Novels by MattyWrites

CHAPTER 052Rowan’s Point of ViewI waited for her to come back from wherever she’d run off to. The tension in the air was almost suffocating. No one I’d ever dealt with was like Sarah. Charm or force could not sway her. The longer I waited, the more restless I became.I looked up from where I sat when the door creaked open. Her eyes were sharp and suspicious, as if she already knew I had something planned.With a cold voice, she asked, "What now, Rowan?"I pulled the small velvet box from my pocket and stood. Giving her something so small and trivial was a ridiculous gesture, especially considering the weight of everything I'd done to her. But I had to try.I stepped closer. “This is for you.”She looked at the box, then back at me. “Do you think you can buy me off with a gift?”I held it out and admitted, “No.” “I think you deserve something that proves I’m not your enemy.”She didn’t take it. Her jaw was tight, and she just stared at me. “What is it?”“Open it and see.”As she tore

CHAPTER 051Outside the storm had calmed a little, but inside my heart was a raging mess. My fingers sifted through the yellowed papers, searching for anything that could possibly explain the whisper I'd heard earlier."You don’t need to know who you really are."Those words had burrowed themselves into my mind, scratching at me like an itch I couldn’t reach.I wasn’t alone in the room. Detective Carter stood in the corner, arms crossed, his shadow reaching across the walls. He didn’t talk much, only watched me as I looked at him with that penetrating gaze that made me feel like I was trying to unravel some mystery he couldn’t even solve himself."What are we looking for?" His voice finally broke the silence, asking, "What are we looking for?"I didn’t look up. "The truth.""What's the truth about, Sarah?"I hesitated. Did I even know? The pull, though, was stronger than my doubt, and I kept going, the fragile papers crinkling under my fingertips.Then I saw it. A name. My name."Sara

CHAPTER 050 SARAH'S POINT OF VIEW With Jervis driving us out of the chaos of the house, I listened to the soft hum of the car engine. My thoughts collided; my mind filled with ideas. I looked at him, his jaw clenched as he stared at the road. Finally, I uttered, "I don't know where to start."His grip on the steering wheel tightened, but he didn’t look at me. Sarah, you don’t have to say anything. I get it. I also think you deserve better than what Rowan’s giving you.” His words were heavy and sharp, hanging in the air. I looked out the window, the city lights all blending together. I whispered, “It’s not that simple.” Jervis' frustration was palpable, and he sighed in response. You’re making it complicated; it’s not simple. The guy’s toxic, Sarah. “You know he’s controlling you.” His bluntness made me flinch, but I didn’t argue. My mind betrayed me, flashing back to Rowan earlier that night. He had seized my arm in a commanding and desperate manner, his eyes piercing.Jervis pu

CHAPTER 049 SARAH’S POINT OF VIEW I heard Lilith’s laugh in my head long after she left the room. The venom in her voice and the sharpness in every word cut me deeply, leaving her wounds like tiny knives that continued to pierce me. Every time she lost her grip, her danger increased. She was unraveling. I put my head against the window and stared out into the city, tears ruining my vision until the lights became streaks. I looked into the mirror and saw a woman ripped apart, barely hanging on. I wanted to scream, to hurl something that would allow the turmoil inside me to escape. I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, but instead I felt nothing.Steady footsteps dragged toward me from the hallway. My heart leapt. Rowan. The door creaked open, and he was standing there, frustration stamped across his face. As if summoned against his will, he crossed his arms and leaned against the frame.“What did Lilith say to you this time?” His voice was sharp, yet it ca

CHAPTER 048 SARAH’S POINT OF VIEW My apartment was silent, and I felt like I was being slowly hanged. I clenched my hands into fists on the counter, taking shallow, quick breaths, trying to stop my thoughts racing. Rowan’s last words wouldn’t stop playing in my head. Sarah, you have no idea what’s coming. But you will.” It wasn’t a threat; it was worse. It was a promise. I looked at my phone on the table; its screen was dark and ominous. I wanted to call Jervis, wanting to hear his steady, reassuring voice tell me everything would be fine. The other part, the stronger part, knew I couldn’t rely on him for this. Whatever Rowan was planning, it was for me. I hesitated, my hand hovering over the phone. The sound of a loud knock at the door knocked me out of my thoughts, and I felt my heart swell up into my throat. Not again.“Sarah, open up!” I heard the familiar voice, and relief flooded me. Jervis.I unlocked the door quickly, practically stumbling to it. His hair was slightly

CHAPTER 047 Sarah’s Point of View Even cozy in its disarray, Jervis’s apartment felt safe. The corner lamp cast soft yellow light over the wooden floors, casting long shadows. It should have been comforting, but this evening it only made me more restless. I looked out the rain-splattered window, cars blurring past below. Jervis spoke behind me, his voice low and careful. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself, Sarah." I turned, and his steady green eyes met mine. His arms crossed, he was leaning against the kitchen counter. The laxity of his demeanour could not conceal the potency in his expression, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar. “I don’t know what you mean,” I said, but we both knew I was lying. His footsteps soft but firm, Jervis took a step closer. You’re torturing yourself trying to untangle everything, Rowan, your family, all of it. At some point, you’ve got to decide what matters more: answers or peace." I ran a hand through my hair and laughed bitterly. “Peace? Af

CHAPTER 030Her body burned as if all had been drained, leaving only the felt hollow shell. Her skin took the sharp chill of the steel table, and she struggled to pull in a shallow breath that almost sounded like a loss she wasn’t sure she would win. The room was filled with metal and antiseptic, as machines hummed faintly, but the voices that filled the room were cold and calculating, the worst of all.Matteo’s voice echoed smugly, triumphant, “Her blood is unparalleled.” “It’s power in liquid form. “A few more vials, and I’ll be in the black.”Her body wouldn't move; she wanted to scream, to lunge at him and wipe that smirk off his face. Her veins burned from whatever drug they had pumped into her; her muscles were leaden. The restraints around her wrists dug in her skin, refusing to shift.“One of these will knock you on your ass,” another voice cautioned. "It's a hybrid's regenerative properties. If you drain her too quickly, they might collapse."Regenerative properties. That’s w

CHAPTER 029Lucia stirred awake; the room was dark and cold. Her head pounded, and her limbs felt heavy, restrained. She tried to blink it all away and make sense of the place she was. Damp stone stank; she could almost smell blood in the tang of that metal smell.She pulled against the leather straps that bound her wrists to a wooden chair; her wrists burned. The confusion began to clear, and a sharp pang of anger replaced it. The betrayal, the memory of what happened, flooded back, and she clenched her teeth. The whispered apology before the darkness took her, Dante’s calm voice.Footsteps echoed down a corridor, getting louder. She forced her breathing to quicken, to calm. Dante stepped in, and the door creaked open, his face hidden by the dimmer light of a single overhead bulb.She spat, her voice raw but steady, 'You.' “You trusted me and this is what you do?”She caught him flinch, barely noticeable. His hands tucked into his coat pockets, he stepped closer. He spoke low, almost

CHAPTER 028The lamp had only one dim, golden glow that fell over Nero’s desk, but it wasn’t enough to reach the farthest corners of the room, and so the shadows pooled at the edges. Across her arms, Lucia sat in the chair opposite him, her posture stiff. His gray eyes were cold and calculating; his fingers were steepled as he leaned back in his wheelchair.He started, the name falling from his lips like a warning. “He’s getting too close.”The edges of her mouth tightened, and Lucia frowned. “It’s not that big of a deal.”“No,” Nero snapped. ‘You’re not reading into it enough.’ There’s a reason men like Dante don’t get close. And it’s never a good one.”Her defenses rose like a wall; she bristled. “He’s been useful. “He’s given me information we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.”Nero’s gaze didn’t waver. “Useful? Yes. Trustworthy? No. Lucia, he’s tied to the Vulpin mafia. You don’t want that thread tangled around your neck.”The reminder churned her stomach, but she kept her face neut

CHAPTER 027The dimly lit room had been scuffing her boots against the wooden floor as Lucia paced back and forth. She didn’t trust him, not for a second, but she knew she needed him. The mere mention of Matteo stirred her emotions, and the prospect of defeating him was the sole force keeping her grounded. But aligning with Dante? She wasn’t sure she could win that gamble.With arms crossed over his chest, Dante leaned against the wall, his face careful and neutral. Her anger, piercing and unyielding, would hover just beyond his grasp. He didn’t know if she would kill him or agree to his plan, but he kept quiet, letting her make up her mind.It was finally that Lucia stopped and turned to him. “How can I trust you?” she added icily. “You’re a Vulpin mafia member.” ‘For all I know, this is just another one of their games,’ I said.”Dante pushed herself off the wall and stepped, careful, toward her. He said evenly, “I’m not asking for your trust.” “I’m asking for a chance to prove that

CHAPTER 026There was too much quiet in the alley; the shadows felt alive. His breathing was steady, yet his mind was anything but calm. Dante lingered in the darkness. He knew full well it wasn’t an accident, and he’d followed her here. He wanted to follow Lucia, wanted this confrontation. He was trapped; she was baiting him.Her silhouette was sharp against the dim glow, and Lucia stood in the moonlight. She didn’t move, not one bit... too still, as if waiting for the pull of a trigger. Her voice pierced the silence, yet she remained motionless, not even turning her head.“Are you going to step out or do I have to drag you out?” Dante hesitated; there was steel beneath her calm tone.His fists clenched, he pressed his back against the cold stone wall. He could leave. Avoid this and disappear into the night. But he knew better. Lucia wouldn’t stop. The next confrontation wouldn’t end as cleanly as this one might; she’d find him.He stepped out of the shadows with a sigh and put up hi

CHAPTER 025 The folder on the table was frayed at the edges from being opened and closed a hundred times, and Dante stared at it. Across the top was scrawled the name 'Lucia Roselli', but it might as well have been written in flames. The photos, the timeline, the report, everything inside it felt heavy. His pages had turned over so many times he could recite the details by heart.Nero’s cousin. High priority. Capture alive.It sounded simple. It was supposed to be simple. Lucia was not simple.Dante ran a hand through his hair, leaned back in his chair, and the dim light of the room cast long shadows across his face. His earpiece buzzed again, a static-filled reminder of the pressure on the other end. He didn’t have to put it on to know what Leo would say. "Time’s up, Dante. She’s a problem. Solve it."Solve it. Like she was a puzzle or a task on a checklist. Everything sounded clinical and detached, like the mafia. How could they understand, though? They hadn’t watched her move thro