I’d stayed in Lucas’ office even after he and Caspian left, trying to make sense of everything we had uncovered. I was still not convinced that Derek would do something illegal like that. He was already a multi-billionaire; why would he put everything at risk—including his family—for a few more millions? It just didn't make any sense to me, no matter how I tried to look at it. It was strange, almost surreal how quickly the day turned from relatively calm to something far more sinister, and that wasn't even the end of it. Something far worse was seconds away from happening and oblivious to it, I was sitting in the office, looking at the encrypted emails. It had been about ten minutes since Caspian and Lucas left for Derek's when I heard a scream that shattered the silence covering the house. My stomach dropped when I realized it was Leo. And without a second thought, I bolted out of the office. My mind was racing with all the terrible possibilities and I couldn't stop them. The p
’Was it the right thing to do? Is it my fault that Derek is in the hospital?’ The thought invaded my mind, making me feel worse than I was already feeling. I told myself that I couldn't have known that Alaric would try to poison his own brother, but the excuse didn't satisfy the guilt developing inside me. My mind kept blaming me for the things that happened to Derek. I couldn't escape. I was the one who heard Alaric and my mom conspiring against Derek and told Caspian all about it. I didn't ask him to keep it a secret and he told Lucas about it, which led to what happened. It wasn't me who killed Derek, but it would be my fault if he died. There was no other way to look at the things. If I had kept my mouth shut and hoped the others would find out about the plan themselves, maybe Derek wouldn't have been poisoned to keep us in check. I wasn't naive enough to believe Alaric meant to kill his brother, it was obviously a warning to the rest of the family. “Alaric is a psychopa
“Well, well,” Alaric said, his voice low and mocking. “What do we have here?” Alaric’s sudden appearance from his room made my breath catch in my throat. For a moment, I was frozen at the spot, thinking I was dead. The image of Derek flashed before my eyes and I could see myself in his place, on the ground, fighting for my life. His tall frame cast a shadow over me, and his ice-cold eyes pierced through my skin, sending shivers down my spine. There was amusement in his gaze as he studied me, taking his time to present himself as the strong one between the two of us. He knew I was afraid, and wanted to come off as intimidating. “Little Kat,” he drawled, his voice deceptively soft and warm. A fake East London accent followed when he continued. “What a surprise. What brings you to my door, dear?” I swallowed hard, willing my feet not to back away from him. My heart was pounding so loud against my chest, I was sure he could hear it from where he was standing. But I told myself t
“What's going on here?”I turned sharply in the direction from where the voice came; my heart leapt out of my chest at the familiarity of it. I finally felt relieved knowing that Caspian was there, to protect me from his monstrous uncle. He was standing at the end of the hallway, his eyes were narrowed at Alaric as he took in the scene before him.Alaric’s smirk faltered a little when he saw Caspian, but only for an instant. Within a second he was back to being his unbothered, asshole self who can only destroy lives. He looked at me and then back at Caspian, thinking about something, but he never said that. “Just a friendly chat,” he said instead, trying to understand the situation with Caspian. At the same time, he winked at me like we were sharing an inside joke. Disgusted by him, my whole body shook. “Anything you want?”Even though his expressions were back to being normal, I felt the shift in his demeanour, and I was able to notice the way his confidence wavered under Caspian’s
“Kat? What did you do?” Caspian's eyes narrowed and he looked at my face more carefully, as if the words would appear on my skin. I kept my head down, afraid of telling him the truth, even though I knew I needed to let him know for everyone's safety, including mine. “I-I made a m-mistake,” I managed to mumble out the sentence, clenching my jaws. “What mistake?” He asked, shifting on my bed to sit more comfortably. “What did you tell him?” Caspian's concern quickly morphed into something more intense and I saw the fear spreading in his eyes when I looked up. I felt the weight of his gaze and the pressure building by the silence between us. I shifted on my feet, trying to stop the fidgeting of my hands at my sides. I tried to find the right words to start with, but there was no right way to start. He asked me to not get involved with Alarice, whereas I didn't only get involved but gave Alaric all the right reasons to kill me next. “I… I might have said too much,” I admitted, t
“Strip!”The word echoed in my head as I mentally prepared myself for what was to come. I stared at him, trying to make sure if he was being serious about it or just playing with me. And the look in his eyes confirmed that he was indeed being very serious. I was surprised by the request after that because it wasn't the appropriate time. Derek was still in the hospital and the threat of Alaric was looming over our heads, there was no way we could think about pleasure and punishment in such a situation. I couldn't understand what was going on inside Caspian's head that he made such a weird order. “Why?! I mean, you think it's a good idea right now for that?” I questioned, biting my lips in worry because I feared he might get mad with me for not doing what he was asking me to do. “Your dad is in the hospital and Leo might need you again. I don't think today's the right time, we can maybe do that tomorrow when your dad is in better condition.”“Did you not hear me, girl?” He grabbed my
“Was I not clear before? Or you are not getting what I'm saying?” he asked, giving my tits a tight squeeze once again. I tried to ignore it at first, but when he didn't loosen his grip, I couldn't do anything but cry. “Ah…” I screamed, grabbing his hands in a reflex and pulling my chest away from him. “D-don't Caspian, it's hurting. I wasn't ready for it, and it's actually really hurting ”I hoped he would understand that I wasn't just going along with his play, but I was really hurt by his sudden attack. And I wanted him to stop for a second and begin from the start once again, giving me enough time to think it through, because I was still not completely prepared for what he wanted. “You are using my name,” he warned in an authoritative voice. “Did you forget the rules, slave? I have to remind you of everything, isn't it?” However, he loosened his grip on my breast a little, looking at my face to check if I was actually hurt or just playing along. He was uncertain about my reactio
“You can't speak without my permission, slave. Don't forget the most important thing you're doing, Kat.” His voice rang in my ears like a warning bell. I didn't understand what he meant by the most important thing I was doing, but I knew I couldn't let him hit me anymore. I wasn't enjoying it a little bit. Caspian was the only one enjoying it at that point, while I was in extreme pain. I couldn't feel my breasts and the burning sensation raced throughout my whole body. I couldn't even touch them to see how bad it was, even a little movement was sending a pulse of electricity throughout my body. Weirdly enough, I still touched my breasts a few times to feel the pain. Why did my body enjoy the pain, I have no idea, but I didn't want to continue any further. I didn't want to find pleasure in pain, so I stopped myself from doing it again and looked at Caspian with tears in my eyes. “I hope you follow these rules from now,” he said with no emotion on his face, even though I knew he
I didn’t want to talk about the Salvatore family with Cami. It was too depressing to have that conversation with her. I didn't want to talk to her about Alaric, or about my mother, not about Derek lying in the hospital while his sons tried to salvage the mess he unknowingly helped create.For once, I just wanted to talk about myself.And—more specifically—I wanted to talk about Caspian.“So, let me get this straight.” Cami’s voice was clear through the speaker, cutting through the quiet of my dimly lit bedroom. “You like Caspian?”I groaned, rolling onto my stomach and burying my face in my pillow for a second before lifting it again. “God, don’t say it like that. I didn't mean it like that. I meant there are things that have happened, and he has done things that made me feel weird.”“Like what? The true feeling you've been hiding for months?” She let out a breathless laugh. “Kat, this is huge. You’ve been dodging relationships for years, and now you’re telling me you have actual fee
Alaric knew something.That much was clear the moment he stepped into the dining room, his presence wrapped around the air like a noose, slowly tightening around all of us. His sharp, assessing gaze skimmed over the table, taking in our frozen postures and the lingering tension that none of us could shake off.Then, as if he hadn’t just walked into a room full of people on the brink of plotting his downfall, he smiled. A slow, knowing, chilling smile appeared to scare us. “Why does it look like someone just died?” he mused, his voice was light and easy, but there was something underneath it—something taunting, something dangerous.Nobody answered.I could feel the tension radiating from Caspian beside me, the way Lucas’s fingers tightened around his fork, and the barely restrained scoff from Dev.Alaric didn’t seem to mind the silence. He strolled forward with unhurried confidence, like a predator stepping into a den of prey. Pulling out the chair next to Leo, he sat down, completely
Dinner had never been that quiet. Not in the Salvatore house. The long dining table was filled with plates of steaming food—pasta, grilled chicken, and fresh bread—but no one seemed interested in eating. They were thinking about something, and while their hands moved mechanically I knew they wanted to know what was the important thing Caspian wanted to talk about. He told them that he had something important he wanted to share with them after the dinner. And I guess he shouldn't have shared that much information with the others before because the others were still thinking about it, trying to figure out what it might be. Ian already had a small idea, yet he could feel the tension in the room. As a result, he was very uncomfortable. I could see it in his eyes. The room was dimly lit, with the chandelier above us casting soft, golden light over the strained faces. Unlike other days, even Leo didn't fuss about the food or ask for dessert with the meal. And that's when I realise
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dried and felt like sandpaper when I tried to swallow the lump forming in my throat. I wasn’t sure about my own emotions, about what to feel—relief, panic, guilt? Maybe all of them at once, or maybe none. Mom had looked at me when I was coming downstairs to help Dev with the dinner, her expression was unreadable. Yet, I knew what was going on inside her head. She must have been afraid of what kind of person wouldn't be in this situation. I asked her what happened or if she needed help with something, and she simply said, “I don’t care what happens to me. As long as you’re safe, I'm willing to do anything in the world. You might not trust me right now, but believe me, my words are true. And I'm going to show it tomorrow.” I hadn’t known how to respond when she was being that open with her thoughts. I should have said something, anything, but I didn't. I couldn't find the right words to say, and thinking about it now, I guess it wouldn't have ma
“So, when are we going to tell the other about what is going on in the family?” I asked the two brothers who still looked conflicted. “If mom confesses tomorrow, their life will be in danger too. If Alaric finds out, he will take it out on whoever he finds.” Caspian and Lucas shared a secret look but told us nothing about it. I was sitting at the kitchen island, my fingers were wrapped around the cool ceramic of my untouched water glass. While, my mind was elsewhere—spinning, twisting, trying to make sense of everything we were about to do. But worse were the fears associated with our every move. That was the reason I wasn't speaking much because I was afraid my fears and what-ifs would slip out mistakenly in normal conversations. And I knew it would only damper their mood, so I heard them instead and tried to be positive about our little mission. “She's right. At this point I think we need to tell the others,” Dev said, stirring a simmering pot of pasta sauce. “This morning t
The room was much quieter after my mom had left. It had been more than an hour since she was gone. Yet, the heavy air of her decision lingered in the room that surrounded us, entering my brain through my nostrils. I couldn't stop thinking about it because it felt like an invisible force that had a huge surprise for everyone in the house. I still wasn’t sure if I believed her—if I could afford to believe her. I didn't know where I stood with her; sometimes, I had been acting like the best daughter in the world, while other times I felt as if she was my biggest enemy. I couldn't figure out how to act around her. Even though she had agreed to confess and that was ‘something not to look over’ according to Caspian, I couldn't bring myself to trust her completely. I knew I could have trusted her more when she told Derek the truth, but I couldn't help but think it was one of her other elaborate plans. “A woman can get anything if she wants it enough... anything.” Her words from years
“My brothers are crazy,” Caspian followed after when my eyes found his. “They have done some of the wildest things on the planet, and don't even let me start with Leo. He's the definition of cringe and intrusive thoughts.” “Yeah, that I know,” I agreed with him about Leo, because he had done some of the wildest things. However, after Ian disappeared on his birthday, Leo got a little serious about the things around him. “There's a lot more.” The way he said that made me think about what he meant by it. There was an undertone of some sort that I couldn't place, but it wasn't anything positive. The way he said that, it felt darker and chilling. “Well, I'd love to know more about you brothers than,” I said, hoping he would get the hint and will talk about himself then. ‘What are you trying to do?’ My brain questioned and I stopped myself from continuing, realizing that I was flirting with him. “You got time,” he said taking a seat on my bed and looked at the famed picture of me with
The air outside was cold and comforting, just walking outside through the entrance made me feel much at loose than I had been the whole day. A soft breeze carried the faint scent of the forest that surrounded the Salvatores’ estate, and moisture that brought me relief. The sky was covered with dark clouds and looked like it was going to rain soon. I was almost waiting for the rain, hoping to see the forest come to live. I was walking beside Caspian. I could feel the tension from the meeting still sitting heavily on Caspian's shoulders. Lucas was following closely behind us, his brows were still furrowed in deep thought, while Dev walked a few steps in front of us with Matthew. As we reached the driveway, Matthew paused. His shiny black Mercedes was waiting for him, the driver was inside. Matthew turned to face us, his demeanour was as calm and professional as ever. He had the same aura around him that at the beginning, I saw around Caspian. “I’ll wait for your call,” he said, his
Caspian’s office had turned into the Salvatore family's war room over the past few weeks. It was a room that once felt intimidating—lined with tall bookshelves, mahogany furniture, dark leather chairs, and the history it contained of me and Caspian. Now, it was a place where heavy discussions were taking place, to reach decisions that could alter the family’s fate. I was sitting in the corner of the room, feeling like an intruder in their world of business and law. Yet, as I watched Lucas and Caspian argue over the papers spread across the desk, I realized I wasn’t exactly an outsider anymore. I was part of the mess, whether I liked it or not.Matthew, the Salvatores’ lawyer, sat across from me. He was calm and collected despite the storm brewing in the room, trying to hear both sides. His neatly pressed suit and calm demeanour gave him an air of professionalism that felt out of place amidst the storm of words. Dev was pacing near the window, his hands were shoved deep into his po