BELLA POV I'd been impulsive again, and as Belshar shoved me away from him harshly, the whole scenario that led to this moment flashed through my head, and I wished that I could take it back, but I knew I couldn't.I stumbled back and fell to the ground, my gaze jerking up to see his angry ones looking down at me. I swallowed hard.Have I been too hasty? Should I have given it a little more time? But that was what I have been doing all this time, and what did that get me? Nothing, absolutely nothing.If Belshar had not realized by now that I had feelings for him even after all I had done and all the subtle hints I'd given him, he was never going to, and I was tired of waiting. No, I was not just tired; I was sick of it.I'd been patient from the very moment Selene died and he'd come to me because we shared the same sorrow. I offered him an ear when he needed someone to listen to him, and I shared his pain as best as I could, but what did I get for it? He shattered my heart with a fuc
DELIA HERRERA POV "So, she's a drug junkie huh. I knew there was something suspicious about her after I saw her putting that drug in Celine's drink." I got out as I stared at the pictures in my hand, then glanced up from them to smile at Kail. "This is something Kail, but it is not enough" Kail shrugged, his eyes looking tired. "That was only what I could find out about her. So what are you going to do now? What do you plan to do about Belshar? He has totally incapacitated the whole family, he has us under surveillance twenty-four-seven and monitors all the collection" "Does he now?" I grinned, and Kail rolled his eyes. "I know my way around the measures he'd put in place, that is why I can see you without anyone finding out about it. So what is your plan and are you going to give me all that cash I asked for"I dropped the pictures and documents he'd gotten on Bella, placed my hand under my chin, and held his gaze. "You haven't gotten what I really want, Kail, so why should I gi
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV There were dead men everywhere, and as I and Stone navigated the Black Serpent mafia house, I could tell that they had all been taken unawares. It looked like they had been having a celebration when the attack happened. But even before that, they were probably poisoned, and those who survived were shot in the head. So this was why there had been no response from them. Xavier had visited them and left no one alive, the bastard. Xavier had always been quiet, so the sudden massacre raised a lot of questions in my head. He was acting recklessly and making enemies; he'd also killed everyone and didn't take over the city, so what the hell was he plotting? "There is no survivors Don Belshar. We checked the whole area, and all the men are dead," he said, and I grimaced. It was another dead end and the rage I felt grew suffocating. For how long was he going to run? For how long did I have to chase after the fucking vermin!"That fucking rat. Let him run all he wants
DELIA HERRERA POV Kail had been quiet, too quiet and I couldn't help but worry. Why was he stalling after I gave him all that money? The only consolation I had was that before he completely went off the grid, he'd told me that our plan would have to be delayed since Belshar was still on the quest for his revenge. But that was three weeks ago. I could feel my knees jerking rapidly, but I couldn't help it; I was fucking restless and worried. I wish Xavier would just stop running so Belshar would kill him and I'll be able to have him all to myself.That bastard was ruining all of my plans and it was starting to get on my last nerve.Someone snapped their finger in my face, and I jumped, my gaze meeting those of Enoch's worried ones, and I let out a sharp gasp, my eyes widening.I'd totally forgotten that he was in my office. He said he came to check up on me and had probably been saying something when I zoned out on him as my thoughts took over. I sat straighter and slowly blew out a
CELINE HERRERA POV Belshar was looking for me just like Xavier said he would and I was starting to get curious about what his true intentions were. I had no memory to rely on except for Xavier's words, but there was a lot of evidence that left no room for doubt about what Belshar represented.Xavier said he wanted Belshar to suffer, wanted him to feel the same pain he'd put me through and he'd spent months preparing me for our revenge, and even though I didn't have my memory, his hate was enough to fuel mine.Belshar was a bad person; he'd married me against my will and then betrayed my trust by cheating on me with Bella, and just like he killed Crystal, he was going to kill me, too. The only reason he was looking for me was because he hated to lose; he hated to be challenged, and he hated for what belonged to him to be taken away. He was probably going to kill me himself, just like he killed his former wife. Xavier told me that I and Crystal had been best friends and the reason Bel
CELINE HERRERA POV "You shouldn't trust everything Xavier tells you, Celine," David said, his voice somber, and I glanced up at him in the mirror, my hands freezing in the process of putting on my lip gloss, my brows shooting up."What do you mean by that, David," I asked, genuinely curious. Xavier had been the one to tell me everything about my past and the gap he couldn't fill; he encouraged me to remember myself. But try as I might, I couldn't recall anything. All I knew was that I'd had a pretty decent life from what I saw in the news... there were occasions Jab at me being an illegitimate child here and there, but since I didn't have any memory of that time, I also didn't have the emotion that went along with it."Forget it," he started, and I shook my head and turned to face him."No, I can't just forget about it. Is there something Xavier is hiding from me? If you know something, you should tell me," I said, because even though I trusted Xavier, sometimes I felt as if he was o
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV I watched her expressive blue eyes widen as the words left my lips and I had so many questions, but I was only going to get my answers once she was back where she belonged. At home, with me. I could tell she was going to run and as she moved back, her body rigid as if she was waiting for me to whip out a gun and kill her, I grabbed her arm and yanked her toward me. "Are you going to run away again right after I found you?" I asked, both relieved and furious. With the way she was acting, it was almost like she'd planned the whole fiasco with Xavier. Did she fall in love with him while in captivity? Was that why she chose to leave me and fake her death? Just the thought of it had me clenching my jaw. "What, Celine, do you plan to run away? Perhaps back to Xavier?" I asked and watched as her eyes widened and she trembled. So she'd been with him. She'd been with him all this time. Just the thought, oh Gods! I wanted to fucking destroy everything. Instead, I ju
CELINE HERRERA POV "Xavier" I called, refusing to believe that I was staring at Belshar. Where the hell was I? Raising my hand, I rubbed at my eyes and when I opened them, my spine went rigid when it was still him sitting right in front of me "Yes, it's me Belshar. You do not have to look so shocked," he rumbled, his deep voice causing tremors to race up my spine as I jerked my gaze from his. The room I was in was huge and unfamiliar. Was he going to kill me? How could I have messed everything up so badly? The plan had been to run into him, pretend that I couldn't remember who I was and that I'd just woken up to find myself at Atlas and was barely getting by all by myself, but I'd gone to blurt out his name the moment I laid eyes on him.I probably also gave myself away by reacting too vividly when he mentioned Xavier's name. But I'd been so out of it with fear when I couldn't reach Xavier, I'd just reacted and even now, I couldn't help but wonder if he was still alive. He hadn't a
CELINE HERRERA POV THREE MONTHS LATER "What's wrong. You've been spacing off for a while now" Karen turned to face me and then shook her head, her eyes squinted to avoid the glare of the sun."Nothing's wrong," she answered, and I gave her a look because even a blind mind could tell by her aura that things were not right."You know you can always talk to me right"She forced a smile. "I know that"I couldn't help becoming more concerned. "If you're still traumatized about the whole thing you went through, I can fix you an appointment with the therapist that helped me when I experienced something similar"She sighed and came to sit beside me. "No, you don't have to do that at all. I promise I'm really fine."I nodded even though I wasn't convinced. There has been something off with her ever since the rescue and her refusal to talk to me was starting to make me worry.I already felt bad that she got dragged into our family's mess and had to go through something so horrible, so why wa
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV I watched as they wheeled her away, my heart burning in my chest.Belshar walked toward me; his face was grim and emotionless. He stopped in front of me and my jaws clenched, the anger in my chest poisoning my blood."You sure took your time, Belshar"He scoffed, his gaze moving over me. "That's what you think but I didn't take a rest for the ten days you both were captured, kail. I did everything possible to make sure you didn't have to die In this dump""If it was Celine, you would have made sure you rescued her in time" I roared and grabbed his shirt. "Do you have any idea what Karen went through in there? She's probably going to be traumatized after this" I gritted and saw red when he smirked."What the hell is so funny" I gritted out, the urge to punch him in the face becoming impossible to resist."I didn't think I'd see the day you would be concerned for someone else. I thought you were angry for yourself, but it turns out it's for Karen. You're down that
KAREN POV I started to get up and stopped when he reached out, his gaze intent on mine."Don't" he started, then swallowed, his gaze darting away from mine. "You don't have to get up"My face flushed and the prickly feeling in my neck intensified despite the frigid air. "Don't you like me anymore?" I asked and he shook his head, even though the action caused him a bit of discomfort."I like you a lot, Karen. You have no idea how hard it has been for me to have you so close and not be able to do anything" he said, his gaze pinning mine. "From the moment I laid eyes on you at the cafe, you consumed my thoughts. I couldn't help but watch you... I must have scared you"I bit down on my lips. "You did scare me at the start but I knew you weren't going to hurt me"A flicker of a smile ghosted across his lips, then he became serious. "You told me at the cafe before all of this happened that you loved Enoch. I told you how I felt about you and that was your reply"I twiddled with my thumb,
KAREN POV "I used to really hate Belshar, you know," Kail got out as he turned on his side to face me."Why?" I asked, staring into his grey eyes. "Because father and mother used to pay more attention to him than me. It was almost as if I didn't exist back then. They always had their eyes on him, so I had to go the extra mile just to get them to notice me."He paused, and I watched as a wry smile played on his lips. He looked so sad, it hurt my heart."I started to bully him because of that. I took pleasure in causing him pain since he took all my joy away. Father and mother soon noticed, and instead of getting in trouble, they told me that they were proud of me. So the pattern formed. It was only when I hurt him that Mother smiled at me, so I did it more times than often. But that feeling of finally being noticed soon faded because it was still because of him. I hated him so much all I thought about was killing him""And Belshar never fought back," I asked. It was a bit surprising
KAREN POV "Eat" the man snapped as he shoved the tray in my hand. "You should be glad that bastard over there takes all your punishment pretty doll. Enjoy it while it lasts because It won't be long until he's worn out. Then I'll have you all to myself" he said and reached to grab my breast."Don't fucking touch her," Kail roared, then groaned, his eyes squeezing shut in pain as he fell to his knees.The man laughed and then grabbed me by the chin. "It looks like it won't be long now, doll. You better pray Belshar does something to get you two out, or you're really going to die here" he grinned, then walked out of the room, the door shutting hard behind him.I cursed under my breath, then walked toward Kail.The food on the tray did not look all that appetizing but I was so hungry, my stomach was literally growling.This was the third time they were feeding us since they put us here. I crouched beside Kail. "Eat this," I said and tried to feed him the soup they'd brought. He shook h
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV The black hood over my face was disorienting and as the man behind me shoved me around, I couldn't help but trip over my feet.It was fucking humiliating. I had to give it to the guy called Victor Stakov though. He was good. Two attacks in one day. Who would have thought?I hadn't even been given a chance to struggle before I got shoved into the black van and a needle was jabbed into my neck that had me passing out in secondsThe only downside to this whole bullshit was that they had taken Karen too. I knew because I'd been holding her hand when I came face to face with them.My hands balled into fists, the rope tied around my wrist digging into my flesh.Fuck! They better not touch her. Where was she now? I didn't want to think of the worst, but every step I took without feeling that she was near made the knot in my stomach tighter. I couldn't fucking breathe.It didn't help that I couldn't see shit through the black hood over my headPlease. Please. Please le
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV "Victor stakov" the man gasped, blood spurting from his mouth. "It was Victor Stakov," he shouted, then screamed when I pressed the branding rod against his skin.The sizzling sound and the smell of burning flesh filled the room, everything mingling to create an atmosphere charged with an intensity that made my blood surge through my veins as if I were riding out a high God I missed this. How long had it been since I last tortured anyone? I'd made a lot of coffee and cakes to keep myself occupied but it was always so monotonous. It got boring too. This. This was exactly what I needed. Dropping the rod onto the burning coal, I raked my hand through my hair and stared down at the man on the table. His body was covered with my brand, his skin bruised and burnt.It was a work of art, really, but there were still some spaces that I hadn't marked, and my fingers itched to pick up the rod and fill it up."Please" he gasped, spitting out more blood. "Don't kill me. I
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV My heart was in my throat. Fuck! I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. I was speeding through the highway but I didn't care. I should have known that something like this was going to happen. "Argh" I roared, my hand clenching on the steering wheel. "I'm going to make you pay bastard"Just how was Celine feeling right now? My heart raced with every terrible scenario, Fear clawing at my chest, its icy grip suffocating me. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't fucking wrap my mind around the fact that she had almost been hurt.I watched it all happen too.I veered off the road, my tires screeching as I turned a sharp corner. Kail's cafe loomed in the distance.When I arrived at the spot, I noticed that the car the hitmen had used was still parked out front. The windows were shattered and bullet holes riddled the door. My hands trembled, the rage in my chest suffocating. The guards were still standing around. Their greeting went unheard as the roaring
CELINE HERRERA POV Belshar still wasn't saying anything. Anytime I got a picture, I asked him about his day, hoping that he was going to tell me about the girl and why he was meeting up with her but each time I asked, he just told me how work went and how boring everything was while skipping out the most important thing I wanted to know about.There were six pictures so far, and I was starting to get angry. It all came with messages too. Messages that ruined my day every time I thought of them.Was it a reporter sending the images? Are they going to call soon to demand money or threaten to release the picture?They probably wouldn't, especially since the photos were not that incriminating.The most intimate one was the first picture I got and that was because the lady had been in a bathing suit.I dragged my finger through my hair and then sighed. "Should I just ask Belshar about it?" We had real enemies to worry about, so why was I allowing this to chip away at me? What was I so af