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Chapter 45
Last Updated:
2025-03-20 22:16:01
VictoryAnne ViceGood luck, Addison!
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Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 46
[Addison] Have you ever noticed those moments in your life where making a choice could change the path of your future forever? That day when I dashed forward to save Olivia had been one of them. Trusting my son as he led me into that alley had been another. And now, as the smooth, cold bar of the door handle on the tall glass door leading into Grant Group warms under my hand, I know this is another one. As I step inside, my feet clatter on the long expanse of modern slate tile, dark and bold, making the metallic fixtures and white walls gleam even brighter. The words, “Grant Group,” glow on the wall above a receptionist's desk, where a security guard stands near a metal detector and an elevator entrance requiring a key card. The security is tight, but this doesn’t surprise me knowing Hunter Grant. What surprises me, I guess, is the reception that I receive. As soon as the receptionist hears my approach, the young man comes forward from behind his desk. Bowing he holds out a b
Last Updated : 2025-03-21Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 47
[Addison] The elderly man stood a bit straighter, scanning me with his critical eye in the way he does a law brief, meticulously and with the ability to see everything. As if he has been frozen in time these last 5 years, nothing about him has changed--not his tattered tweed suit or the way he looks down his nose at you, inspecting you like one might ponder a particularly nasty problem to be solved. When people think of the autistic savant, the person with no emotional tact but with a keen mind that can see what others cannot, they could be discussing Professor Magnus McCannon. My teacher, mentor, and the hardest professor I ever knew. I was considered smart. Very smart. It was the reason I was admitted into law school so young, after completing my undergrad studies. I entered Harvard Law with perfect grades and several letters of recommendation. But my mind is nothing compared to Professor McCannon’s. As a child he was deemed a super genius, his complex mind and his ability
Last Updated : 2025-03-22Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 48
[Addison] I’m not sure that I heard her right, so I ask Charley to repeat herself. “Mr. Grant says he needs you to complete onboarding before you leave and to check in with payroll to make sure everything is in order,” Charley tries to smile, but it looks strained and unnatural, her cheeks trying too hard to make her lips stretch pleasantly across the mountainous peaks of her perfect cheekbones and chiseled jawline. She’s almost aggressively masculine in her beauty, and it is clear that she is used to making her way through life using her muscles and her wit more than her charm. “Fine,” I sigh, forgiving her for relaying his message. It’s not like Charley had any say in her orders. She’s just doing her job. At least he isn’t asking me to talk it out with the bully professor. I don’t know if my psyche could take another go around with him. I don’t know why that man hates me so much. It always felt personal, as if I were somehow slapping him across the face every time I did
Last Updated : 2025-03-23Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 49
[Addison]The elevator closes and then descends, taking Charley with it. I receive a text immediately after from her, stating that she'll meet me at the reception desk tomorrow for the rest of our orientation. Fuming, I turn back towards my current situation. The professor is watching me patiently, waiting to see my next move. I know he's analyzing me even now, judging me in his intuitive way. My skin crawls under his scrutiny even as I turn away, looking up and down as if the solution to my situation were in the ceiling or floor. I thought Hunter and I were becoming friends. But friends don’t set other friends up for emotional abuse. Friends don’t hold each other hostage, denying them the chance to leave the building. Friends don’t do…whatever it is Hunter Grant is doing by bringing me to this apartment to be alone with my professor. He’s going to hear from me. This whole situation is absolutely infuriating. I didn't sign up to come in and be harrassed by my old professor. “M
Last Updated : 2025-03-23Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 50
Do I still love Michael Stone?Michael swears he still loves me, that there is nothing between him in Evelyn, that my family needs me, that I need him.But do I still love my husband?Thinking of everything he’s done, everything he plans to do makes my blood boil and my vision turn red. The embarrassment I felt as each interview went sour because he was determined to keep me at his side, the shame and hurt I felt at losing my family fortune. How can I love someone who treated me so cruelly?And yet, how does one start over after caring with all your heart for more than half a decade. I put everything that I have into this family--heart and soul. It is hard to set something that is deeply ingrained within me aside, and even harder to deny it. “Maybe," I admit, although it shames me to do so. "I wish I could just throw it all away, but how can I? There was love there, Professor, once. I don't want Michael anymore, but part of me might always love him." “That’s unfortunate,” the old
Last Updated : 2025-03-24Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 51
[Hunter]“Mr. Grant!” I hear her voice call out even one floor up. “You jerk! Come out and talk to me!”Snickering, I look up at Reggie, who shakes his head. “She isn’t wrong, you know.” When I raise a defiant eyebrow he shrugs, smirking. “What, Hunter, I call it as I see it. You know that. It’s one of the reasons you like me. Besides, sir, you know you could have given her a heads up before she came in this morning so that she could be prepared.”“I honestly had no idea that she was being sincere when she said she didn’t want him here,” I make a weak attempt at excusing my behavior. “I thought she was being humble.” Now it is Reggie’s turn to raise an eyebrow and I groan. “Alright, you got me. I owe her an apology.” “Flowers or jewelry?” Reggie’s face is deadpan. He’s serious. “Or something larger? Maybe a new car, a villa.” “We aren’t a couple, Mr. Carter,” My face burns as I turn away from him, shuffling papers from the right side of my desk to the left waiting for him to look s
Last Updated : 2025-03-25Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 52
[Addison]I was still more than a little upset at Hunter for his stunt today with Professor McCannon. How could he set me up like that? I begged him not to include him in my mess, and yet Hunter Grant, like always, decided he knew what was best.He means well, but he needs to be better at communicating his intentions. "You should go back to school," the professor advised. "Complete your master's degree. You shouldn't have ever left school just because Michael wanted you to." I had always intended to go back after Jayson got a bit older, I explained, "And now I have a job, I have Livy to watch, and I don't think I'll be able to find the time.""Nonsense," McCannon waves away my excuses. "Sometimes you need to be a bit selfish, and that time is now. If not now, then when? How much of your life are you going to put on hold for other people?"I hadn't thought about it that way but I guess the professor is right. "I don't know, professor, I'll think about it," I promise. "I don't want any
Last Updated : 2025-03-28Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 53
[Addison] The rose petals brush my fingers as I take the bouquet from Hunter, their gentle kiss like silk against my skin. “These are for me?” I stumble over my words, my heart rate spiking as I force myself to grasp the long, thornless stems. “Why?”The questioning uncertainty in my tone wilts the edges of Hunter’s smile as the shine in his eyes dims. “I was wrong, for bringing in Professor McCannon without your consent.”He seems genuinely sorry. If it had been any other flower, I'd have been more gracious in accepting them. Feeling guilty, I look away.Did Hunter know how this would affect me? Did he do this on purpose tit?“Ah,” I nod, swallowing hard as I look down at the flowers. They’re beautiful, the brightest shade of yellow I’ve ever seen, sprigs of lavender and baby’s breath mixed within, enhancing their natural sweet scent. Whoever put this bouquest together did so with meticulous care. I just wish I could appreciate their efforts. But I can't. TheBut I can’t stand to
Last Updated : 2025-03-31
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[Hunter]In a suit and tie, my tattoos are invisible, allowing me to be the person the investors expect me to be while I run the day to day workings of a fortune 100 company. As far as the upstanding part of NYC business is aware, Hazardous and Hunter Grant are not the same person. I work hard to keep my two lives separate. Just like DeBrassy does with his identity, Mr. D., we both know who the other man is, but in the boardroom, we pretend not to be criminals, and in spaces like these, we are done pretending. Here, we get to be the beasts we truly are.In some ways, this criminal underworld is more real than reality. It's more visceral, sensual, and alive. Nothing is off limits. Everything is possible. For some, it can be paradise. For others, Hell. And as far as I'm concerned, it's the furthest place I ever want Addy or Livy to be. I never want them to know this side of me, to see the gutters I need to swim in to preserve their safe world.Because tonight I dance with the devil to
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[Hunter]Addison shines like a gem tonight, an elegant professional speaking with other like-minded people passionate about the same type of work. She was born to this. She might not realize it yet, but this is where she was always meant to be. She's standing next to the professor, laughing at something another legal guru from one of the finest firms in NYC said, meeting his verbal jabs with equal skill. Seeing her like this makes my heart feel lighter. After everything she's been through to get to this point, she deserves to be the bright star of this evening. I wish I could spend it with her. But I need to take care of business--dark dealings with the type of sinister low-lifes I plan to keep her from ever encountering. I would never want this filth to tarnish her shine. Silently signaling my lieutenant, I pretend to take a work call and excuse myself, leaving Addison in Charley's careful care. "I might not be back," I apologize. "This is a big deal, we can...""We can check in la
Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 78
[Michael]The grim armed woman takes a step forward, blocking me from Addison's view."It's time for you to go, Mr. Stone," she repeats. "Now." Standing my ground, I refuse to move. She won't shoot me, not in front of all these people, all these lawyers. She'd be thrown behind bars. "Grant Group has a restraining order placed against you, Mr. Stone, and if you do not leave the premises immediately, I am authorized to use force if necessary." The woman tilts her head, watching, waiting for an excuse to follow through on her promise. Hundreds of eyes are watching us, hearing everything as we spill our family secrets on the floor of this grand ballroom, our words flying to smash into one another.Addison is angrier than I've ever seen her, an avenging angel, glaring at me with eyes of burning steel. Next to her is a tall, dark-skinned woman who, unlike the rest of those gathered, wears a no-nonsense suit, her hand hovering over a gun.She means business. And her business, from her sta
Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 77
[Addison]“Oh, it looks like I’m late,” my ex-husband laughs, his hands in his pockets as he surveys the scene. “And with so many of my friends here, too. Hi Steve,” Michael waves to a man standing by the bar. "How's Cheryl?" Swaggering into the room, my ex parts the crowd until he's standing only a few feet away. Looking above my head, he sees the sign saying "Happy Divorce Day," and he smirks, his eyes flashing with sarcastic mirth. "Really, Addy? Just come home already. This game is getting old." Reaching forward, Michael holds out his hand to take mine. Taking a step back, I glare as I look around the room. Hunter is gone, Carter is now missing, and Charley is doing her best to make it to my side without causing an even bigger scene. I'm alone. "Michael, this isn't a game," I try to keep my voice low, even though this has already drawn the attention of most of the people in the room. "And I have a restraining order. You shouldn't be here right now. Why are you here?"Michael
Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 76
[Michael][Earlier that evening]I can't wait to get the heck out of this office. Jayson's at my mother's for the weekend. I couldn't bear to be around my son after receiving the note from my attorney telling me that not only was my evidence rejected, but that my wife, MY WIFE, has been granted her divorce appeal without making any of the concessions I requested.Not only that, but her nosy old law professor, Dr. McCannon, filed a restraining order against me on her behalf. I was shocked to learn that tough old lizard is still alive. He's got to be what, like 102?Evelyn is out tonight, something about needing to see Mr. D, so I'm here, trying to see if there isn't some way I can contest the divorce. I mean, it can't be over, can it? Not really. Addy wouldn't leave me. She promised she'd stay with me forever. Until death do us part. "Sir," my new secretary, Cindy, saunters in. Mr. D sent her over, said my last one was "offensive." She places a whiskey sour next to my mousepad, and I
Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 75
[Addison]The sharply-dressed young man holding me in his arms has a swoonworthy smile warm enough to melt hearts. Pretty like a model, his features are an exotic blend of cultures with full, soft lips, high, sharp cheekbones, and wide, cola-colored eyes that sparkle with amusement as he glances at me through a curtain of straight auburn brown hair. “It’s a good thing I was here to catch you,” he grins slyly, although his voice is bright with concern. “Are you okay, Miss…?"“Ms. Archer,” I hold out my hand to shake. “Addison Archer,” I nod in the direction of the congratulations sign. “The new divorcee.” “Ah,” his grin brightens. "Perfect, you're just the person I was sent to look for." Helping me stand, he takes my hand and bows over it in a very formal gesture of respect. "On behalf of my law firm, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Adam. Adam Wright. I work for CCRP Law Group, and we heard you have potential." He pulls a card from the inner pocket
Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 74
[Addison]Mr. Carter introduced me to his fiancée, Kate, and we hit it off immediately. She’s classy, smart, and has a knack for noticing the small things that others miss and pointing them out to me with no small amount of hilarity. “So you see how she’s walking with a slight hesitation on her left leg,” my new friend points out a beautiful red head with hair with bright blue eyes, and a tight white gown. “Her date, Mr. Danvers, has a thing for dancers. Likes his girls…flexible,” she smirks. Realising her implications, I gasp. “But he’s at least 80!” “Well, love knows no age.” The edge of her lip twists upward as a demure eyebrow lifts just slightly. “Look again, see how broad the shoulders are on his suit? When he was a young man, he was a star polo player and rugby champion. It was 50 years ago, but I bet he still keeps fit.”Blushing, I struggle to NOT think about what she is suggesting as she leads me towards the entrance, where I am surprised to see another friendly face. “Tr
Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 73
[Hunter]“HUNTER NO!!!!!!!”Addison is screaming, her voice gut-wrenching, as with eyes open but not conscious, she grabs my chest. Holding her close to my heart, I soothe her, saying her name and rubbing her back as I kiss her hair, rocking back and forth.“Addison! Addy! It’s okay.” She is so terrified, so lost and unaware of what is real and what isn’t. It is a trauma response, one I’ve seen in survivors before. Whatever happened to her as a child must have been worse than she has told me. Something so bad she can't even let herself remember it fully. I know that feeling. I have them too.“Please, Addy, come back to me," I beg, forcing my voice to stay strong even though a part of me wants to hide in a corner with her. "I've got you. You're safe." It takes several minutes for her eyes to focus and her face to show signs of recognition. “Hunter, you’re not dead?”“Shh,” I move one of her strands of hair behind her ear. Her elegant updo is a bit mussed now, making her look even more
Heart of Stone: Her Revenge Unleashed Chapter 72
[Addison]Standing at the top of the stairs, I feel like a princess waiting to enter the ballroom and meet her handsome prince. My hands are shaking as I grip the railing. What if he doesn’t like the dress?What if he does? Taking a deep breath, I make my slow descent, my silver pumps clicking delicately on the marble floors.The dress Charley helped pick out is a periwinkle blue made of a beautiful sequined fabric that casts rainbows as I move. The bodice is a fitted corset with a neckline so low, I have to be taped into it to stay in place, and it flairs out over my hips into a full circle skirt that reaches down to my knees. The whole dress is covered in hand-beading, giving it a nice weight and an expensive feel. Charley wouldn’t let me see the price tag. Not after how I reacted when I saw the additional cost of the jewelry. Instead of a traditional string of pearls or a sensible scarf, I’m wearing a body cage in the shape of a cape, dripping jewels from my neck in every direct
