The hallway felt suffocating as she approached the office door. Sarah’s name gleamed from the plaque, mocking her.Her hand raised slowly, hovering just inches from the handle.She hesitated.Would Sarah slam the door in her face?Would she even acknowledge her?Elise wouldn't blame her if she didn’t.Behind her, she could hear a few employees whispering, likely watching the show unfold.The same people who had once sided with her now kept their distance, pretending not to see.Elise straightened her spine, took a deep breath, and knocked lightly before pushing the door open.Sarah was behind her desk, poised and composed, a tablet in her hand as she reviewed something on her screen.She looked up as the door creaked, her expression unreadable.Their eyes met.Elise froze.For the first time, she couldn’t find the arrogance that usually sat in her tone. She couldn't summon the snide remarks or the patronizing smile. All that was gone.All she had was silence… and shame.“I...” Elise b
Another pause.“I wanted to tell you,” Cecilia added, her voice more serious now, “be careful. Especially with your sister.”Sarah’s heart skipped a beat. “Victoria?”“Yes. I know you don’t trust her because you shouldn’t. But it’s more than just envy now. She’s spiraling, Sarah. She’s bitter. Desperate. She was trying to reach me last night. She didn’t take my silence well.”“She’ll come at you differently now,” Cecilia warned. “Before, it was childish rivalry. But now? Now, she’s humiliated. Exposed. And that makes her dangerous.”Sarah inhaled slowly.Her sister. Or rather, the woman who had been raised in her place. The irony of it all still lingered in her bones.The world had finally seen who she truly was, and now Victoria, once the golden child, was descending deeper into shadows.“Why are you telling me this?” Sarah asked.“Because I’m not her,” Cecilia replied quietly. “I may have hated you for a time. But not anymore. I wanted to win, yes, but I never wanted to destroy you.
Alexander rose from his seat and walked toward the door, holding it open.“You may leave now,” he said, without looking at them again. “I suggest you focus on salvaging what little reputation you have left, if that’s even possible.”Richard stood slowly. “You’re making a mistake, Alexander.”“No,” Alexander said, his eyes dark and glinting with quiet fury. “You did. Years ago. And now you’re reaping every single consequence.”Eleanor looked as if she might cry, but Richard grasped her hand and walked her out with stiff pride.As the door closed behind them, Alexander let out a slow breath.There were battles Sarah didn’t need to fight anymore. Not when she had him.And he would burn the world before he ever let it come for her again.The soft light filtered in through the tall windows of the Blake Group's executive wing, casting a golden hue over Sarah’s rebranded office.It was minimalist elegance at its best, clean lines, warm earth tones, and a striking orchid centerpiece in the mi
Sarah had grown up with nothing. Raised in a modest town by James and Mary Miller, who had taught her values that weren’t measured by wealth or bloodlines. Then thrust into high society, into marriage with a man she’d barely known, only for him to become her fiercest protector and, over time, her partner in every sense.And now, the company her birth parents had once deemed too powerful to risk for her sake, was under her control.“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” she asked softly.Alexander smiled, then leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Because I didn’t do it for show, Sarah. I did it because no one gets to look down on you anymore. Not them. Not the board. Not anyone.”There was no pride in his tone, just simple, unwavering loyalty. The kind that made her chest feel tight with a quiet sort of awe.Sarah shook her head, a breathy laugh escaping her. “Sometimes I wonder who really won between the two of us in this marriage.”“You did,” he said without missing a bea
Victoria stormed out of the boutique, her heels clacking violently against the marble as her face contorted with fury.Her palm still tingled from the slap she had delivered, but it was the sting on her own humiliation that seared deepest.She had expected Sarah to shrink away, to crumble beneath the weight of public disgrace.But instead... she had stood tall. Calm. Almost unbothered.That was what enraged Victoria the most.The air outside was cool against her flushed skin, but her anger blazed hotter with every step she took.Her pride had taken a hit she couldn't hide from, and with every replay of the scene in her mind, the slap, Sarah's poised indifference, her hands trembled.She fished out her phone with a swipe of her manicured nails and dialed the only number that made sense right now.It rang twice.“Victoria,” came Gerald’s voice, smooth and low, like smoke curling in the dark. “I assume this isn’t a social call.”“She's seems so powerful,” Victoria snapped. “In front of e
The moment stretched long and quiet.The SUV continued down the lane, tires humming softly against the smooth road, blending into the rhythm of the quiet afternoon traffic.The city skyline rose faintly in the distance, a glass and steel mirage beneath the pale blue sky. Everything looked normal now.Too normal.Sarah looked at Raven. “Should we call Alexander?”Raven shook her head just slightly. “Not yet. Not until I’m sure.”And yet, just as their guards were beginning to lower, just as the tension started to slip into the comfort of normalcy, they missed the pair of black motorcycles that had silently pulled out from a side alley, far behind them… keeping just enough distance to not be noticed yet.Because the real ambush hadn’t passed them by.It was only just getting started.The road stretched ahead like any other Sunday drive, quiet, calm, deceptively peaceful.Sarah leaned back into the leather seat, one hand playing with the bracelet Alexander had clasped around her wrist ju
Just as Sarah predicted, it narrowed quickly, concrete barriers lining both sides, with only enough room for one vehicle to pass.But the SUV was built for this.They cleared the entry.Behind them, the second black SUV crashed into the barrier, unable to squeeze in time. It scraped violently along the concrete wall, slowing its pursuit.The first motorcycle attempted to follow too closely, but a sudden swerve from Raven sent him toppling over the bridge’s edge, disappearing from view.Only one SUV remained now, still close, too close.“We get off this bridge,” Raven said. “I’ll lose them in the tunnels.”But just then, the SUV behind them accelerated. Fast. Too fast.Sarah could see it in the side mirror.“They’re trying to ram us!” she shouted.Raven swore and floored the gas.The SUV bucked forward again, the engine roaring like a beast unleashed.The bulletproof plating rattled as the trailing car clipped their bumper, once, then twice.“Come on, baby,” Raven growled at the wheel.
Sarah grunted as she braced Raven’s weight over her shoulder, her own limbs trembling from the aftershock of the crash.The tunnel echoed with their hurried breaths, the muffled drag of Raven’s boot across the concrete, and the slow, methodical approach of their attackers.Every step felt borrowed.Raven’s arm was slung around her neck, blood soaking through the sleeve of her black jacket. Her leg was badly hurt, possibly fractured. She winced with every movement, but she didn’t make a sound.Her eyes remained sharp, locked on the vehicle even as her lips tightened in pain.They made it to the wrecked SUV, the air still hot and thick with smoke.Sarah helped Raven lean against the hood just as the older woman reached in through the twisted passenger window and pulled something from the glove compartment.Two black pistols.Lightweight. Sleek. Dangerous.Raven turned and pushed one into Sarah’s trembling hand.“Take it,” she said, urgency sharpening her voice. “And listen to me, Sarah.
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