Furina's heart raced as she read Luca’s response the next morning. She sat on the edge of her bed, the early morning light filtering through the curtains. Her fingers trembled slightly as they hovered over the phone, but she knew this was what she had to do.Luca: Meet at the safe house tonight at 8 PM. I’ll send you the address. Don’t tell anyone else where you’re going. We’re moving in fast. The message felt like a final warning—a line she was about to cross. Once she entered into this operation, there was no turning back. She had promised Harrod she would listen to Luca, but she couldn’t deny the fear gnawing at the edges of her resolve. Furina had never done anything like this before. This was real, dangerous, and it wasn’t just about her anymore—it was about Diluc’s life.She let out a shaky breath, feeling the weight of the decision she was about to make. Diluc was out there somewhere, possibly trapped and manipulated by Yvette. Every minute that pa
Yvette’s voice hung in the air like a dagger poised to strike. Her eyes glinted with malice, a smug confidence that made Furina’s skin crawl. It was the look of someone who had planned for every contingency, someone who had known this moment would come and had been waiting for it. She wasn’t surprised that the extraction team had made it this far; she had been anticipating it. Furina’s heart pounded in her chest, her blood roaring in her ears as she stood frozen, staring at Diluc, slumped and bound to the chair in the center of the room. “Yvette,” Furina said, her voice barely above a whisper, but it carried a raw edge of anger. “Let him go.” Yvette smiled, a slow, calculating curl of her lips. “Why would I do that? I finally have everything I want. You’ve come to rescue him, but look at him. Does it seem like he’s been begging to be saved?” She gestured to Diluc, who remained unmoving, his head still hanging low. Furina’s breath hitched.
The night air was heavy with tension as Furina and the team left Yvette’s estate. The SUV sped down the winding roads, the headlights cutting through the thick darkness. Inside the vehicle, the silence was almost suffocating. Luca sat in the front seat, his eyes scanning the road ahead, while Furina sat beside Diluc in the back, watching him with a mixture of relief and concern. Diluc hadn’t said much since they’d gotten him out. His eyes were closed now, his head resting against the window, but Furina could see the tension in his posture, the way his hands occasionally clenched into fists. He was physically free, but mentally, emotionally, he was still trapped in whatever hell Yvette had put him through. Furina had tried to talk to him, to ask him if he was okay, but every time she spoke, Diluc’s answers were short, clipped. He wasn’t ready to talk yet, and Furina wasn’t sure how to reach him. The man who had once been so cold, calculating, and in control now seemed distant, lost
The mention of Celeste hung in the air between them like an unspoken threat. She was still out there, waiting, and Furina knew that as long as she remained free, their peace was fragile, always on the verge of shattering.Furina’s hand was still wrapped around Diluc’s, offering him a quiet support. “What about Celeste?” she asked, her voice steady but laced with concern. “What are we going to do about her?”Diluc’s face darkened at the mention of his stepmother. His expression, which had softened just moments before, hardened into something colder, more focused. Furina had seen this look many times—the mask of the calculating businessman, the man bent on revenge, the man who had spent years chasing justice for his mother, Ane. Yet, in his eyes, Furina could see the exhaustion. The toll of the years weighed on him heavily, especially after Yvette’s manipulations.“We have to stop her,” Diluc said after a long pause, his voice low and filled with determinati
Celeste was never one to simply accept defeat. The moment she learned of Yvette’s capture and failure, her mind began working, gears turning behind her cold eyes. She had always been the architect of her own future, calculating every move with precision. Yvette’s reckless obsession with Diluc had been a weak point she had tolerated for too long. Now that Yvette was in custody, Celeste had no more use for her. But Furina, Diluc, and their sudden defiance—*that* was something she couldn’t let stand. Celeste paced the opulent halls of her French estate, her high heels clicking against the marble floor with every determined step. The sprawling mansion was a masterpiece of European architecture, all dark wood, and gilded chandeliers, but the beauty around her barely registered as her mind raced. From the outside, she appeared the picture of elegance and control, but internally, she was seething. Furina, the daughter she had discarded, had become a bigger threat than
Celeste Neuvillette, born with cunning in her blood, had always seen people as tools. Fionn, the man she had once loved and married, had been no different. Back then, when they were young, she had admired his spirit, his passion for life. But admiration was fleeting, and love even more so. Once Fionn had served his purpose, once he had proven too weak to provide the kind of life she craved, Celeste had discarded him as easily as one would toss away a broken toy. And now, seeing him beaten and broken, fighting for his life in a hospital, stirred no emotion within her. She sat in her opulent suite, the city lights twinkling far below, and raised her glass of wine to her lips. The crimson liquid swirled in the glass, rich and full-bodied—just like the life she deserved. She had traded up, hadn’t she? Fionn, with his simple dreams, had been nothing compared to Antoine Neuvillette, one of Europe’s wealthiest men. Marrying Antoine had been the pinnacle of her success,
Antoine left the room, his heart heavy and his mind racing with the full realization of what he had uncovered. Celeste’s words echoed in his ears: *“You’re either with me, or you’re against me.”* She had finally dropped the last remnants of her mask, revealing the cold, calculating woman she truly was. Everything about their life together—their marriage, their family—had been built on lies. And now, the truth was unraveling in front of him, piece by piece. As he walked down the hallway of his grand estate, Antoine knew he was in danger. Celeste wasn’t someone who took betrayal lightly, and he had just made himself her enemy. But more than that, he feared for his son, Diluc, and for Furina. They were both caught in the crosshairs of Celeste’s web, and now that Yvette had been dealt with, Celeste would focus her full attention on destroying them. Antoine’s mind flashed back to the days after Ane’s death, how quickly Celeste had inserted herself into his life, offering comfort and supp
Celeste had never been one to get her hands dirty. Throughout her life, she had always relied on manipulation, charm, and subtlety to get what she wanted. But this time was different. This time, her back was against the wall, and she couldn’t afford to trust anyone else to handle the job. Not when Furina had slipped through her fingers and Antoine was growing suspicious of her every move. This was personal now, and Celeste was determined to make a point.Disguising herself as a nurse to get close to Fionn had been a stroke of genius, she thought. It was the last thing anyone would expect. After all, the woman of her standing would never stoop so low as to involve herself directly. She had carefully constructed her persona over the years: the elegant, untouchable wife of Antoine Neuvillette, always perfectly composed, always a few steps ahead of everyone else. But sometimes, sacrifices had to be made. Sometimes, she had to step into the shadows herself to ensure things were