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Chapter 21 Collateral Hearts
Last Updated:
2025-04-09 18:49:34
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THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride Chapter 22 Beneath the Ashes
3:06 Am The north wing was a graveyard. Smoke thickened with every breath, curling through shattered corridors like ghosts fleeing the blast. Sparks rained from broken fixtures. The scent of molten metal, blood, and burning insulation clung to every surface, choking out reason and hope. Alexander and Isabella moved fast—too fast for the damage around them, too slow for the fear inside them. Each step felt like a betrayal. Each breath, a countdown. Charlotte had been there. Then gone. Isabella’s lungs burned, but she didn’t stop. Couldn’t. Her sister had looked into that camera. Looked at her. And then— Silence. Black smoke. Nothing. Her boots skidded across tiles shattered like glass, dragging her forward until her knees buckled at the edge of a collapsed wall. She couldn’t move. Not one step more. “Charlotte…” Her voice came out cracked, barely there—like the girl herself had already vanished into dust. Alexander caught her from behind, gripping her shoulders as she sa
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Last Updated : 2025-04-18THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride chapter 25 The Blood Oath
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The heavy rain pounded the streets of New York, its relentless rhythm echoing in the distance as Isabella Carter stepped onto the slick pavement. The cold night air cut through her thin coat, and every droplet that splashed against her face felt like a reminder of the turmoil in her heart. Tonight, the world she once knew was crumbling—her father's company, Carter Holdings, had been drowning in debt ever since her stepmother Vivian's reckless spending left them vulnerable. And now, with creditors knocking at the door and her family's legacy at stake, Isabella had no choice but to accept a fate that felt more like a sentence than salvation.She approached the towering glass building of Kingston Enterprises with trepidation. Every step she took was weighted with desperation and the lingering taste of betrayal. Inside, the opulence was in stark contrast to the despair churning within her. Golden chandeliers, polished marble floors, and an air of cold efficiency greeted her as she made he
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The Kingston estate was beautiful, but it felt nothing like home. Isabella sat at the edge of the massive bed, staring at the luxurious room that now belonged to her. The events of the past twenty-four hours still felt surreal. Married. To a man she barely knew. A man who was supposed to marry her stepsister. And yet, here she was. Isabella Kingston. Her fingers ran over the smooth gold band on her finger. It felt foreign, like a shackle rather than a promise. A soft knock on the door made her snap out of her thoughts. The door creaked open, and the head maid entered. "Good morning, Mrs. Kingston," the woman greeted, her voice polite but devoid of warmth. "Mr. Kingston has requested you join him for breakfast." Requested. It wasn’t a question. It was an order. Isabella swallowed her pride and nodded. "Lead the way." The halls of the mansion were eerily quiet as she followed the maid through the house. Sunlight streamed in through the tall windows, illuminating the marble floo
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The pounding of footsteps in the hallway sent a jolt of adrenaline through Isabella’s veins. Someone was coming. Not Jason’s men. Not Alexander’s allies. Something worse. Jason cursed under his breath. “You want to save him?” He glanced at Isabella before nodding toward the door. “Then move.” Alexander let out a ragged breath, his free hand pressing against the wound in his side. “We don’t have time for this,” he gritted out. Isabella’s grip on the gun remained firm, but for the first time, uncertainty crept into her thoughts. Jason had just shot Alexander—but now he was helping him? Why? She had no time to dwell on it. The door handle rattled. “Move!” Jason hissed. Isabella didn’t need to be told twice. She bolted toward Alexander, slipping her arm around his waist just as Jason did the same on the other side. The moment her hand brushed Alexander’s blood-soaked shirt, reality slammed into her. He was hurt. Badly. Jason reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun
Last Updated : 2025-02-27
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THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride Chapter 26 THE RESCUE
The warehouse reeked of gasoline, sweat, and something more sinister—fear.Marcus kicked down the reinforced door just as the last of his six men gunned down a guard in the hallway. The silence that followed was not peace, but a lull before the storm. They moved like shadows—swift, precise, unrelenting.Marcus trailed at the rear, his jaw tight, pulse pounding in his ears. He wasn’t just here on a mission. He was here for Erik. No more delays. No more mercy. “Lower east room,” Caleb's voice crackled through the comms. “Thermal scan shows one heat signature—still.” Marcus didn’t respond. He was already moving. The corridors were a blur, each footstep a hammer to the cold concrete. His grip tightened around his weapon. Every second Erik remained in that place was an insult Marcus could not forgive. He reached the door. One hard kick. It crashed open. There—slumped in a chair, wrists bound, shirt bloodied and torn—was Erik. Bruises darkened his ribs, and his face was
THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride chapter 25 The Blood Oath
2:09 PM – Emergency Recovery Unit. The room was quiet again. Too quiet. Jason sat stiffly on the edge of the hospital bed, sterile sheets twisted around his legs like chains. One hand pressed against the blood-soaked gauze on his side, the other trembling from more than just pain. It was something deeper. More dangerous. Love. He hadn’t meant to fall for her. In his world, love was a vulnerability—one that could get you killed. It dulled instincts. Blurred lines. Made monsters look human.And yet, the first time he saw her—fragile, scared, defiant—something inside him cracked. He buried it fast. Compartmentalized it. Pretended it was nothing. Because he was too dangerous for someone like her. She deserved peace. He only knew war. But the feeling didn’t die. It waited. Waited through long nights in the war room. Through missions gone sideways. Through cold coffee and heated arguments and moments when her silence said more than words ever could. And somewhere betw
THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride Chapter 24 The Devil’s Table
9:04 AM – Undisclosed Location: Blackwell Command Bunker, Milan The silence wasn’t ordinary. It throbbed—alive, almost sentient—twisting through steel panels and every muted pulse of embedded light. There was no comfort here. No warmth. Just cold, calculated control. And Charlotte stood at the center of it all—poised like a queen in exile. Her wrists were bound in silk—a mockery of captivity. A message. To anyone else, she might have looked like a prisoner. But Charlotte was no one’s captive. Not today. Not ever. She was here by design. Every step that had brought her to this moment had been orchestrated with precision. She had studied him—Vincent Blackwell—the way a predator stalks its prey. But unlike the others who had fallen to his shadow, Charlotte hadn’t come to beg, or plead, or run. She had come to end it. The bunker’s reinforced doors hissed open. And with them, the temperature dropped. Vincent Blackwell entered like an omen—silent, dangerous, deliber
THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride Chapter 23 A Line Crossed
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THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride Chapter 22 Beneath the Ashes
3:06 Am The north wing was a graveyard. Smoke thickened with every breath, curling through shattered corridors like ghosts fleeing the blast. Sparks rained from broken fixtures. The scent of molten metal, blood, and burning insulation clung to every surface, choking out reason and hope. Alexander and Isabella moved fast—too fast for the damage around them, too slow for the fear inside them. Each step felt like a betrayal. Each breath, a countdown. Charlotte had been there. Then gone. Isabella’s lungs burned, but she didn’t stop. Couldn’t. Her sister had looked into that camera. Looked at her. And then— Silence. Black smoke. Nothing. Her boots skidded across tiles shattered like glass, dragging her forward until her knees buckled at the edge of a collapsed wall. She couldn’t move. Not one step more. “Charlotte…” Her voice came out cracked, barely there—like the girl herself had already vanished into dust. Alexander caught her from behind, gripping her shoulders as she sa
THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride Chapter 21 Collateral Hearts
Milan, 2:13 AM – Rooftop Staging Point The rain had come in sheets—savage and unrelenting—hammering the fuselage of the modified Gulfstream as it cut through the thunder-laced skies over northern Italy. The storm howled with purpose, thunder rolling like a divine warning through the clouds. It was the kind of night that dared fate to blink first. Charlotte never blinked. The plane descended. Altitude dropped. Bay doors yawned open. One by one, the team vanished into the storm. She jumped last. For a heartbeat, gravity clutched her breath—long enough for every failure, every regret to tear through her ribs. Then instinct surged. The wind grabbed at her limbs, and Milan sprawled below—fractured light and jagged shadows spinning into view. A silent SUV waited, its engine purring as its tires kissed rain-slick cobblestones, gliding them deeper into a sleeping city where secrets wore suits and power was currency. Now, six stories above the crumbling outskirts near Blackwell’s Villa
THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride Chapter 20 The Weight of the Choice
The elevator’s hum filled the silence like a heartbeat in the dark, low and steady, echoing off cold steel walls. Charlotte clutched the file tightly to her chest. But it wasn’t just a folder—it was a confession. A lifeline. A plea wrapped in vulnerability and love. The kind of love that dared to be exposed. The kind that lingered in the air long after the words had faded.With a soft chime, the elevator doors parted, spilling her into the corridor. It felt colder than before—longer, emptier. Each step forward was deliberate, echoing off the pristine tiles like a countdown she couldn’t pause. She wasn’t just making a decision.She was crossing a line.Isabella hadn’t handed her the file just to inform her. It was a desperate gesture. A surrender. A hope that Charlotte would turn away.And Charlotte knew all too well what it meant to be left behind.The operations room loomed at the end of the corridor, a beacon of murmured voices and rustling pages. Strategies being born in real time.
THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride Chapter 19 Shadows of Doubt
Shadows of Doubt The silence in Alexander’s office was suffocating. Even with Isabella gone, her presence lingered—like the ghost of a touch, the echo of unspoken words. He exhaled sharply, running a hand down his face. He needed to get his head straight. There was no room for distraction. No time for emotions. And yet, she had a way of slipping past his carefully built defenses, leaving behind cracks he couldn’t ignore. A sharp knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. “What?” The door swung open, and Jason stepped inside. His posture was tense, his face drawn with exhaustion and something else—guilt. “I know you don’t want to see me right now,” Jason said, voice quieter than usual. “But we need to talk.” Alexander sat back in his chair, arms folding across his chest. His expression was unreadable, but the coldness in his gaze was unmistakable. “You have two minutes.” Jason hesitated, but only for a second. “I didn’t let him go because I was weak.” His voice was steady,
THE Billionaire's Hidden Bride Chapter 18 Blood and Loyalties
Jason sat in the passenger seat, his muscles coiled with tension as Alexander tore through the streets, the car’s tires screeching against the asphalt. The city lights blurred past them in streaks of neon, but neither man was paying attention to the outside world. Inside the car, the air was thick with unspoken accusations, the weight of failure pressing down on them both. Alexander’s grip on the steering wheel was tight, knuckles turning white. His jaw was set, his eyes dark with barely restrained fury. The cold glow from the dashboard illuminated the sharp angles of his face, making him look even more dangerous than usual. Jason knew better than to speak first. But Alexander wasn’t the type to let things go. “You want to tell me what the hell happened back there?” His voice was low, deceptively calm, the kind of calm that came before a storm. Jason exhaled through his nose, keeping his gaze fixed on the road ahead. “I already told you. He escaped.” A muscle ticked in Alexa
