Chapter One Hundred And Twenty ThreeDamien sat in his office, one hand propped on his desk, with his fingers on his head as he read the file in his hands, over and over again.But no matter how much he read it, he was not able to concentrate or get past the first page. His thoughts kept drifting back to a certain red head, and forest green eyes.Sensous lips, pale full breasts and milky skin...Damien groaned loudly and dripped the file. He held his head in his hands, rubbing the ache that had settled there.The thought of what had transpired in his room with Lana, that morning caused him to have a permanent hard-on, his bulging length pushing against his zipper, begging for release.Damien stood up and walked to the small bar in his office, yanking at his tie as he went. The room was suddenly hot and he rolled up his sleeves to his elbow before pouring himself a stiff drink, downing it in one gulp.The image of Lana on the edge of her release, shuddering against him while she rode
Chapter One Hundred And Twenty-FourRina sat in her room in Vera's quarters, in deep thought. She held a glass of wine and stared fixedly into the distance, her face impassive and unreadable.She thought of her last encounter with Zaire and took a deep swallow of her wine, dropping the empty glass on the floor beside her.Her hands went to her neck and she massaged gently, recalling the pain she'd felt when Zaire had pulled her hair, snapping her head back. "He almost killed me that night."Rina blinked rapidly as her eyes watered, whenever she thought of how close she was to losing her life and by someone whom she thought was on the same side as her.She'd run back to Vera that night, after leaving the Oriental Hotel.Zaire would never find her here, she was sure of it. Vera's mansion was the last place he'd expect her to be.She needed to stay here until she knew her next line of action.She was glad she was able to play with Vera's feelings once more. Once Vera had heard she'd be
Chapter One Hundred And Twenty-FiveBella visibly shuddered with resentment and fear as she ended the call. She always felt like crap whenever she had a conversation with Rina."You did well." Liam said, scrutinizing Bella with a cool gaze from where he stood by the floor to ceiling windows in Damien's office. Bella bowed slightly, and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Liam had not been harsh nor had she messed up with what had been asked of her, but she was still very uncomfortable. Probably, because Damien had not said a word after the phone call. Her eyes darted to where he was seated very straightbacked on his chair at the head of the table. He had his eyes closed all through her conversation with Rina, as if he was asleep but the slight furrow of his brows indicatedvthat he was awake and aware of everything that was going on.They were all gathered in Damien's office, Bella, Liam and Damien.After listening to the recordings retrieved from the tapes earlier, Damien had order
Chapter One Hundred And Twenty SixBella stopped abruptly as Lana grabbed her arm. She looked back at Lana, then cast her uncertain gaze on Damien."Why are you with my box?" Lana asked, her voice sharp. Without waiting for an answer, she whirled on Damien, "Why is she with my box?!"Damien had his head on his hand, his eyes closed with frustration. Liam was on his feet in seconds as he walked over to the women."Miss Lana, if you'll just step into the office," he stepped round them to close the door behind, which had been left wide open by Lana. He turned to face the women and met Lana's steely glare. She placed her hand on the box, "Hand it over." She said, glaring at the maid who flinched and immediately let go of the box, scuttling backwards."No."They all turned to face Damien who was staring at them, a grim expression on his face.His expression became soft, however when he spoke to Lana, "Give her the box, Lana.""And why would I do such a thing?" Lana shot back at him, eyei
Chapter One Hundred And Twenty-SevenRina sat in her car, tapping long red, manicured nails impatiently on her steering wheel. Her hair was covered with a scarf and she had a pair of huge goggles on her face, which she peered through.The goggles, however, hid her face more than making her see clearly, and in frustration she wrenched it off her face, and threw it on the chair beside her.She did not care if she was recognized.She was already on the verge of storming across the parking lot of the mall, checking out everybody's faces herself in search for Bella.She had arranged to meet Bella in the parking lot of the biggest mall in the city. It was quite packed now with carts, and also a few people milled about, pushing trolleys and placing groceries in their cars.Bella had gotten hold of the box and Rina could not say how pleased she was. She was also very impressed with Bella for getting the box within such notice.Truly, she was reliable. The mall was the perfect spot to meet Be
Chapter One Hundred And Twenty Eight "Did you ever once think that Rina could harm you?"Damien froze, his arm suspended in mid-air as he tried placing a bowl of soup in front of Lana. After a moment, he placed the bowl down in front of her, while she stared at him, expectantly with expressive green eyes.They were seated at the table in the Romero Villa, having dinner. The entire table was filled with mouthwatering dishes- meats, mashed potatoes, salads, bread rolls, stir fries- they were so much that, they could feed an entire village.Lana always wondered why each meal at the Villa was like a banquet, and wondered if Damien always ate like that.She had no idea of his eating pattern or preference, because they've never shared a meal together in their marriage. Except if Laura invited them over to her place for dinner, and they had to endure the strenuous task of being in each other's presence. It was strenuous for Damien because he always acted like it was a chore to have one mea
Chapter One Hundred And Twenty Nine"You were foolish enough to have your room bugged?!"Zaire screamed at Rina, throwing an ashtray viciously over to her direction. Rina flinched, as the tray missed her face by an inch. She scooted to the edge of her seat, and crossed her arms to keep from shaking. She lifted her chin haughtily and tried not to look as rattled as she felt. Infact, she looked ready to bolt but that might not be the wisest of decisions.At the door to Zaire's office, Aryan stood there looking as big and burly as a guide dog. He stared fixedly at her and his icy glare and unreadable expression, sent shivers down her spine and made her avert her gaze quickly. When Rina had reached out to Zaire earlier, asking to meet up, Aryan was the one who had brought her in.He'd been tailing her ever since she left the Romero mansion, and had materialized suddenly in front of her when Zaire gave the order for them to meet in his office.He had not been very nice and Rina seethed i
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty"Sir, the investors from Mauritania have pulled out from the deal. They are demanding we pay for the breach of contract as well!"Damien slammed his open palm on the top of his desk, and the entire desk rattled violently. He was breathing hard as he raked his hand through his head, trying to process the news Liam had just told him.This was the first real emotion he'd shown since they arrived at the office that morning, and realized they were neck deep in crisis.A series of attack had hit Romero that morning. Hackers had infiltrated their systems and stolen sensitive data, trade secrets, financial records...Some of these data were placed on the dark web, while the others were still inaccessible, with the hackers demanding for a ransom of up to four hundred and fifty billion.Typical ramsomeware, but it had to come at this particular time.Some investors and customers had already gotten wind of what was happening in Romero, and how sensitive information
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty-TwoShe was in the forest, running with her hands stretched out in front of her as she stumbled over fallen tree logs. Her dress was torn and her knees were scraped. She was limping due to the cuts under the sole of her feet, which the cool damp earth of the forest did nothing to soothe.Yet, Lana ran.She was blinded by a film of tears and terrified gasps came out of her mouth as she stumbled through the dark forest."LANA!"He was close!He would get her and throw her back into that suffocating place. Taking control of her whole life."No, never..." Lana muttered breathlessly as she ran. The moon was hidden behind the huge rain clouds filling the sky now. Now, and then, lightening cracked through the sky, sending a flash of white through the forest.The rumbling of thunder will follow soon after and it made Lana shriek and shudder in terror as she ran.No! No! Stay away, please!Suddenly, a hand shot out from before her and grabbed her throat tightly,
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty-One.Lana turned sharply and looked into the darkness behind her. It seemed as though she'd heard something scream. Or was it her imagination?Imagination or not, it was definitely the cue she needed to open the fucking trapdoor. Luckily, the trapdoor wasn't locked and opened up easily before her to reveal another darkness below.Lana swallowed hard as a sudden rush of cold air hit her face. She shivered uncontrollably and willed her beating heart to calm down.This was just the same as walking into the passageway, she reminded herself, Everything will be fine. There are no snakes waiting down there.The way the wind whistled from below made her wonder how far the drop was.She laid down the trapdoor, and peered down into the hole with her torchlight. The beam flashed on a slab of wood below her, then another and another all connected with a rope.A ladder!She allowed the light of the torch to travel down until she finally saw the ground.It was not ve
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty Zaire was still in his study with Aryan, who was making numerous calls.It really seemed like Romero was on his way to Moreno, due to the tip off that Rina had given them.Zaire regretted ever revealing this place to Rina. He had brought her here as well and a bitter taste filled his mouth, as he realized how her presence must have tainted his precious sanctuary."I really should have killed her a long time ago." He thought to himself as he downed the contents of his second glass of whiskey.Well, there was still time.He could still kill her and also give the same treatment to his beloved half-brother. A slight smile curved his lips as he relished the thought of Damien coming to challenge him on his own turf.He'd be able to come in easily but to go out will not be so easy.He also regretted the fact that he'd brought Lana to Moreno. He could have easily taken her to Italy or Cuba, but he figured they were too far away and he needed to still be able to
Chapter One Hundred And Seventy-NineGripping the metal torchlight to her chest, Lana hurried back into the room and climbed unto the bed once more.She glanced back at the door, her ears picking up every little sound. She expected it to open up at any moment and Zaire would walk in.She'd get caught before she even started anything and faced with more torment than she could imagine."There's no time to waste." She reminded herself as she edged closer to the wall, "Let's get out of here, Lana."Slowly, she reached out her hand to the wall and pushed it. The wall did not budge.Lana swallowed hard as her heart started beating faster once again.What the hell? Why isn't the wall opening up now?She pushed the wall again with all her might and still nothing."Okay Lana." She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Remain calm and think. We have to open this wall."She closed her eyes and tried to remember how she'd had managed to open the wall earlier that day.Her memory was fuzzy w
Chapter One Hundred And Seventy-Eight"It seems Romero has been able to gain access into our base.""The fuck did you just say to me?!" Zaire snarled as he pulled the door to Lana's room close behind him, "He accessed our base? How the fuck was he able to do that with his weak system?!"Aryan swallowed hard as he spoke carefully, "It seems he had help from Fernandez." He informed Zaire, "The email which we sent to Miss Vermont was the key to the base, sir."Zaire immediately gripped the collars of Aryan's shirt, fiercely and drew him to him, "You said there was no way they'd be able to trace it!" Zaire said harshly, baring his teeth at Aryan, "What is the meaning of this sloppy work?!"Aryan averted his gaze from Zaire, even as the strain of his collars being gripped was making it difficult for him to breath."I'm sorry, sir." He uttered in a small voice, looking more than a trifle apologetic, "I made sure I looked through it all but Fernandez has one of the best IT teams and system i
Chapter One Hundred And Seventy-SevenLana laid perfectly still in Zaire's arms, hoping, praying silently that he falls asleep.It was still freaking daylight and if she was to get out of the house and still manage to find her way around this place, then she needed to do it during the daytime.The thought of making her way around the walls of the house at night filled her with fear, but it did not kill her determination.Besides, it would even be easier to do so when Zaire and Aryan are asleep. Zaire does not usually come to check up on her at nights, but the bastard was changing.He was getting bolder, climbing into bed with her. It was only a matter of time before he convinced her they were lovers, and there was nothing wrong with them being intimate.She had only managed to put him off for so long using the fact that she did not know him so well.Zaire had been decent all along, patiently waiting but she guessed his patience ran out with this little act of his now.The words he'd s
Chapter One Hundred And Seventy-SixLana's held her breath in fear and trepidation, as the footsteps walked closer to the bed."She's asleep." Aryan.He sounded pissed, and so he was as he looked down on Lana with contempt on the bed, "It's only four in the evening." He hissed, "I must wake her up.""Leave her alone." Oh, Zaire was back?Lana kept her eyes closed and pretended to look like someone in a sound sleep.The thought of sleeping, while two dangerous men looked down in her filled her with fear. It sent shivers down her spine, and Lana tried very hard not to shudder.Aryan stepped back from the bed, with his fists clenched. His faxe was hard as he was trying to not show how pissed he was."Its still daytime." He said, his voice a low growl. "We should wake her the fuck up and get her to sign the documents so we can leave here!"Documents?What documents?Lana's ears were fully on alert taking in every detail of their conversation. What the hell did they want her to sign on?
Chapter One Hundred And Seventy Five Lana scrambled off her bed, her eyes wide open in shock as she stared at the gaping hole in the wall.Her chest was heaving with the way she was breathing hard, and her eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets. Her hand was still covering her mouth in shock.What the hell had just happened? Is this a dream? Walls don't just open up in front of people.Why did the wall in the room suddenly open up and most importantly, what was on the other side?Lana peered tentatively inside the wall, her eyes wild with fear.The cold air emanating from inside the gaping hole, filled the room and she shivered uncontrollably.Was this some kind of passage way? A secret passageway? On the second floor?!As the idea of a secret passageway flashed through her mind, Lana's heart started beating loudly once more.She bit her lips in uncertainty and fisted her white dress in fear as she walked closer to check out the wall.Tentatively, she climbed onto the bed an
Chapter One Hundred And Seventy-FourRina inhaled deeply and then let out a ragged breath of despair. All her previous bravado had seemed to disappear as soon as Damien had mentioned how unsafe she was behind the prison walls.She seemed to shrink half in size into the chair, with fear boldly written on every of her features."Alright." She said in a small voice, "I'll tell you what I know about Zaire's location."Damien leaned back in his chair and straightened his jacket, pretending he was not relieved with Rina's decision. He suppressed the desire not to punch the air in victory, and instead schooled his expression into one of blankness as he nodded calmly at her, "Spill it.""But still..." Rina croaked uncertainly, "You have to tell me how you're going to help me with my sentence first before I say anything."She glanced up at him then and saw the flash of anger in his eyes. The muscle in his jaw twitched violently as he pushed back his chair and stood up.Seeing his action, the