The Long Way Down Book Novels & Stories

She quickly reached back to stop me, preventing me from going any further. After everything I had already done, her suddenly telling me to stop only made the frustration worse. However, since Phoebe insisted, I had no choice but to give up and settle for enjoying the moment through the stockings again. Just then, our surroundings went dark. Regardless, the rumbling of the train continued. The train roared into a dark mountain tunnel. About ten seconds later, the light returned. "There are more than ten tunnels on this route. The one up ahead is the longest. It takes a full three minutes to pass through!"

I yanked my sleeve free, brushing off nonexistent dust with disgust, and shot him a cold look. "Daniel, you didn’t love me. You’re only regretful now because you’ve lost everything. Don’t pretend this is about love. Your little performance is just pathetic." Without another word, I turned and walked toward the Maybach waiting for me at the curb. To my surprise, Daniel started shouting insults. "Well, well, Yuna Jones, looks like you've already found yourself a sugar daddy! No wonder you suddenly became the CEO of Starlight Technologies! Driving such an expensive car. I bet your ‘sponsor’ has no idea you’re just someone else’s castoff!”

WARNING This chapter contains physical, emotional, and mental abuse scenes. Some readers can find this work triggering. Please read with caution. Even though I was safe with Emily I barely slept that night. I was eager to get moving and get away from Jax for good. I could already imagine how much better life would be without getting hit or worrying about every word that comes out of my mouth. I imagined how different the children would act once they knew that I was safe as well.

Looks like he got beaten up pretty badly. ‘Pity him!’ After five minutes, Team Four’s office became quiet again. The other employees in the Project Department looked at the closed door, then shook their heads. They sighed and continued to work on their own tasks. In the now quiet Team Four office… “What’s your name? Where are you from?” “Bro, I’m Ekialde Long. My grandfather is Chester Long, one of the first shareholders of the company…” Ekialde mumbled. He was squatting against the wall with messy hair after getting beaten badly.

"The point? I thought you'd be moved. Well, if you don't like it, I won't play these games anymore. There won't be any more chances anyway." Kimberly turned around with a grin, about to leave, when the light fixture above suddenly came loose. In an instant, the crystal chandelier weighing dozens of pounds plummeted straight toward them. Cora instinctively raised her hands to shield her head, then saw George rush over. The fixture crashed heavily onto Cora's wrist, shoulder, neck, and back, knocking her to the ground. Tears from the pain rolled down her face in large drops. Agonized groans escaped her throat.

I went with him anyway. At the table, Cicio introduced me to the rival bosses and crooked intermediaries, men who smiled too easily and watched too closely. The plan was already in motion. Someone had been poisoned to weaken the opposition, and Cicio asked me to keep refilling glasses, to urge them to drink, to distract them while the deal was being cornered. Somewhere along the night, I drank what I wasn’t supposed to. I didn’t realize it at first, only that the room started spinning, my body going numb, my thoughts slipping out of reach. I was unraveling in front of everyone, humiliated, barely conscious.

So I powered my phone off so I wouldn't be as tempted to read anymore and climbed into bed. I turned the lamp off and pulled a pillow to my chest. It was a long time before I fell asleep, and then I woke up just a few hours later from a nightmare where Rob was trying to kill me. I turned the lamp on and paced the floor. I turned my phone back on and had ten more texts from Rob.

Get the hell out of here and go home now! He reached out to grab me, wanting to force me to leave. Suddenly, there was a tremor. Benjamin and Hector immediately ran to Jennifer, who stood in an open space. Benjamin even shoved me to the ground despite seeing the concrete pillar that was about to collapse behind me. It landed on my left leg, and I passed out from the overwhelming pain. When I woke up again, I was in the hospital with my left leg in a cast. None of my family or friends were by my side.

- I got a call from my father when I was in the VIP lounge at the airport, "Come home, Silas. Horizon Capital happens to need a partner in tech. Everything you've studied and learned will be useful here." I gave a quiet hum of agreement into the phone. As the plane climbed into the night sky, I gave the glittering city outside the window one last look. Seven years… To think I had really ended everything… I flew back to Norcrown City overnight. The moment I got off the plane, I received a text from Ruby: [Silas, where are you? Why is the house completely empty?] For the first time, all I could feel was calmness as I looked at that message.

I registered Silas talking with Saint and Atlas, trying to figure out the best way to get everyone safely below ground as I worked, but I elected to let the males puzzle out this portion of our plan themselves, unaware of the obstacles standing in our way due to having never traveled this way in the past. My stomach rumbled hungrily as they plotted, the muscles starting to cramp from a lack of nourishment, and a few of the girls complained about being starving as well. All the same, there was nothing we could do about that for the moment, so I focused on ensuring the males hadn’t been injured too badly by the acid rain as Silas and the others began organizing the group to descend below groun