Ost Missing Nine Novels & Stories

"The night before our ninety-eighth engagement. You took me out to see a movie. On the way there, a car hit me. The driver fled the scene. They never found him." "I was in the ICU. The only thing keeping me alive was the idea that I couldn't die before our engagement. I lay there and told myself, over and over: I will not die the night before Julian's engagement." "I got lucky. The doctor told me the deepest cut was a centimeter from my heart. Another centimeter and I would be gone." "I held your hand afterward and told you it had to be a sign, a blessing for both of us." Julian closed his eyes. Two streams of tears ran from the corners of his eyes back into his hair and down into the pillow

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed. Callum Pierce, my childhood friend, sat beside the bed. When he saw me wake up, joy lit up his face. "Stella." My whole body was still shaking violently. It felt as if I could still see those men touching me. Callum immediately held me as I lost control. "It's all right. I've already sent them to prison. "And I had those photos swapped out. Everything taken to the auction was edited fake material."

After the surgery, I went to change out of my scrubs and scrolled a little on Instagram, noticing that Stacy had posted a whole carousel of photos on her account. There was a photo of the 99 roses that filled up the entirety of Melvin's car trunk, a photo of the brand-new LV bag with the tags still on, a photo of the lake view from their Four-Closer Hotel room, and their reflection against the floor-to-ceiling windows. The caption was simple. It read, "It's so nice to be chosen." Someone in the comments asked, "What about Melvin's girlfriend? The one who'd been with him for years?"

Callie The Carter house smelled like freshly brewed coffee and faint traces of cinnamon rolls, a scent that should have felt comforting but instead made my chest tighten. Mia was home today, wandering through the living room with her headphones slung around her neck, laptop open on the sofa, completely absorbed in her work. Grayson and I moved around the kitchen like dancers in a delicate choreography, both aware of the invisible lines we couldn’t cross. I reached for the sugar jar he’d just picked up, and our fingers brushed.

I would have been fine with just going to the courthouse and getting the paper. Because otherwise, what was I even doing for nine years? Now, of course, he has more than enough money to throw a lavish wedding. He just doesn't want to marry me anymore. Nine years, and now we have only fifteen days left. … At 11 p.m., I washed up and got ready for bed. Jason was already lying down. He got a call, jumped up quickly, and ran out to the balcony. A few minutes later, he came back and said, "Something came up at the office. I need to go on a quick business trip."

"What is it?" He didn't answer. Instead, he started walking toward the mansion. Fast. Aubrey hurried after him. By the time they reached the study, every member of his security team was already there. One of the monitors displayed a blinking location. A warehouse. Near the docks. "We found the driver's watch," one man reported. "It was transmitting for exactly thirty-seven seconds before going offline." Killian stared at the map. "It isn't a coincidence." "No." "It's bait." Another silence.

They knocked down the bodyguards following me and rushed us onto a private jet. As the familiar city faded into a tiny dot below us, I took out my SIM card and snapped it in half. May we never meet again, in this life or the next.

"The game's tomorrow. I've got a car coming for you at noon—takes you straight to the stadium, drops you at the suite. Sasha and the girls are already confirmed, so you'll have company." "The suite?" "Yeah. Owner's box. Best seats in the house." He turns, spatula pointing at me. "You're gonna see your brother make plays. Try to look impressed." I laugh. "I'll try my best." "And you." Callum points at Caleb. "No distractions. We need this win." Caleb raises his coffee in a mock toast. "Would I ever distract you?" "Every damn day." I hide my smile behind my mug. Under the counter, Caleb's hand finds my knee, squeezes once, then disappears. A secret. A promise. A beginning.

I waited for eight years. What I got was his ninety-ninth canceled wedding, watching him hold another woman in his arms while feeding her drinks, and him forcing my hands onto broken glass just to make another woman happy. That was when I woke up from the dream. When I opened my eyes, dawn was already breaking outside. Pale light spread across the ocean’s surface. The pillow beneath my face was damp, though I didn’t know when I had started crying. The things happening back in Corholt reached me through the Anderson family’s intelligence network.

Arthur tried to shield me behind him, but I gently pushed his hand away and walked calmly up to the barrel of Lorenzo’s gun. "Lorenzo, pull the trigger." I looked at him coldly, my eyes holding no fear, only endless contempt. "Do you know how fast social media is these days? The moment you fire that shot, in less than five minutes, the whole world will see a video of the former Don of the Moretti family committing murder in the street. When that happens, just to quell public opinion, the old men at 'The Commission' will tear you to pieces and feed you to the fish without hesitation."