly, stepping toward their room. Just as I cross the threshold, Mr Shaw’s hand closes around my wrist and pulls me back.“Wait… don’t go inside.”I turn, startled. His grip isn’t rough, but it’s firm. Protective.“Just wait here,” he says quietly. “I’ll go in. Don’t worry.”I shake my head at once. “No. They might be fighting again. Let me check first.”A crease forms between his brows. For a second, it looks like he’ll stop me again, but then his hand drops. He steps aside.Not wasting another moment, I move fast down the corridor, my footsteps light but urgent. The closer I get, the clearer the sounds become... raised voices, uneven breaths. Sasha and Sara.They always fight like cats when they’re angry, but this… this feels wrong. Too sharp. Too desperate.Not today, I think.

I close my eyes, praying one last time to keep my baby safe. Bracing for the final blow.Instead, I hear Mr Shaw saying, “Leave her.” His tone is tight, words forced through clenched jaws.A sharp, strangled sound escapes the masked man.My eyes flutter open, vision swimming. Blood blooms... bright, shocking red. Not mine.It coats Mr Shaw’s hand, viscous and sticky, running down his sleeve in slow, deliberate rivulets.His hand clamps around the man’s wrist mid-motion, twisting it just enough. The blade skids off its path, driven by the remaining force, and bites into his palm.Mr Shaw’s eyes burn red, veins threading through the white like fine cracks in glass. His jaw locks. I hear it then… the slow, brutal grind of his teeth, bone against bone.He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t breathe wrong.Pain stabs deep, vicious, but he swallows it whole, muscles drawn tight as if holding himself together by force alone.The masked man strained, but couldn’t overpower him. In the scuffle, his mask s