Chapter 121
Chapter 121
AARON
It’s a special kind of hell to know that you were so close… and you failed.
62
The cottage hadn’t left my head since the day I walked into that room. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the cuffs. I saw the way they were bolted to the bedframe, the hair caught in the hinge, the faint smell of her clinging to the sheets.
My wife. My Venus.
She’d been there. She’d been that close. And I hadn’t found her in time.
Two weeks had passed since that day. Fourteen days. Three hundred and thirty-six hours. Each one a noose tightening around my chest. It’s been two months since I lost Venus. TWO MONTHS. Sixty two days. One thousand four hundred and eighty-eight hours.
We’d scoured every lead, pulled every string, bled money and resources into the search. Gerald Marlowe had vanished off the face of the earth, and he’d taken her with him. No transactions, no sightings, no whispers on the black-market channels we’d tapped into.
It was like the bastard had dug a hole under reality and crawled inside.
And me? I was left standing on the surface, choking on air that felt too thin, staring out at a city that meant nothing anymore.
The penthouse had become a war room. Connor had practically moved in, setting up an entire operations grid on my dining table. Sabine was here every day, combing through data and sending out teams. Even my mother had started coming by, hovering like she thought I might shatter if she looked away for too long.
And maybe she wasn’t wrong.
Because every time I walked past that empty bedroom-her bedroom-the one she used to fill with her scent and her laughter, every time I saw it stripped bare, cold and lifeless… I thought I might actually lose my mind.
Gianna despite herself came from time to time.
Gerald said she took time off from work and she hasn’t been back in weeks. I wouldn’t blame her.
And Colton p>
It was late one evening, the sky outside bruised purple, the lights of the city a meaningless blur below. Connor sat on the couch, laptop open, his face illuminated in harsh blue glow. Sabine was perched on the armchair, scrolling through another endless list of dead ends.
I was by the window, staring out, my fists shoved deep in my pockets like they could hold me together.
20:28 Wed, Jan 14 M…
Chapter 121
That’s when my mother came in.
62
Rosemary Sinclair, the only person in my life who could ever make me stop and listen. Tonight, though, she didn’t look like the sweet formidable woman who had raised me to rule empires. She looked… worried. Fragile, in a way I’d never seen before.
She came to stand beside me, silent for a moment, watching the city with me. Then she asked the question everyone had been circling around for weeks.
“Aaron,” she said softly, “what have you been doing p>
I turned my head slightly, brow furrowing. “What do you mean p>
“I mean,” she continued, voice trembling just a little, “you’ve handed off the companies. You haven’t been to the office since… since you stepped down. Sinclair Group, Sinclair Tech-they were everything to you. Your life’s work. And now, it’s like you don’t even care p>
A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “Because I don’t p>
She blinked at me, startled. “Aaron p>
I turned fully to face her, my hands clenching at my sides. “Mom, none of that matters anymore. The money, the power, the titles, I’d burn it all to ash if it meant getting her back p>
My voice cracked, the weight of two weeks pressing down on my chest until it hurt to breathe.
“I just want my wife,” I whispered, more to myself than to her. “I just want Venus back p>
Rosemary’s eyes filled instantly. She reached for me, pulling me into a hug like she used to when I was a boy and my father had torn another piece of me apart. Only this time, it wasn’t anger in her arms-it was grief.
“My sweet boy,” she murmured, clutching me like she could protect me from the world, “all I’ve ever wanted for you was love. Real love. And when you finally found it…” Her voice broke, her tears wetting my shirt. “… they took her from you p>
I held on tighter, burying my face in her shoulder, feeling for a moment like that lost boy again. I’d spent years building walls of steel around myself, promising no one would ever get close enough to hurt me again. And then Venus came along.
And now she was gone.
“I can’t lose her, Mom,” I choked out. “Not like this. Not knowing if she’s safe, if she’s even alive…” My voice dropped to a low, dangerous growl. “I’ll find him. And when I do, there won’t be enough earth to bury what’s left of him p>
She stroked the back of my neck, trying to soothe me, but her hands trembled too. “You’ll find her,” she said fiercely, through her own tears. “You will. You have to believe that p>
I nodded, but it felt hollow. Belief didn’t bring her home. Belief didn’t cut through the endless, gnawing silence where her voice should’ve been.
20:28 Wed, Jan 14 M…
Chapter 121
I was drowning, and the only thing keeping me afloat was rage.
62
We stayed like that for a long time. My mother and I, clinging to each other in the middle of my penthouse while Connor and Sabine pretended to be invisible, giving us this moment I didn’t even know I needed.
And then, just as the world felt like it might tilt toward unbearable again, my phone rang.
I jerked upright, my heart leaping into my throat. My mother stepped back, wiping her face quickly as I pulled the phone from my pocket.
An unknown number.
I answered it in a single breathless motion.
“Aaron Sinclair,” I snapped, tension crackling in my voice. “Who is this p>
Silence.
A long, heavy silence that seemed to stretch into eternity.
My pulse thundered in my ears, my breath sharp. “If this is you, Marlowe,” I hissed, every syllable a razor blade, “you better speak before I find you and make you choke on your own teeth p>
Still nothing.
Just quiet.
And then-
A breath. Soft. Shaky. Almost… familiar.
“Venus?” I whispered, desperate, hope clawing its way out of my chest like a wild animal. “Baby, is that you p>
But before I could get another word out, the line went dead.
I stared at the screen, heart hammering, hands trembling for the first time in years.
The phone call might’ve been nothing. A mistake. A sick game.
Or it might’ve been her.
And if it was her… it meant she was alive.
It meant Gerald had made a mistake.
And I’d tear the world apart to exploit it.
20:28 Wed, Jan 14 M…
Ruby Walker
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby’s writing style is bold and irresistible—perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.