Chapter 0054.THE SEARCH FOR CLOSURE..RYAN,I sat in my car for what felt like hours, staring at nothing, the city lights bleeding into a haze of color through the windshield. The streets outside pulsed with life—cars sped past, their headlights streaking white and red through the rain-slick pavement, and pedestrians huddled under umbrellas, moving through the night without a care. But I was frozen, locked in a moment that refused to let me go.My mind was a storm, tangled in too many thoughts, too many unanswered questions. The betrayal still burned like an open wound, but beneath it was something worse—something deeper.Evan had used me.Not for my money—not really. That had just been a distraction, a trick to keep me looking in the wrong direction while he moved unseen. He had played a bigger game, one I hadn’t even realized I was a part of until it was too late.And Elena…She had been with him the whole time.The thought made my grip tighten on the steering wheel until my knuckl
Chapter 0055I WANT YOU EMILY..RYAN,The night blurred into something distant—flashes of whiskey, Emily’s laughter, the hum of the city as we walked aimlessly through the streets. It was a distraction, one I let myself fall into too easily. Eddy had set this up, and I hadn’t even questioned why. Maybe because, deep down, I knew why. He had seen me unraveling, seen the weight of everything pulling me under. And instead of letting me drown, he had done the one thing I hadn’t been able to do for myself. Given me an out. I just hadn’t realized it yet.It wasn’t until much later, as Emily rested against my chest, her fingers tracing lazy circles on my arm, that I understood what he had told her. She thought I had lost money in a bad business deal. That was the story Eddy had given her. And I had let her believe it. I didn’t tell her about Elena. Didn’t tell her that the real loss wasn’t money, but something deeper, something I couldn’t name. Maybe I wanted to see if the lie would feel bet
CHAPTER 56THE COMEBACKEMILY,Ryan kissed me like he was making a choice. Like this was him finally deciding—finally turning away from the past and toward something new. Toward me.I felt it in the way his hands gripped my waist, the way his lips pressed into mine—not desperate, not frantic, just certain. And for a moment, I let myself believe it. That this was real. That he wasn’t just looking for something to hold onto in the wreckage of everything else.But then he pulled away, his forehead resting against mine, his breath uneven.I opened my eyes. “Ryan—”“I’m here,” he said quietly, as if he knew the question before I could ask it.I wanted to believe him.But belief was dangerous.Because Ryan had spent so much of his life chasing ghosts. And just because he turned around this time didn’t mean he wouldn’t run after them again.His hands tightened on my waist, like he could feel me slipping.“Come to bed,” he murmured.I hesitated. “Are you sure?”A muscle flickered in his jaw,
Chapter 0057THE PROPOSALRYAN,I had finally put Elena out of my mind.It hadn’t been easy. It had taken time, discipline, and relentless effort, but I had done it.Letting go of her had felt like ripping out a thorn buried deep in my chest—painful, slow, and leaving behind a wound that still ached even after it was gone. Some nights, I woke up disoriented, haunted by dreams I couldn’t control. Other times, I would hear a song or catch a familiar scent that pulled me back into memories I had no business revisiting.But I refused to let those moments define me.I had made my choice.Emily was my future.She was the one who had stayed when she had every reason to walk away, the one who had seen the worst parts of me and never flinched. She had been patient, kind, and unwavering in ways I had never deserved.Tonight was her birthday, and I wanted everything to be perfect.She had no idea what was coming.The venue was exactly as I had envisioned—elegant yet intimate, glowing with the wa
CHAPTER 0058THE ENGAGEMENTEMILYI had never expected tonight to be anything more than a birthday celebration.A beautiful, thoughtful evening, yes—but not this.Not Ryan, on one knee, looking up at me with more certainty than I had ever seen in his eyes.Not a ring, sparkling under the candlelight, held in the hands of the man I had spent years loving, even when I thought he might never be mine.Not a proposal.The world around me stilled.The laughter and conversation that had filled the restaurant moments ago faded into an expectant hush. The clinking of glasses and silverware seemed impossibly distant. The only thing I could hear was the wild hammering of my own heart, the sharp inhale that got caught in my throat as I tried to process what was happening.I had dreamed of this moment.In the quiet corners of my mind, I had imagined what it would feel like—Ryan standing before me, offering forever. But I had never dared to hope for it, never allowed myself to believe it could be r
CHAPTER 0059 SACRIFICE FOR LOVE. ELENA, The dim glow of my bedroom felt suffocating, pressing in on me like a living thing. My fingers curled into fists, nails digging into my palms until they left half-moon indentations in my skin. But I barely felt the pain. Not when the weight of my choice crushed me from the inside out. I had done the unforgivable. Not because I had wanted to. But because I had no choice. I had ruined him. I had destroyed the one person I had ever truly loved. And now, he would never know the truth. Because Ryan hated me. And I had made sure of it. I had fought. God, I had fought. I had told Evan no, over and over, my voice raw from screaming, my body trembling from the force of my defiance. I had sworn I would never go back to the sham of a marriage, but I did go back not because I wanted to but because I had no choice. Evan made me understand the implications involved if I decided to leave him. "You think this is about you, Elena?" His voice h
CHAPTER 0060TIME TO WRITE THE WRONG.ELENA,The shard of glass trembled between my fingers. My breath came in ragged gasps as I pressed the sharp edge against my wrist. A thin, stinging line bloomed across my skin—a warning, a promise, an escape.I squeezed my eyes shut.Just a little more.Just enough to make it stop.The pain. The helplessness. The crushing weight of everything I’d lost. Ryan would never look at me the same way. He would never know the truth.A sob clawed its way up my throat. My grip tightened.And just when I was sobbing my eyes out,A hand seized my wrist, yanking it away before the glass could bite deeper.The shard slipped from my fingers, shattering on the floor.My eyes snapped open.And I froze."Evelyn?" My voice was barely a whisper. My brain struggled to process what I was seeing. "What—? How are you here?"She stood over me, tall and composed, her dark eyes sharp and assessing. Her black hair, longer than the last time I’d seen her, framed her face, and
CHAPTER 0061TAKING IT BACK.ELENA,Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. The dim glow of the bedside lamp cast long shadows against the walls, making the small hotel room feel even more claustrophobic. Evelyn stood near the trash can, arms crossed over her chest, watching me with an unreadable expression. Not pity. Not sympathy. Just… waiting.Waiting for me to decide.My fingers curled into the sheets, gripping the fabric like it was the only thing anchoring me to reality. My gaze drifted down to my wrist, to the faint line that could have been so much worse. The bandage was stark against my skin, a cruel reminder of just how close I had come to giving Evan exactly what he wanted.A broken, shattered version of me.My hands still trembled. My mind still screamed that it would be easier to let go, to stop fighting. But Evelyn’s voice rang in my head."Evan won’t stop until you’re completely broken."I squeezed my eyes shut, inhaling sharply through my nose.If I gave i
CHAPTER 80UNDER ATTACK.ADRIAN,"Boss, maybe we should confirm before heading to the docks—" I said to Evan skeptical about going into the docks without full information."Just drive," Evan barked, cutting me off.His voice was sharp, tight with urgency, leaving no room for argument. The air in the car was thick, charged, and heavy with something just shy of violence. My fingers curled into fists as I stared out the windshield, my heart hammering like a war drum, each beat a reminder of how much time we were wasting.I didn’t argue after that.The tires screeched as he swerved through the late-night traffic, weaving between cars like a predator hunting in the dark. Streetlights flashed past in bursts of white and gold, the reflection shimmering on the wet pavement as we tore forward, leaving nothing but the roar of the engine behind us.I pulled out my phone, fingers moving fast as I dialed.One ring.Two.Three.And then it went up to voicemail.Damn it.I muttered a curse under my
Chapter 0079 A GHOST ELENA, I laid down in the room, my mind filled with who the man was and what he wanted from me. For the first time, I wanted Evan to be here. If he was, he would be able to get me out of here. I was Evan's captive, but I wasn’t locked up with darkness crawling up over me. The darkness had been there, but now— The darkness was worse this time. It wasn’t just an absence of light—it was a presence. Heavy. Watching. I could feel it pressing in, curling around me like an unseen force, suffocating yet intangible. My breath came in shallow gasps, each inhale filling my lungs with the taste of dust and fear. The cold slithered over my skin like skeletal fingers, wrapping around me in a suffocating grip. I drew my knees to my chest, tucking myself into the smallest space possible, as if that could protect me from whatever lurked beyond the void. I didn’t know how long I had been here. Time had ceased to exist in this place. The silence stretched endlessly, coiling
CHAPTER 0078GETTING HER BACK AGAINEVANThe city never truly slept. It breathed, pulsing beneath the surface—hidden in the shadows of back alleys, behind tinted windows, between whispered deals exchanged under flickering neon lights. The underworld never stopped moving.Right now, neither could I.Rage burned through me like wildfire, scorching, relentless. Every inhale stoked the flames, every exhale carried the heat deeper into my bones. My hands ached from clenching my fists too tightly, my jaw locked with barely restrained fury.Elena was gone.And someone was going to bleed for it.I forced my fingers to loosen, letting the weight of the gun in my lap center me. Cold metal. Familiar. An extension of myself, something I could control. But it wasn’t enough—not when fury clawed inside me, desperate to be unleashed.My mind raced through every possibility. Every name, every face that might have dared to take her from me.The list was short. I had made sure of that over the years.Wh
CHAPTER 0077KIDNAPPEDELENA,Darkness. that was Alli saw when I woke up, Thick, suffocating, absolute.Pain radiated from the back of my skull, a deep, pulsing ache that sent nausea rolling through my stomach. It wasn’t just pain—it was a heavy, consuming fog, pressing in from all sides, making it impossible to think clearly. My body felt like dead weight against the cold, unyielding floor, my limbs sluggish and weak, as though I had been unconscious for hours—maybe longer.I tried to move, but every shift sent sharp jolts of agony through me. My fingers twitched against the rough, icy surface beneath me, and a shiver tore through my body. I wasn’t just cold—I was freezing, my thin clothing offering no protection against the chill that seeped into my bones. The air around me was stale, thick with a metallic tang that sent a warning bell ringing in the back of my mind.Blood.The realization sent a fresh wave of panic surging through my veins, tightening around my chest like a vice.
CHAPTER 0076LOST AGAIN.EVANThe rhythmic tap of my fingers against the polished wood of my desk was the only sound in the room. A slow, deliberate beat, like a clock ticking down to some inevitable moment. The air was thick with the scent of expensive leather and aged whiskey, but my mind was elsewhere, sifting through a web of problems that needed solving.Elena was a problem.Evelyn was an even bigger one.And I needed to find a way to silence them both—permanently.The screen of my phone lit up beside me, the faint glow cutting through the dimness. A vibration followed, a subtle hum against the heavy stillness. Business. A distraction. I glanced at the message—a confirmation of a deal that had taken months to close. Millions in negotiation, countless hours spent maneuvering, and now it was mine. A victory, yet it left me hollow. There was no satisfaction, no surge of triumph. Only the gnawing sense that something more pressing loomed in the background, something unfinished.Then
CHAPTER 0075 IN THE DARKNESS. ELENA, The whisper coiled around me like a breath against my skin. "You should have stayed asleep." My stomach clenched, and every muscle in my body locked into place, frozen by something more powerful than fear—dread. Deep, bone-deep dread. The kind that sinks into your marrow and holds you captive. I had tried to turn on the light, but it wasn’t working. I flicked the switch again. Nothing. My fingers trembled as I reached for the lamp instead, its glow weak but steady. It wasn’t much, but it was something. I gripped the lamp tightly, holding it close like a lifeline, my fingers aching from how hard I clutched the ceramic base. The air had changed. Heavy. Humming with something unseen, something wrong. I swallowed hard, forcing a breath into my lungs, but the simple act of breathing felt unnatural. Like I was inhaling something thick and tainted. Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe exhaustion had finally taken its toll, twisting reality into nig
Chapter 0074A LINGERING WARNINGELENA,I pushed the door open, stepping into the dimly lit hallway, my thoughts tangled in the web of lies I had once believed. The house was silent—too silent. The kind of quiet that doesn’t feel natural, like something was missing or waiting, holding its breath in the darkness.Shadows stretched long across the wooden floors, twisting unnaturally under the faint glow of the moon filtering through the windows. The air held a strange stillness, thick and suffocating, as though the walls themselves knew something I didn’t.For the longest time, I had pitied Evan. I had seen him as weak—a man drowning himself in alcohol, retreating into the haze of liquor to forget whatever haunted him. Broken beyond repair. A hollow version of himself.But that had all been a carefully constructed illusion.Evan was never helpless. He was never lost.He had been in control all along.A shiver ran down my spine, curling around my ribs like an unseen hand squeezing until
CHAPTER 0073THE GAME BEGINSEVAN,I heard her leave the house.I had been waiting for this moment. Sitting at the dining table, fingers tapping the polished wood in slow, rhythmic motions, I maintained the illusion of stillness. If anyone had been watching, they would have thought I was lost in thought, perhaps brooding over something entirely unrelated to her. But every breath I took, every fiber of my being, was tuned to her movements.I had known she would try again. It wasn’t a question of if—only when. Elena was many things: stubborn, reckless, restless. But above all, she was predictable when cornered. She hated being caged. She might have convinced herself she needed the walls I had built around her, might have played along for a while, but deep down, she would always test the limits.I had been waiting for the unraveling to begin.It had started in subtle ways, the way all things did with Elena. The way her pacing grew tighter, more erratic. The way her fingers twitched when
CHAPTER 72THE ARRIVAL.ELENA,The car rolled to a stop two blocks away from the house, just outside the range of the security cameras Evan had installed. The ones meant to keep intruders out. The ones that really kept me in.I clenched my hands in my lap, my fingers cold despite the warmth inside the car. Outside, the street was quiet—too quiet. Not the peaceful kind of silence, but the eerie, suffocating kind that filled the air before something terrible happened.Even in the dim glow of the streetlamps, I could still make out the cracks in the pavement, the familiar bends in the sidewalk, the warped wooden fences lining the yards of houses I once thought of as ordinary. But tonight, everything felt different. Foreign. Like I was walking into a place I no longer belonged. Maybe I never truly had.I swallowed hard and reached for the door handle, but hesitation kept me frozen.Evelyn exhaled beside me, her fingers drumming against the steering wheel in a slow, deliberate rhythm. “You