My father left on a business trip on Thursday and wasn't going to return until Monday afternoon. It left me a lot of time to prepare for the lovely Sunday dinner with the Welch family without his interference. Certainly, I'd told him about my plan. He'd reacted with a chuckle and a raised thumb.“Good luck. Get the justice you deserve,” he'd told me then.My chest squeezed each time I recalled his words. Could a person who wanted me to fight for justice commit a crime as despicable as murder? I didn't want to believe that. Perhaps I was just fooling myself. Or perhaps I should have just confronted my father, told him I knew about the letter, and then demanded answers. I should have braced myself and done everything to find out the truth. I had done no such thing. Again—coward.Fortunately, I had no issues crafting a plan to get my revenge on Kenneth and his family. On the contrary, I was certain that I would enjoy every drop of its sweetness. There was only one problem: I needed to ac
“And then what happened?” Raven's eyes shone in excitement as she listened to my story.A wide grin spread across my lips. “Mr. Lacroix punched Kenneth. He practically knocked him out. Then they all started to fight, throwing plates and cursing each other.” I sighed and shook my head as I recalled that scene. “It took five guards to separate them. It was… quite brutal.”Raven snorted. “I wish I could see this.”“Actually, you still can.” I winked at her before taking a sip of wine. “I didn't turn off the cameras when I left, so I have the entire footage.”“You naughty girl.” She laughed and clinked her glass with mine. “Bravo!”“I learned from the best,” I admitted, pointing at her. Then we both laughed, the sounds of our voices traveling from the terrace to the far corners of the residence's garden."So, what's your next move?” Raven asked after a moment.I smirked and took another sip of my wine. “The real beauty of it is that I don't have to do anything until court trial. The Welch
“Congratulations on your success!” Callan exclaimed, raising his glass of champagne.“Thank you.” I clinked my glass with his and took a generous sip, savoring every drop.We finally went on our long-awaited second date, and I had to admit that the location Callan had chosen had everything I could have dreamed of. We were in a restaurant called Alberto's Heaven. Its owner, Alberto Dettori, was Callan's friend. The table where we were sitting was on the small patio, surrounded by plants and colorful flowers. Several dozen lanterns hanging high above our heads illuminated the space, forming a little bit of a starry night even on cloudy days. The soft tones of classical music blended with the gentle rustling sounds of leaves. The tables were placed some distance apart, granting privacy and what I needed most—peace.My poor muscles relaxed for the first time in a couple of weeks. I leaned back in my seat and let the sparkling liquid take away all my tension. Callan observed me with a soft
On Monday afternoon, Darren's caller ID popped up on my phone screen. I flinched in my seat as I watched the phone buzz. I didn't dare answer it. I knew I couldn't avoid him forever, but I needed just a little more time. That was what I told myself, even though I knew that another week of stalling wouldn't change anything. Still, I didn't know what to tell him. I knew that I couldn't tell him about the letter, and I had no reasonable explanation for why I hadn't searched for evidence in my father's office at the company.The phone stopped ringing, and a text from Darren came a moment later. “Lilly, I've given you time. I hope you used it right. Let me know what you found. I'm waiting.”I swallowed hard. I could almost feel his impatience and annoyance dripping from every word he wrote. I drew a shaky breath and typed a short reply. “I searched and found nothing.”I held my breath as I sent the message. Perhaps I feared that he would see through me, that he would see the obvious lie in
I had probably growled out every curse I had ever learned twice by the time I parked my car three blocks away from the club. Why did I park so far away from that damn club? The answer was simple: there was no empty parking place anywhere nearer, as if everyone living in New York suddenly decided to go for a ride and park in this area.I was dressed in clothes I had been wearing on my picnic date with Callan, which was simply the quickest outfit to put on after Tim's phone dragged me out of bed. Certainly, my light-pink dress with a bustier and flared skirt looked nothing like the outfits of those who waited in a long—extremely long—line to get inside the club… Yep. That line was yet another problem for me to face.“I'm going to kill Tim, and then I'm going to resurrect him and kill him again,” I hissed, trying to locate where the last people were standing. I went around the corner, and the end was still nowhere to be found. Air escaped me in a rush. It would take me hours to get insid
DARRENTwenty Minutes Earlier“Lilly has just walked out of the club,” announced Lucien, barging into my office.I was sitting by my laptop, reviewing this year's key contract I was supposed to sign on Monday, but all it took was those few words from Lucien to shift my entire attention to him.“That bitch showed up in here?” Mia snarled before taking a sip from her wine glass. “Is she that desperate to get laid?”I ignored her and locked my eyes on Lucien. “Talk. Now.”Grinning, he closed the door behind him and walked to my desk. “Bear told me that two of her employees got drunk, and she came to get them out.”My brows rose. “Seriously? She came to my club for some guys who work for her?”He chuckled. “Check the surveillance if you don't believe me. She might still be outside the club. Bear said that she was calling a cab for those two.”I was on my feet before he finished talking. I heard Mia growling out a curse behind my back, but nothing she would say or do could stop me. Lilly h
LILLYPain. Its intensity made me unable to tell where it was coming from. I could still feel his rage and hatred—Kenneth's hatred. He used his fists to imprint those feelings on my skin. I tasted that hatred as I swallowed blood—my blood. I heard it in the cracking bones of my shoulder and ribs. He said that he wanted to talk. He lied. He followed me around, waiting for the right moment to kill me. He almost did. He would have. I would have died if he hadn't been stopped.It hurt. It hurt so much, I wanted it to end. But then I heard a voice that didn't belong to Kenneth… I heard that I was safe. Darren saved me. He came for me. How did he know where to find me? How did he know that I needed to be saved? He turned out to be my guardian angel… again. I would have smiled if smiling hadn't hurt so much.I was slowly regaining consciousness… or so I thought. The pain now became dull, less overwhelming. I heard sounds and voices, but it was hard to distinguish them, so I focused on what I
I had stayed in the hospital for over two weeks. My father and uncle insisted on it. I accepted it only because I saw how freaked out my father was. I saw genuine guilt in his eyes. The fact that he hadn't been there to protect me nearly killed him. I would have done anything to soothe that guilt and fear. For that, I had reluctantly become an exemplary patient and stayed in bed… or at least tried.After two weeks, the bruises were almost gone, but the previously dislocated shoulder still limited my movements. My two broken ribs were nearly healed, and drawing a deep breath was no longer painful. Those who came to visit me said that I looked as if I had almost recovered. And I had… superficially.“Maybe I should get you a wheelchair?” Callan suggested half-teasingly.I glared at him. “If you say that one more time, I swear to God, you're going to need a wheelchair yourself.” He laughed and raised his hands in surrender. “I'm merely trying to make you feel comfortable. I don't want y
LILLY Four Months Later “One more signature at the bottom, Ms. Hayes.” The smiling lawyer pointed at the empty dotted line on the last page. “Of course.” I drew a deep breath and signed my name where he wanted me to. Then I rose to my feet, and so did the man sitting in front of me—Doctor John Pearson. “Congratulations,” he said, not without a hint of sadness in his voice, before extending his hand toward me. “The clinic is officially yours.” “Thank you, Doctor Pearson. I promise I will take good care of this facility,” I told him. A soft smile appeared on his lips. “I do not doubt that you will.” I still couldn't believe it happened. John Pearson Clinic—soon Lillian Hayes Clinic—finally belonged to me. Of course, it was going to take a while before I would implement my plan and make the necessary changes, but I was already madly excited… and so was Raven. “I've never been friends with my boss before.” She chuckled, catching me as soon as I walked out of the meeting room where
DARRENI didn't want to believe what that son of a bitch had told me. I had to trust that Lilly was alive. Nonetheless, after Almarri's confession, I told Chris to leave the room. I gave Almarri a moment to recollect himself until I beat the shit out of him, breaking at least five of six of his bones in the process. He was still breathing until I left the room. Chris had friends in the CIA, and we promised to try delivering Almarri to them in exchange for covering whatever was going to happen at his casino. It took most of my willpower to stop myself before I delivered the final blow. It had nothing to do with being merciful; Chris assured me that the CIA had no intention of granting him anything but torment.Once I wiped Almarri's blood off my knuckles, I stormed through the long corridors. I swore that I would find Lilly, and only seeing her lifeless body would have stopped me from burning everything in my way to get to her.Chris caught me at the end of one of the corridors. “We ch
LILLYI couldn't move. My body's exhaustion turned opening my eyes into an almost unbearable struggle. It took me a while before I lifted my eyelids and instantly winced at the light filling the room. I blinked several times before I established what I was looking at… Ceiling. A bright, well-lit ceiling.I needed an additional minute or two to acknowledge that this wasn't a dream. I was lying on a bed with an IV drip connected to my arm. The bed had multiple pillows and fluffy sheets, as if someone cruelly decided to give me a moment of questionable luxury before turning me into a slave.Another white cotton dress replaced the old, stained one. My body had been cleaned from all the sweat and dirt. I didn't have the strength to wonder who bathed me and dressed me. I felt violated enough without acknowledging how many hands touched my body.I could have died. Perhaps it would have been a blessing if that had happened. Now I was lying numbly on a bed, waiting for more torment to come. Sl
DARREN I paced around the hotel room in Doha, waiting for Naila to arrive and deliver what she promised. The adrenaline kept pumping in my veins, increasing the restlessness that kept me awake the entire night. Unlike me, Lucien was napping on the sofa whenever he found a moment of silence. I couldn't even close my eyes without seeing Lilly locked up somewhere, tormented, scared… “God…” I dragged my hands down my face before glancing at the time. It was seven in the morning, which meant that we had fourteen hours before the auction started. I kept telling myself that they needed her alive and unharmed to sell her, but what if I was wrong? Those what-ifs were driving me insane, and I couldn't shake off the feeling that, even at that moment, she was greatly suffering. The soft knocking on the door snapped my head toward it. Lucien's opened his eyes and instantly leaped to his feet. He nodded my way and cautiously opened the door. Naila silently sneaked inside, and he closed it behind
I lost count of how many times I had been stabbed with a needle, and I wasn't sure my veins could withstand another injection. I quickly realized how pathetic my relief was after Callan told me I wouldn't be beaten, cut, or burned. The torture he had designed for me went far beyond the physical pain…Every inch of my body burned from within. My blood turned into a living flame, scorching my veins. My skin covered with an itching rash I couldn't scratch. It lasted for hours. I didn't want to give Callan satisfaction, so I remained silent, biting my lips until they bled. But the third or fourth dose of the drug broke the final restraint… A scream tore through my throat, and I kept screaming until my vocal cords gave up. I quietly begged Callan to stop. I thought he would if I told him I was ready to give him what he wanted. I thought that if I pretended I wanted to cooperate, he would give my tormented body a break… He didn't. He just walked closer and served me another drug dose.I los
LILLY“Wake up, sleepyhead.” The voice I heard filled me with nausea, and the soft laughter that followed sent chills down my spine.Slowly, I opened my eyes, blinking until the sight adjusted to the dim light. Every inch of my body felt sore, and I quickly realized why. I was sitting on a chair with my legs tied with a rope to its wooden ones and my hands restrained at the back. Another rope was tied around my waist, keeping me in a still position most likely through the long hours I had been unconscious.I was cold. The freezing concrete hurt my bare feet with the slightest touch and the simple cotton dress resembling a cheap nightgown formed no barrier against the low temperature and humidity of the room I was in. I didn't even want to think who dressed me and if I was naked underneath…Drawing a shaky breath, I looked to the sides. This place must have been some kind of a basement. The room seemed to be nearly empty, or at least I couldn't see any furniture from my limited perspec
DARRENMy lungs filled with a greedy push of air. My eyes opened wide and roamed around, hectically trying to process my situation. The car, I was inside the car… My car was upside down, and I…Everything hurt, including my weak attempts to breathe, but I knew I had to ignore the pain. I had to live. I had to get out of there.My consciousness gathered the pieces of memory together. Someone had rammed me, pushing me off the road while I had been driving to the residence. The fuckers had chosen a part of a perfectly secluded road to do it. Perhaps it was fortunate that they hadn't been as thorough as to check whether I had been dead or not.My limbs weren't broken, although at least one of my ribs was. I clenched my teeth and crawled out through the broken side window. My car lay in a ditch on the side of the road, with not a single building around.How long had I been out cold? The returning memories painted an ominous picture that slowly filled me with dread. Lilly had been waiting f
LILLYIt had been three days since Uncle Norton's funeral and the fight with my father. My heart still ached whenever I thought about it, but I finally felt that my chest had loosened, allowing me to breathe.Darren's presence had become my remedy. His touch and warmth soothed me, healed me, and filled the hollowness that appeared after Uncle Norton's death. I didn't even want to think about what I would have become without having him close.Since the danger had become more palpable than ever, each member of my team was assigned their own security team. Of course, Darren organized two new bodyguards for me as well. I hadn't protested, even if I hated buying groceries accompanied by two men in black suits.My mood significantly improved after Kenneth's and Doctor Rogers's trials finally ended. Kenneth had been sentenced to fifteen years in prison for assault and attempting murder, and another five years for terminating the pregnancy against my will. For all his deeds, Rogers received t
DARRENI found Lilly sitting in the precinct's corridor, staring down at her hands that limply rested on her lap. Dried blood covered the sides of her palms and fingertips. My chest tightened as I saw her in her numb state. I rushed forward, pushing through the policemen standing in the way, until I pulled her up from her seat and wrapped her in my arms. Only then did she start crying, and her tears kept falling long after I brought her back to the penthouse.Rage filled every inch of me. I wanted to kill everyone responsible for Lilly's state. If only I could get to New York sooner. If only I could somehow prevent this, protect her better, spare her from the pain and anguish...I left Lucien in Qatar to deal with our end of the bargain with Naila. He wasn't happy about it, but I gathered enough people and resources for him to plan a flawless rescue mission. Getting Naila's brother out of Almarri's residence wasn't going to be easy, but I knew that Lucien would figure out how to do it