Lucas’s POVI stared at the phone in my hand, the weight of the last few words hanging in the air like a thick fog I couldn’t clear. The voice had been cold, detached, and it left a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.I was still kneeling in front of Mandy and Emily, the quiet sobs of my daughter still fresh in my ears, but the moment had shifted. It wasn’t over. No, the game had changed. Ivan might’ve been taken care of, but this… this was something else.Mandy looked up at me, her eyes still wide from the chaos, but now there was a new fear in them. The same fear I felt creeping down my spine.“Who was it?” she asked, voice barely a whisper, like she knew whatever had just happened was bigger than we could handle alone.I didn't answer right away. Instead, I stood, shaking the numbness out of my limbs, the cold sweat on my skin making it feel like I’d just fought through a nightmare. I looked at Viktor, who had stayed near the door, silent and alert, like he was expecting somet
Lucas’s POVThe world exploded into chaos in a matter of seconds. The car lurched forward as I slammed my foot on the brake, but the bullet had already hit the side window, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Mandy's scream sliced through the air, a raw, piercing sound that made my blood freeze. I looked to my side, but her face was already hidden, her body instinctively ducking low, shielding Emily with everything she had. I couldn't breathe. My mind was a blur of panic and rage, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest. The car was suddenly too small, too vulnerable. “Stay down!” I barked, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles turned white. “Mandy, are you okay? Emily?” Mandy didn’t respond immediately. She was crouched over Emily, but I could see the tremble in her shoulders. The panic was real, and I hated myself for putting her through this. I had promised her safety, promised her that nothing would hurt her again. But at that moment, it felt like th
Mandy’s POVThe weight of the silence in the room was unbearable. I could barely hear myself think over the pounding of my heart, and the nagging fear that had been gnawing at me since the attack felt like it was crawling under my skin, threatening to suffocate me. I held Emily close, her tiny body trembling in my arms as she clutched her stuffed bear, her innocent face a mirror of the confusion and fear that had invaded our lives in the blink of an eye. My baby didn’t understand any of this, didn’t understand the gravity of what was happening. But I did. I could feel the tension building in the air, every moment stretching longer than the last. Lucas hadn’t said much since we entered the safe house, his jaw clenched tight as if holding onto something volatile inside. I knew him well enough by now to know that whatever was on his mind was something he was trying to keep buried. I wanted to reach out to him, wanted to tell him that it was okay—that we were going to get through thi
Mandy’s POVThe words Viktor spoke still lingered in the air, thick and suffocating as my heart began racing in my chest, as if I was trying to outrun the truth. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Lucas’s brother—his own flesh and blood—was behind this. It was too much to process, too painful to even fathom.Lucas stood beside me, his grip tightening around my hand, as if he could somehow anchor us both in the face of the storm that was coming. I wanted to believe we could fight our way through this—together. But there was a gnawing feeling deep in my gut that told me this was only the beginning.“I can’t believe this,” Lucas muttered under his breath. His face was ashen, his eyes dark with betrayal. “All this time… he’s been playing me.”Viktor didn’t speak for a long moment, allowing the weight of his words to sink in. “You need to get ahead of this, Lucas. Your brother won’t stop until he gets what he wants. And right now, he thinks he’s got the upper hand.”I could feel Lucas’s
Mandy’s POVMy pulse hammered in my chest, each beat louder than the last. The phone call that had just come through shattered the fragile calm we had. Lucas’s grip on the phone was tight, his knuckles white as he listened to the voice on the other end.His face, already pale, went even grayer with each passing second.I stood frozen, too afraid to ask, too terrified to even breathe. What had just happened? Who was on the other side of that call? And what did they want?I had never seen Lucas like this before—completely still, barely moving, as if every ounce of his energy was being drained away by whatever was being said. His eyes, which had once held so much fire and determination, were now clouded with fear. The kind of fear I’d seen only once before—when he’d thought he was going to lose everything.I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. I needed to know what was going on. I needed to know if Emily was safe. I needed to know if I could even trust Lucas to get her back.B
Lucas's POVI couldn’t breathe. My body was frozen, my mind spiraling into chaos as I stared at the doorway. There he stood—my brother, the one who had been the cause of everything. The man who had betrayed me, and worse—betrayed Emily. Behind him were two of his men, each looking at me like I was a dead man walking. But it was the look in my brother’s eyes that sent a chill down my spine. It wasn’t the typical arrogant smirk. It was something darker. Something that told me this wasn’t just about control anymore.“Lucas,” he said my name like a warning, his voice cold, almost too calm for my liking. “I see you’ve been busy.”My heart pounded harder, my anger bubbling to the surface. Every part of me wanted to lunge at him, to end this right now. But I couldn’t. Not while Emily was still out there, still in his grasp.“You’ve gone too far, Ivan,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “You think this is a game, don’t you?”He stepped further into the room, flanked by his men, his expr
Lucas’s POVThe world shattered.The explosion sent shockwaves through the air, a deafening roar that drowned out everything else. For a moment, time felt like it stopped. My body was slammed back, the force knocking the air out of my lungs. My vision blurred, the room spinning as smoke and debris filled the space around me. I didn’t know what happened. All I could hear was ringing in my ears and the frantic pulse of my heartbeat. The floor beneath me was suddenly uneven, and I felt a sharp pain in my side as I hit the ground.“Mandy!” I tried to scream, but my voice barely made it past the haze of pain and shock.I pushed myself up, hands shaking, my mind reeling as the dust cleared. My ears were still ringing, but I could see Mandy. She was a few feet away, her body crumpled on the floor, unmoving. Panic surged through me, clawing at my chest as I struggled to my feet.“Mandy!” I yelled again, stumbling toward her. My legs felt like they were made of jelly, but I didn’t care. I
Lucas’s POVPain. That’s all I could feel. A raw, gnawing ache that seemed to spread through every part of me, the kind of pain that felt like it would never end. But it wasn’t just physical—it was deep, like something inside me was being slowly crushed under the weight of everything that had happened.I forced my eyes open, the world spinning in a blur of smoke and dust. My body felt like lead, every movement an effort. I was still lying on the floor, debris all around me. The air was thick with the scent of burning wood, the crackling of the flames rising from the destruction. But there was no time to think about the fire or the crumbling building.I reached for Mandy. Her body was still in my arms, and I felt a wave of relief flood through me as I realized she was still breathing. Her face was pale, blood trickling from a small cut above her eyebrow. But she was alive. She was still here.“Mandy...” My voice came out hoarse, barely a whisper, but she didn’t respond.I shook her
Mandy’s POVThe SUV’s tires screeched as it came to a halt, the eerie silence of the abandoned warehouse district swallowing the sound. My pulse raced in my ears as I sat motionless, gripping Emily’s limp body tightly. Each second felt like an eternity. The night air outside was thick with tension, the kind that made you feel like something terrible was about to happen, but you had no idea how to stop it.Lucas didn’t even glance at me as he opened the door and stepped out of the car. His face was set, hardened, like he was preparing for war. I followed quickly behind him, clutching Emily closer to my chest, her tiny body a fragile weight in my arms. The warehouse loomed in front of us—an ugly, decaying building at the edge of the city. There was nothing welcoming about it, nothing that suggested it could be a place of hope. It was a hollow structure, abandoned and broken, much like the world we had stepped into.We moved quickly toward the entrance, the dim lights of the street
lucas’s POVThe phone call felt like a weight around my neck, each second dragging me deeper into something I never wanted to revisit. My grip tightened on the steering wheel, knuckling white as I stared out the window. But my mind wasn’t on the road ahead—it was on the voice that had just spoken through the phone. "You should be rotting in a cell, Lucas."His words rang in my ears like a death sentence. Every syllable is a reminder of the mistakes I’d made, the enemies I’d created, and the man I once was—the man I still couldn’t fully outrun. I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stay calm. "I don’t have time for grudges," I said, my voice clipped and controlled. "I need your help."The silence on the other end of the line stretched painfully long. I could hear him breathing, the rasp of air in and out as if he were savoring the moment. Finally, he spoke again. "Bring her here. But after this, you owe me."The words hit me like a blow to the chest, but I forced myself not to re
Mandy’s POVEverything around me blurred into nothing. The cold pavement bit into my knees, but I barely felt it. My arms tightened around Emily’s small, lifeless body, my hands trembling as I pressed my forehead against hers. "Please, baby… please…" My voice cracked, but no response came. The weight of her in my arms, too still, too cold, made it impossible to breathe. A strangled sob tore from my throat as I rocked her, desperate to bring life back into her. She had been laughing just hours ago, giggling in my arms, full of energy, full of love. Now, she was slipping away, and I couldn't stop it. "We need to get her to a hospital!" Ethan's voice cut through the fog of grief, sharp and urgent. He was crouched beside me, his hands hovering as if afraid to touch her, as if touching would make this nightmare real. Lucas stood frozen, his face unreadable, but his hands were clenched into fists at his sides. His knuckles were white, his whole body rigid. "If anything happens t
Lucas’s POVThe world felt like it was closing in on me. The lights flashing from the police cars outside the warehouse, the sound of sirens wailing in the distance, it all blended into a haze of confusion. Mandy had been pulled away, and I could only watch as she and Ethan ran for their lives. The chaos unfolding around us seemed like a nightmare I couldn’t wake from. Sophia had done this. She’d planned every step with the precision of someone who was playing a long game, and now, I was caught in it. A pawn. And I had no idea how to fight back. My mind was racing, but there was no time to think. I had to do something—anything—to protect her, to protect Emily. The weight of what was happening pressed heavily against my chest, suffocating me with guilt and fear. Mandy and Emily were in danger, and it was because of me. As I moved toward the door, my body tense and ready for whatever was waiting outside, my eyes caught the movement in the distance. The alley—where Mandy and Eth
Mandy’s POVEthan’s grip was unrelenting as he pulled me through the dark corridors of the warehouse. My heart thundered in my chest, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed off the cold concrete walls. Behind us, the chaos erupted—yelling, shouts of orders, the sound of heavy boots pounding the floor as the police scrambled to respond. I barely registered it all. All I could think about was the fact that Lucas was being arrested. We were running, but for what? "We can’t let them take Lucas."His words hit me like a cold splash of water. He was right. We couldn’t let them take him, but how were we supposed to stop this? I stumbled slightly, still trying to process everything—Sophia’s cruel smile, the video, the betrayal I felt in my bones. Lucas… Lucas had never told me about his past with Sophia. I didn’t know what to believe anymore. Could I trust him? Should I? "What do we do?" I gasped, the words slipping out before I could stop them. My mind was clouded, and fear was s
Lucas’s POVThe moment the police stormed in, their weapons raised, I knew Sophia had been waiting for this. The blue and red flashes of sirens painted the dim warehouse in a kaleidoscope of chaos. The tension in the air thickened like a noose tightening around my throat. "Lucas Vanderbilt, you’re under arrest."The lead officer’s voice rang with authority, cutting through the heavy silence that followed. Beside me, Mandy tensed, her fingers twitching at her sides. I could hear her sharp intake of breath, but my focus stayed on the officers, on Sophia, and on the pieces of this twisted game she was playing. "For what?" I asked, keeping my voice controlled, even though my pulse pounded in my ears. Sophia let out a delighted hum, stepping forward as if she were the one running the show. "Oh, Lucas. You didn’t think I came empty-handed, did you?"My stomach tightened. Of course, she hadn’t. Sophia had never been the type to strike without a plan. She had been pulling the strings
Mandy’s POVI stood there, frozen, the weight of everything pressing down on me. The room felt suffocating as my chest was tight, my pulse racing as I tried to make sense of the video, of what I had just seen. My hands shook, my mind in a whirlwind of disbelief, hurt, and anger. "I trusted you!" I finally shouted, my voice breaking, raw with emotion. The words left my lips before I could stop them, and the pain behind them was suffocating. I had let my guard down. I had believed in Lucas, in us. But now, everything was shattered. The man I thought I knew, the man I had given my heart to, had lied to me—about something so crucial, so fundamental. I couldn’t even look at him. My eyes blurred with unshed tears, but I refused to let them fall. Not now. Not when I was this angry, this betrayed. Lucas’s expression faltered, his usual calm demeanor giving way to something more vulnerable—more desperate. "I didn’t leave her. I thought she was dead, Mandy. I thought I lost her that night
Lucas’s POVI could see Mandy hesitating, her finger hovering over the play button, but her eyes were locked on the screen, as if she were trying to prepare herself for what was coming. I could see the turmoil in her face, the confusion, the disbelief, and it made my stomach churn. What was about to unfold was something I had buried so deep, so far away from her, that I had hoped we would never have to confront it. But Sophia... she had found a way to drag it all back into the light.My heart pounded in my chest as the screen flickered to life. The darkness of the alley filled the frame, shadows stretching long and ominous. I could see myself, younger, desperate, pacing with a sense of urgency that was palpable even through the grainy footage. My voice echoed through the alley as I shouted Sophia’s name. "Sophia!" I could hear myself calling out, panic in my tone. "Sophia!"The air around me felt like it was thick with dread, and I could almost feel the weight of the night again.
Mandy’s POVThe world around me felt like it was slipping away. My body trembled, not from the cold, but from the weight of the words in the air. Each one felt like a stone being dropped into the abyss, echoing through me, making everything I thought I knew shake. I had always believed in Lucas, in the man who stood beside me, and yet now, his past was unfurling before my eyes, and I wasn’t sure if I even knew him at all.Sophia leaned in closer, her breath hot against my ear, and I froze. There was a dangerous calmness in her voice as she whispered the words that made my heart stop."He let me die, Mandy. He chose himself over me."Her words rang in my ears, and for a moment, everything inside me froze. He chose himself over her? The very idea cut through me like a knife. I could barely breathe, let alone process the enormity of what she was implying. Lucas was beside me, his fists clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with barely contained fury. His voice cracked through the silen