Seb leaned back in his chair, his smirk growing as he watched Victoria and Cecilia exchange wary glances.He knew they didn’t trust him, and that was fine. He didn’t need them to trust him, he needed them desperate enough to take the bait.He pulled out his phone, sending a quick message. Within minutes, the penthouse doors swung open, and a few more of his “friends” walked in, two well dressed men from affluent families and a woman draped in a glittering dress that barely covered her skin.They greeted Seb casually, as if this were just another wild night in the world of the elite.Seb clapped his hands together, turning back to Victoria and Cecilia. “Now that we’re all here, why don’t we have some fun?”Victoria arched a brow. “Is this a party or a negotiation?”Seb laughed. “Why not both?”The drinks flowed freely. Seb made sure of that. He never let their glasses stay empty for long.At first, Cecilia was hesitant, eyeing him with suspicion, but Victoria? She embraced the game, en
Seb grabbed her face again, leaning in until his lips almost brushed against her ear. “I would. And I already did.”Tears filled Cecilia’s eyes as she turned to the only person she could beg for mercy. “Seb, please… please, don’t do this…”Seb stood up, adjusting his suit. He looked down at them with pure, unfiltered disgust. “You never had mercy for Sarah. Why should I have mercy for you?”With that, he turned his back on them, walking toward the door.As he left, his final words rang in their ears:“Consider this the price for your greed.”The door shut behind him, and the last thing Victoria and Cecilia saw was the men closing in around them.Their screams never left the room.They both threw in their names in desperation, their voices shaking as they tried to assert their importance.“I’m Cecilia Hastings,” she declared, lifting her chin despite the fear creeping into her bones. “Bethrothed to Alexander Blake.”“And I am Victoria Caldwell,” Victoria added hastily. “Alexander’s sis
Cecilia and Victoria stepped out of the hotel lobby, their faces pale and their expressions unreadable, though their downcast eyes spoke volumes.The weight of what had happened sat heavy on their shoulders, pressing down with an unbearable force.Dressed in fresh clothes but unable to shake the feeling of filth clinging to their skin, they walked stiffly toward the waiting car that had been arranged for them.The driver didn't say a word as he opened the door, his gaze respectfully lowered.They slid inside without protest, without their usual air of entitlement, just silent, defeated figures fading into the morning light.Across the street, Sarah sat in her sleek black car, one hand lazily resting on the steering wheel as she watched them leave through the tinted windows.Her lips curled slightly, but there was no mirth in the gesture, just quiet satisfaction.They had spent months thinking they were untouchable, tormenting her at every turn. Now, the scales had finally begun to tip
Victoria had always been the life of the party.The woman who strutted through elite gatherings with an air of untouchable arrogance, the socialite who thrived on attention, and the one who always had something to say. But now… now she was a ghost in her own home.For weeks, she remained locked inside her room.The curtains drawn, the lights dim, and silence suffocating the once lively space.She ignored calls, avoided meals, and refused to step foot outside.Eleanor Caldwell, her mother, had noticed. Of course, she had. It was impossible not to when the daughter she had so carefully molded into the perfect image of power and prestige had suddenly become… nothing.At first, Eleanor thought it was just another one of Victoria’s temper tantrums, some dramatic sulking over a petty loss. Perhaps another socialite had outshined her at an event, or maybe one of her flings had dared to ignore her. But when days turned into weeks, concern began to creep in.She knocked on Victoria’s door one
A desperate woman clinging to the last shreds of relevance.“So she’s running from her problems, drowning in drugs and strangers,” Sarah mused. “Pathetic.”“You almost sound disappointed,” Raven teased, arching a brow.Sarah tilted her head, a ghost of a smirk playing on her lips. “Not disappointed, just… unimpressed. I expected more of a struggle. Maybe an attempt to claw her way back into society.”Raven shrugged. “She knows there’s no coming back from this, Sarah. The elites aren’t stupid. They can smell desperation from miles away. The second she lost Alexander and her reputation, she became nothing more than a liability.”Sarah hummed in agreement, flipping through the documents on her desk. “Well, I hope she enjoys what little freedom she has left.”Raven leaned forward. “So, what now? Do we just watch her continue to self destruct?”Sarah chuckled softly. “No, I don’t believe in leaving loose ends. Let her drown a little longer, and when the time is right…” She met Raven’s gaze
Two weeks remained until the highly anticipated Mountain Rose showroom event, and the city was already buzzing with excitement.High profile guests from the fashion and jewelry industries were flying in, hotels were being booked to full capacity, and exclusive invitations had become the most sought after asset in elite circles.The showroom wasn’t just a display of jewelry, it was a power move, a declaration of dominance in an industry where prestige meant everything.Sarah had been meticulously overseeing every detail.The venue, the lighting, the security, the guest list, nothing was left to chance.Raven handled the press, making sure the right amount of mystery and exclusivity surrounded the event, increasing the allure.The Mountain Rose brand was no longer just a rising name in jewelry, it had become a phenomenon.Meanwhile, in the shadows of Sarah’s success, Victoria had finally emerged from the isolation she had locked herself in after that fateful night.The once proud and un
As Victoria and Cecilia were standing outside the lounge, exchanging a few final words before parting ways, a movement caught their attention.Victoria’s gaze sharpened as she nudged Cecilia’s arm. “Look.”Cecilia turned, following Victoria’s line of sight, and immediately stiffened.Across the corridor, past the velvet ropes of the private suites, Sarah was walking alongside Sebastian.They moved quickly, almost too casually, as if they didn’t want to be noticed.Seb placed a hand on the small of Sarah’s back as he guided her up the stairs, leading her toward one of the secluded lodge rooms on the upper floor.A slow smirk spread across Victoria’s lips. “Well, well… what do we have here?”Cecilia quickly reached into her bag, pulling out her phone. “This could be gold,” she whispered as she began snapping pictures of Sarah and Seb disappearing into the private room.Victoria chuckled under her breath. “So the great Sarah Blake, the oh so loyal wife of Alexander, is sneaking off with
Alexander gave her a solemn nod, like he was delivering the worst possible news. "Ugly, Sarah. Hideous. The absolute worst pairing I've ever seen. I mean, I looked at these pictures for a while, trying to make sense of them, but the moment I imagined you and Seb together?" He shook his head dramatically. "No. Just no."Sarah stared at him, dumbfounded. "So, you're not upset that people think I’m cheating? You're upset because you think Seb is ugly?""Exactly," Alexander said, looking almost pained as he folded the newspaper and tossed it onto the nightstand. "I mean, come on, Sarah. You and him? In what world does that pairing make sense?"Sarah opened her mouth, then closed it, struggling to keep up with his nonsense. "Okay, let me get this straight. You don’t care about the scandal?""Not really," Alexander shrugged. "We both know it’s fake, and I trust you. But I do care about the visual offense of you being paired with someone like him in the media. It’s disgraceful, really."Sara
Sarah stayed curled in Alexander’s arms for a long moment, breathing him in like he was the only tether keeping her from floating away.His hand cradled the back of her head, his chest rising and falling in unsteady waves as if he still couldn’t believe she was real, that she was here.But then her eyes drifted down.Her gaze locked on the white sheets, crumpled and slightly lifted around his lower half.Something tugged at her memory, the shot.The sharp crack of a bullet.The sight of him falling behind her as she ran, screaming his name. Her stomach twisted.She leaned back slightly, her hand moving instinctively to the edge of the blanket, brushing against the thick padding of a cast beneath.Her voice was soft. “You were shot… I remember… I...”Alexander caught her hand gently, pressing it to his lips. “It’s okay. I’m here.”But Sarah’s heart had already begun to race again. “You were limping… and I saw… but I didn’t know it was this bad.” Her eyes darted toward the crutches now
The first thing Sarah registered was the scent of antiseptic, clean, sharp, and nauseating.Then came the ache. Deep in her bones. In her chest. In the marrow of her soul.She stirred, her fingers twitching over crisp hospital sheets as her body shifted ever so slightly, and her mind scrambled to catch up.She wasn’t tied down. She wasn’t cold anymore. She wasn’t in that dark room. That house. That… nightmare.She was safe.Or… something like it.Her eyes fluttered open slowly, lashes damp from tears she hadn’t even known she’d been crying.The ceiling was a sterile white blur. The walls hummed faintly with distant activity, soft footfalls, medical monitors, the low murmur of conversation somewhere outside the door.But none of it mattered.Because he wasn’t there.And without him, none of this felt real.Her lips parted, cracked and dry, and she tried to speak. Tried to push out the name that had lived on the edge of every prayer she'd whispered during captivity.It came out broken a
Alexander turned his head, his eyes bloodshot and glistening. “I’ll be a burden now. She’ll never say it, but I’ll see it in her eyes. Pity. Guilt. I’d rather she hate me than pity me.”“She’s not that kind of woman,” Darius said firmly.A pause. Then Alexander swallowed hard and asked the question that had been clawing at him since the moment the doctor said the word paralysis.“What if she stays… just because she thinks she owes me?”Darius’s brow furrowed. “Then you remind her what you both have been through. Remind her who the hell you are. And what you mean to each other.”Silence again.Then Alexander leaned back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. “Gerald got away.”Darius’s expression hardened. “Barely. One of my men put a tracker on his vehicle before he escaped. Victoria got caught in the crossfire. Gerald used her,” Darius replied coldly. “He doesn’t care who dies as long as he gets what he wants.”Alexander’s jaw clenched. “Then we’ll burn every last shadow h
The sterile beep of Alexander’s heart monitor filled the hospital room like a metronome, steady and soft. The worst had passed, so the doctors said. He had survived the bullets, the blood loss, the surgery. He had defied death.But outside the room, just as Darius turned to check on Sarah again, something in her expression shifted.Relief.That was the first thing he saw.A full bodied, all consuming relief that weakened her spine, dulled her eyes, and uncoiled every taut muscle that had kept her upright through pain, fear, and heartbreak.Then she crumpled.“Sarah...!” Darius lunged forward and caught her just before her knees slammed into the polished floor.Her body was limp in his arms, barely conscious, her breathing shallow and unsteady. Her bloodied hands slipped against his shirt as he pulled her close, his voice sharp and commanding as he yelled over his shoulder, “Get a doctor! Now!”Within seconds, nurses flooded the corridor. A gurney was wheeled over, and Darius laid her d
The woman he’d secretly crushed on since the first night he saved her bleeding and defiant.“Holy shit,” he muttered.But she was already in the driver’s seat.The moment her fingers wrapped around the wheel, she changed. Her spine straightened. Her breath slowed. The fear didn’t vanish, but it sharpened, fused into her bones like steel.And when her foot hit the gas, the tires screamed their fury into the night.The SUV became a blur under her hands.Trees melted past them. Headlights glared like ghosts. The world narrowed to instinct and motion.Sarah didn’t flinch when they nearly sideswiped a truck. She didn’t panic when the back tires fishtailed across loose gravel. She was in it.. back.Back to the part of herself she’d buried when she married into the Blake family.Back to Sparrow.“Hang on,” she said under her breath, glancing at Alexander in the mirror, his head resting in Darius’s lap as the man tried to stop the bleeding.“He’s fading,” Darius warned. “We’ve got fifteen min
The air turned electric as Darius’s boots pounded the forest floor, his rifle cradled tight against his shoulder. His men moved ahead of him like shadows, silent, fast, lethal.Their coordinated breaths were drowned out by the distant echoes of gunfire erupting from the estate.Alexander was still fighting.He was alive.But for how long?“Alpha to all units,” Darius growled into his earpiece, “entry on my mark. Hostile count is high. Primary objective, get Alexander out alive. Secondary level anyone who tries to stop us.”“Copy that,” came a chorus of calm, battle hardened voices.Behind him, the night swallowed his words.But not all of it.He turned briefly, his sharp gaze locking onto Sarah, who stood beside the black SUV Darius had arrived in. Her body trembled, her eyes red from tears, but she had not collapsed.She hadn’t fallen apart.And that, Darius admired deeply.“Can you drive?” he asked, voice hard but not unkind.Sarah blinked, startled. “What?”“If this goes south, we’
SarahShe sat on the floor, trembling hands curled around a piece of porcelain, a broken teacup she’d stashed away after a “servant” delivered tea hours ago.The sharp edge glittered in her shaking grip.She was pale.Her lips cracked from dehydration. Her dress hung off her like it didn’t belong to her anymore. Her eyes were void. Empty.As if she was no longer here.“Just one cut,” she whispered to herself. “Just one cut and I’ll see him again.”She looked up, eyes glassy, smile fragile, as if she could see someone standing in front of her already.“Alexander,” she breathed to the ghost in her mind. “I’m sorry I didn’t wait. I couldn’t. I’m just... so tired…”She raised the shard to her wrist.And a hand caught her.Real. Warm. Strong.Her eyes widened in horror and disbelief. “No…”She turned, and for a heartbeat, she didn’t believe it.But he was there.Kneeling before her.Alexander.His chest heaving from the run. Dirt on his clothes. Gun holstered at his side. Eyes red, wild, b
Alexander hadn’t slept.He couldn’t.His mind was a storm of fury, grief, and determination, all tightly leashed beneath the sharp cut of his suit and the red ring around his eyes that hadn’t dulled since Sarah was taken.The private jet cut across the clouds like a missile, Darius seated across from him, tablet in hand, phone to his ear, speaking in rapid fire to his tech team.“She’s still alive,” Alexander muttered under his breath. Not to Darius. Not even to himself. To the universe. As if daring it to prove him wrong. “She has to be.”Darius finally looked up. “We caught a break. One of Gerald’s men paid a contact to move a chopper from that warehouse. The payment route was unusual, and we traced it to a shell company under a different alias… all leading to one place.”He tapped on the screen and turned it to Alexander.An isolated property on the southern coast. Hills. Forest. A private airstrip nearby. No neighbors for miles.Gerald’s new hideout.“You think he’s keeping her th
Alexander pulled at the collar of his coat, suffocating from the weight of regret.When she had insisted he save Raven, he thought he was doing the right thing.He believed that was what Sarah would want. But now, the decision clawed at his chest like poison.He imagined her now, alone, terrified, thinking he was dead. Thinking he’d abandoned her.And that killed him.With trembling fingers, he grabbed his phone and called the only man he trusted in a crisis this dire.“Pick up,” he growled.The line clicked.“Darius,” Alexander said, his voice steely. “They took her. Gerald, he has her. He flew her out in a chopper. I need you to mobilize everything. I don’t care what you’re doing, who you’re with, drop it. Get me a flight path. Scramble every contact you have in surveillance, air traffic, satellites, everything.”Darius’s voice was sharp, ready. “On it.”“And send a second team. Heavy artillery. No questions. I want Gerald hunted down like the rat he is.”“Consider it done.”Alexand