Chapter 18 “I’ll be there p> After we hung up, I stayed seated for a minute, phone still in my hand. I hadn’t slept much. Not because I was scared. Mostly because my mind wouldn’t slow down. Every time I closed my eyes, I replayed things out of order. The

Chapter 17 And what a foolish question it is to ask someone in this situation. I almost snapped at him but refrained. I laughed once, weak and breathless. “No p> “That’s fair p> We took another turn, then another. Residential streets now. Familiar ones. My chest tightened as I recognized

Chapter 16 “Elaine,” Zane snapped. “Stay with me! Fuck p> I forced my head up, breath coming fast and uneven. My fingers were locked tight around the gun in my lap, knuckles white, hands trembling so badly I was afraid I’d drop it. Zane reached for his phone without taking

Chapter 15 “Are they…are they the same ones from the club p> “Most likely p> “And they know it’s you p> He didn’t answer that. He took a sharp turn, the force throwing me against the door. I grabbed thr handle instinctively, heart climbing into my throat as another car

Chapter 14 The door burst open. I tightened my grip on the gun, heart slamming so hard it hurt. And then p> Someone ran out. Not threatening. Just a waitress, stumbling forward like she’d been shoved, heels slipping on the concrete as she hit the ground hard and cried her,

Chapter 13 A gunshot. Sharp. Loud and real as fuck. The music downstairs cut off instantly. Screams followed. Chaos erupted as people surged toward exits, bodies colliding, voices rising in panic. I froze. My heart slammed against my ribs as another shot echoed…shouting, then the unmistakable rush of security flooding

Chapter 12 “Me p> The word settled between us, heavy and irrevocable. Zane whitmore looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. And I knew, with absolute certainty, that whatever happened next, there was no turning back. Zane didn’t answer right away. He leaned back against

Chapter 11 The realization hit me all at once. This man wasn’t just some rich stranger Ivyhad accidentally spilled a drink on. This was him. He was the date grandfather had planned for ivy. I stared at Zane Whitmore, my expression calm only because years of practice had taught me

Chapter 10 “I wasn’t looking,” Ivy continued quickly. “Someone bumped into me and I just I’m really sorry, I’ll pay for the cleaning, I swear p> I pushed through the small crowd without thinking. “Ivy p> Her head snapped toward me like she’d been holding her breath this entire time.

Chapter 9 I sighed, irritation starting to creep in. “I’m not most girls p> He smirked. “That’s what they all say p> I finished my drink and picked up the second glass, scanning the crowd again. Still no sign of Ivy. I checked my phone. Nothing from her. I set

Chapter 8 We danced longer than I realized. Time blurred the way it always did when you are having fun. Ivy and I moved together easily, laughing, bumping shoulders, singing along to lyrics we barely knew. Sweat clung to my neck, my hair sticking to my skin, but I didn’t

Chapter 7 I waited until Ivy finally stopped pacing. It took a few minutes. She circled the room twice more, ran a hand through her hair, then sank onto the edge of the bed with a frustrated sigh. “I don’t want to go,” she muttered. “I already told him I

Chapter 6 I was sixteen then. Ivy was barely eight then hollow-eyed and silent in a way no child should ever be. I still remembered the way she’d stood in the doorway of Lucas’s old apartment with a single suitcase, like she was afraid to take up too much space.

Chapter 5 I left the house to my car, my brothers had gone before me probably to clear off their heads too, we all had our hands tied, grandpa was the head of Hartwell corporations, and while my brothers somehow ran the company and other branches too my grandfather was

Chapter 4 The words echoed inside me. She’s not built for this. I thought of Ivy the way she really was, not the polished version people saw at family functions. The way she cried when she felt overwhelmed. The way she still reached for my hand in crowded rooms. The

Chapter 3 Noah’s voice cut through the room, rough and strained. “Why?.” Noah asked. Grandfather took his sweet time before answering. “Because our family needs his influence and his name p> “But we already very well to do on our own why do we need him p> Grandfather didn’t answer

Chapter 2 It always had. My grandfather’s house sat on the edge of the city, large and imposing, the kind of place that looked impressive from the outside but felt cold once you were inside. I’d grown up there in pieces. Holidays, mandatory dinners. Meetings that felt more like evaluations

Chapter 1 The sound of my brothers hands slamming the table echoed through the room, loud enough that I felt it in my chest before I fully registered what had happened. “That’s insane,” Lucas shouted. “You can’t be fucking serious p> My grandfather didn’t flinch. He sat at the head