Maksim was livid. He had been since they left Nightfall Hills. He paced his office, going unbelievably still when his right-hand man, Ivan, entered. The curtains were closed, how he liked it, and the entire place was dark, save for the corner light and lamp on the table. He snapped his fingers, a sign for the man to talk immediately.
“Did you find her yet?” he asked.
Ivan stood at ease, a wire curling from his ear to inside his suit collar. “Not yet, boss.”
Rage coursed through Maksim’s veins. He sank into his chair and laughed bitterly.
“Boss?” Maksim said, disgust slithering into his voice. He gripped the armrests so hard his nails broke. God help that lady because if he found her, he would wipe her off the face of the earth. She should have taken the subtle warning the priest gave him. No one, not even the don, the Grand Sinner himself, could end a wedding. “You have twelve hours to find that young
Photos was the first app Maksim checked. She had too many pictures for him to sift through. Nothing in there showed her name. Just tons of pictures of her in different poses and various hairstyles.She was pretty. But weren’t the evil ones always the prettiest? Who sent her to him?Soft knocks on the door had him shoving the ring and test into his drawer. He asked the person to enter, and a maid walked in with her head bowed down. Her black-and-white uniform creased as she bent to tilt the dead man’s head. He never killed senselessly, but Boris’ death would serve as a warning to everyone. If he could kill his own men, how much more a foe?Two men entered after the maid. He waved off their greetings as they dragged the dead body out of his office. The maid quietly cleaned as he resumed searching the phone. He could easily guess who the maids next subject of gossip would be. Him. As long as they served the meals and made themselves availabl
Maksim spat out blood. Poor maid. She would have to redo the cleaning. Pinching his nose to ease the bleeding, he grabbed the tissue box on the table and stuffed some of it up his nostrils. Papa drew closer, but Maksim stood his ground, ready for another attack. He should have expected the first.“She was right,” Papa said, stabbing him in the chest with his finger. “You’re a bastard.”“Papa.”“Don’t call me that.”“I. Don’t. Know her,” Maksim said.The lines on Papa’s forehead deepened, a sign that this was a futile conversation. His father always believed the worst of him. Why should today be different? He had long accepted that fate. Gently pulling out the soiled tissue, he tossed it to the trashcan by the door and sank down on the table.“One bastard is enough for the family,” Papa said. “You don’t know her, yet she&rsq
Revenge was a dish best served cold. Camilla didn’t agree. Revenge was a dish best served in the church with a fake pregnant test result and an astounding slap. To celebrate her successfully executed revenge, she was on a shopping spree today. The clothes she didn’t get the day Vanya interrupted her, she would get them today.Stomping out of her room with her purse swinging from her hand, she paused in front of Faye’s door. She wanted her best friend to join her on the spree. Faye was lively this week, but she wasn’t satisfied yet. Her friend loved movies, but they had watched nothing new this week.“I’m coming in,” she said, already opening the door. Her best friend was sprawled on the bed, her laptop and books open in front of her. The thought of being in the same position made her shudder. “Seriously? What’s all this? I don’t envy you.”Faye laughed. “I don’t envy me, ei
Vanya smirked, and Camilla inched closer to her door. That meant she had really seen him earlier. It wasn’t her imagination at the window. It was him.Was he stalking her? What did he want now? To take her new phone? She wasn’t releasing it.“I’m not giving you my phone,” she stated. Hitting the back of the driver’s seat, she told Alvin, “Why did you let this fool into my car? You should have at least called me.”“A fool?”“Look, Vance or Viper or Vagabond or Villain or whatever your name is,” Camilla started, turning to the man with a look akin to disgust. “I don’t have time for this.”“Your life stopped being yours the moment you walked into that church,” he replied. Camilla could only stare at him in shock because he had a lot of nerves breaking into her car. Smashing her phone wasn’t enough, and now, this? She retrieved her ph
Calvin would die if anything happened to his pregnant wife. They were lucky that she didn’t lose her pregnancy after that nasty incident with Hana’s father. She couldn’t take the risk. But she couldn’t go with him.“Van—” The glare he cut her made her shut up momentarily. “Let’s say I agree to your crazy offer. How long will this last?”“Until we get that child out of your womb. It’s mine, right? We slept together. How dare I choose to marry someone else?” he teased. Camilla’s blood froze in her veins. That… would be impossible because she wasn’t pregnant. She hadn’t even seen this man naked. “Be ready. I’ll come pick you up by 4 pm tomorrow. No luggage. Just you.”Vanya exited the car and shut the door. She didn’t relax, and when he opened her door, she was surprised one of her arteries didn’t burst. Too tensed to move
Camilla had to call her twin brother. She had contemplated leaving without telling Calvin, but it wouldn’t end well. She had to at least let him know now, so he could get her replacement for the series. He had a few days until production and rehearsals started. He might not understand it, but she was doing it for him. For Hana. For the rest of their family. They always joked that she was the least responsible McKenna. It was time to prove them wrong.The phone shook in her hand. She brought up his contact but delayed hitting the call button. Her bed, which usually brought her comfort, filled her with fear. She wouldn’t be able to sleep in this bed for as long as Vanya was after her. But he wouldn’t find her. She would run far, far away from him.Camilla was about to call him when a scream rang out from the living room. Her phone clattered to the floor, and her blood ran cold. Was Vanya in the house? No, he couldn’t be. It was a few hours until 4
The call ended before Camilla could plead her case. For a moment, all she could do was stare at her screen. Kenna Prime, KP, her brother’s streaming company, had been through a lot in its first year. The one thing that had remained a constant success was the series she starred in. Her social media popularity also contributed to it. More than that, she knew how upset people might be if they found out she had been replaced without good reason. But what else could she do? Vanya killed Alvin. He could kill Hana. She couldn’t let things get that far. That thought brought her back on track. She dabbed her cheeks dry and finished packing. All done, she went to Faye’s room. Her best friend was asleep, so she dropped a note on the table and stepped out after kissing her cheek. Time would tell if she ever saw her friend or this room again. Purse strapped over one hand, duffel bag over the other, she left the house. Doubts returned when she was in the elevator, but she didn’t l
Camilla ignored him. At least she tried to until questions rushed back to her. She needed answers to prepare herself for whatever this man would do to her.First, where was she going to stay? Would he expect her to cook? She couldn’t. Even if she could, she would never do that for him. What did being his wife entail? What if he assaulted her? If he could kill Alvin, an innocent, man, how much more someone like her who deliberately set out to hurt him?Calvin already loathed her existence. By extension of her love for her husband, Hana must be the same. Camilla had to do something fast, and the most important thing on that list was making sure he regretted the day he met her. She wouldn’t let him walk over her. She would give him hell.“How long is this supposed to last?” she asked. No response. She turned to him, her eyes set on the purse he placed on his lap. He was always seizing her things. “How long is this madness s
Camilla froze. Her heart raced shamelessly, and emotions she thought herself no longer capable of feeling flooded her. This was their first meeting since he dropped her at KJ’s house. She should pry his hand off her, scold him, or leave. But she did none of those things. It had been months.God, she missed her husband so much. So fucking much it was hard to fully express the loss without breaking down in tears.“Alek.”“Cam.”Camilla’s hand dropped over Alek’s, and she knew the feeling was mutual. He missed her too. If not, he wouldn’t be here with flowers. Or here at all. Her tea was getting cold, but she didn’t care. The shop was empty, so she didn’t have to hide or pretend. She wanted her husband here.Operations didn’t start until 5. So she liked to have an hour of silent reading before the hustle. But she didn’t mind sharing her solitude with Alek. He was the only one worthy of shar
The alarm on Maksim’s phone went off at exactly 3:45 pm. He shot to his feet and grabbed the bouquet of sunflowers on his desk. Outside the store, people went about their daily activities. But it was only a matter of time until his wife showed up.His wife.Maksim had never thought of Camilla as anything but that, though they had been separated for months. She hadn’t changed her mind about their ending. Not as if he had asked her. He lacked the courage to do that, so he had resorted to stalking her.That was how he knew her routine. That she would walk past this store and head to the coffee shop ahead of it in ten minutes. The man in charge of the shop would be late, but Camilla would wait. And when he finally arrived, he would apologise for coming late. It was the same routine over and over again with her. But with each day, she had grown less skittish and read more books.He couldn’t say if she still read romance, but she read a lot more now.
“Safe. Sonia and the rest of the girls and women we found have been taken care of.” Maksim knew the man wanted something more, so he waited. Antony didn’t disappoint him by saying, “Some of our guys aren’t so happy Oleg had to die the way he did. So here’s what we will do—” “No deal,” Maksim interrupted. Antony chuckled, a hand going over his belly. “You haven’t heard me out.” He said nothing, and the other man added, “I’m guessing you don’t want to see this Sonia. I’m as curious as you probably are. Is that her real name? Why do you look so much like her? Why did Oleg keep her in such a place after she birthed the heir to his throne?” “What do you want?” “Nothing. For now,” Antony added. “But soon, we might need your help. If you agree, I’ll let you know where Sonia is.” Maksim dropped the file on the bench. It was still open, so he gazed longingly at the picture. He had lost Camilla and Doris, could he lose his mother? How was he certain it was her? His he
The living room was quiet. Maksim and Christian sat on the floor. A few times, he glanced at the phone in his hand, expecting it to light up with his wife’s name. Things had progressed from bad to worse since the day she overheard his conversation with Vanya. Before that day she was only giving short replies, but now? She said nothing. A few people around him had suggested a change of location to help her mood, so now they were camped in Christian’s other apartment. It was located Nightfall Hills. But Camilla hadn’t reacted to the move, not even Doris’ appearance. He brought the housekeeper to cheer her up. Their relationship had improved. He wasn’t sure if those two spoke. But whenever he was around them, both women were always quiet. “What do you keep looking at?” Christian asked, snatching his phone from him. Maksim shrugged. His head fell back to the couch he was propped against. He wished for so many things he would never have. “She’s leaving me.” “How
Camilla was still asleep when Maksim left the room. There was a smile on his lips as he stepped out. He had to arrange pillows in a long line so she wouldn’t know he was gone. Christian called as he got into his car. At first, they had agreed for his wife to move to Nightfall Hills. A change of location, as was suggested by everyone and also get her closer to her family. With his enemies dead, she wouldn’t have to worry about her safety. But he wanted her to go home when she felt better, close to the version of herself he took months ago.The call lasted seconds. They would visit his friend but might end up not staying. He would have to ask her first. As he got closer to his destination, he pulled out his phone to call Ivan. Camilla was slowly getting better, and he needed to check on her. He had never left the house without informing her first, but he hadn’t wanted to wake her up this morning. She looked cute. He also had Ivan at home for emergencies.A
Alek was taking too long to get out of the bathroom. Camilla patted her foot on the floor. She had the option of knocking, but he would demand her voice. Talking still felt strange. While in captivity, she had gotten used to the silence. Her voice didn’t save her when those men had her on the floor. She had begged them to let her go, but…But what?A mental block paused her thoughts. The memories after that were too fuzzy. A blank wall she couldn’t get past. Something bad had happened. That was for sure, even if she didn’t know what it was now. The only person’s touch she could tolerate was Alek’s. Even Doris’ doleful eyes couldn’t get her to allow more body contact. Her body was revolting against something her brain and mind was stopping her from remembering.The baby was gone. Their baby. Alek hadn’t blamed her. He didn’t even mention it. That was supposed to be the surprise. The final addition to their ha
They could get another baby. If not this year, then next. The most important thing was Maksim had his wife back. Even if she had becoming unbearably quiet. Camilla was awake now. He could tell from how she pulled the cover over her shoulders.Maksim had tugged it down at night to hug her while she whimpered in her sleep. There was no conclusion on the rape. The tests for STIs had also come up negative. Dr Igor mentioned the absence of semen, but according to him, that could also be because of how long ago the assault happened. For now, they couldn’t conclude on if she had or hadn’t been molested. Only Camilla could answer that question for him.The blood was from losing their baby. A baby he couldn’t protect. Maksim stood by the bedside table, his hands fisted at his sides as he stared at the woman on the bed. She looked like his wife, but she wasn’t. She was someone else. A broken version. Her back was turned to him, and in his hand, he held a roma
Couldn’t the car possibly go faster? Left to Maksim, he would have swam across the river, but that would have been a stupid move. How would he carry Camilla after finding her? Now he was in a car with Ivan behind the wheels. His driver had arrived while he was talking to the men.After today’s display at the house, he was sure no one would question his authority for a long time. Before their fear of him fully dissipated to be replaced by respect, he would fish out every single one that had partaken in Camilla’s disappearance and eliminate them from this earth. If that was the only thing he would do as a Grand Sinner, he was completely fine with that.Maksim had never thought of himself as good, even the time with Camilla hadn’t changed that view he had of himself. But the incident of this morning had revealed he had the capacity for more. For true evil.The car slowed as they reached a lonely path. The road was rocky. Trees lined each side of t
If Maksim wasn’t going to listen to Doris at all, the use of his full name had grabbed his attention. She had never called him that. That being said, she stormed out of his sight. Baby? Camilla was pregnant? She wasn’t one to keep secrets from him. Not ones as huge as this. Think, Mak. Think.Wait. She promised to give him a surprise when they reunited. Was that it? No. No!Rage penetrated Maksim’s frame. On his feet, he went to their room. All plans to wait for Dmitri’s reveal dissipated into thin air as the housekeeper’s words danced in his head.Baby.Their baby.He lied to her.He promised to protect her, and he didn’t.In their room, Maksim grabbed two guns and attached silencers to them. For every of Papa’s man he met on the way to his office, he put a bullet in the centre of their forehead. Bodies fell around him. He had the element of surprise and silence for the attack. By the time he arrived at Pa