Chapter 23
A different kind of heat flushed under
skin at my own epiphany, arrogant as it was.
$57%0
“As for the driver,” he continued, “he is under your command. You can go anywhere you want and do as you please. He won’t tell me anything, and i won’t ask. You have all the control.”
I could only stare at him, speechless.
“And if you’re worried that I’ll hurt one of the Andersons, I will only do it if you command it. You have my word.”
I clenched and unclenched my hand, unsure what
to do with it.
“I know you’re in conflict with your morals, but believe it or not, you’re about to enter the battlefield. Showing mercy won’t work in your favor,” he whispered, brushing his fingers down to my chin, leaving a heated trail behind. I was pulled toward him, drawn closer to his face, his eyes holding me spellbound. My gaze felt to his lips. Realizing how close I was, I snapped out of it. Swallowing, I pushed him aside.
“I need to go,” I managed to say, my heart pounding, my face and ears burning hot.
Feelings like this are ridiculous!
My steps came to a halt as he grabbed my wrist. I turned to look at him.
“You don’t have much time. This will turn bloody.”
He looked past me and waved at someone. Footsteps approached. I turned to see a man stepping forward, dressed in all black. His blond hair was slicked back, and he looked to be around Killian’s age. He carried a file in his hand, which he handed to Killian before nodding and walking away, disappearing into the back room.
“Take this. The date for voting is set for October 27th. After the candidate is chosen, there will be a trial period.”
I already knew this. I took the file from him. “What is this?” I asked, opening it.
“It’s the current stake distribution on the board. After my inheritance and your grandfather’s, you’ll need another vote on your side.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. I already knew the name he was, referring to–he didn’t need to say it. My eyes scanned the page, listing the stakeholders from the largest to the smallest. In third place, just after Killian Knight, was not a person’s name but a company’s.
“It’s strange, though. I haven’t heard much about them. I have someone looking into the owner. Once we find out, we can persuade him to vote in your favor.”
The company’s name was **KJM CyberTech Pvt. Ltd.**
I looked up and met Killian’s eyes. He didn’t seem to know, but he was clearly intrigued–challenged, even. I schooled my expression, revealing nothing.
“I have to say, since I met you, my life has become much more interesting,” he said with a smirk.
Something else he said caught my attention.
“You’re just going to give me your vote?”
“Who else would I vote for? You know I’m on your side, princess.”
My side. Somehow, his words warmed me again.
Bemused, I shook my head. “This doesn’t get you off the hook,” Isaid, surprised at the lightness in my voice. With him around, my thoughts and emotions were all over the place.
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16:01 Sat, 5 Jul
Chapter 23
The image from the article flashed in my mind again, but I suppressed it. He is capable of terrible things. I cannot forget that
“I know,” he said, “but you’re agreeing to do this together.” He gestured to the file.
I remembered why I had agreed to his plan–because, no matter what, my own plan wasn’t enough. And he could do it. Why would I risk my mother’s als for the hell I had left behind?
“Do you still have eyes on where my mother is?” I asked.
“24/7. Do you want to see?” he asked, extending his hand toward me.
“Can I?”
He nodded.
I hesitated, then placed my hand in his. There was one thing I was certain of this man was willing to go to extreme measures for me. Whether it was obsession or something else, I wouldn’t be able to escape him. The strange part was, I didn’t think I wanted to.
He enclosed my hand in his and pulled me back upstairs, a small smile playing on his lips.
“What do you know about KJM CyberTech?” I asked as we climbed the stairs.
“Someone behind the alias *Mr. M* owns it. The head of cyber information practically gushed about him when I asked,” he said, sounding a bit bitter.
I chewed on my lower lip, unsure how to react.
“You’re amused?” He looked at me, raising an eyebrow.
I blinked, surprised, and quickly schooled my expression.
“You sound a bit… frustrated,” I said after a moment, choosing my words carefully.
“He’s a challenge, I’ll admit. Practically invincible in the virtual plane,” he said.
We reached the second–floor landing, but instead of turning left toward the balcony where the table was set, he turned right. I followed him down a hallway until he stopped at a door and pushed it open.
Inside was a room almost the size of a small library, decorated as elegantly as the rest of the establishment. He pulled me inside and shut the door, still not letting go of my hand. Walking behind a long, polished black desk, he pushed aside the chair and opened a drawer, pulling out a white iPad. He pulled me down to sit in the chair before letting go of my hand and tapping on the screen a few times.
“This doesn’t look good. You should prepare yourself,” he cautioned.
I nodded. I saw my mother through video calls every three months. I knew what to expect.
He handed me the iPad.
Normally, during calls arranged by Adeline with the doctors caring for my mother, I only caught glimpses of her sleeping face. The calls lasted no more than fifteen minutes, and all I could tell was that she was in a comfortable, well–furnished space. I always saw the heart monitor, but little else.
But now–this was different. Something was clearly wrong.
I saw her. My mother.
Her familiar red hair, just like mine, nearly touched the ground from where she lay on a rundown hospital bed. The room was shrouded in darkness, dimly lit by a single overhead bulb. A white sheet was pulled up to her neck, surrounded by medical equipment. The hidden camera captured her pale, motionless figure. I knew they kept her sedated, but this–this made my stomach sink in dread. A faint dripping sound echoed in the background.
This place looked more like a dungeon than a hospital.
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Chapter 23
I inhaled sharply.
“You can get her out of there, right?” I turned to him, needing reassurance. For once.
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“Yes. But considering the parties involved, we have to be careful. The moment we make a move, you’ll be at your most vulnerable,” he said.
I knew what he meant. But impatience surged inside me. What if something went wrong before then?
“I don’t care about myself. Just get her out of there.”
“But I care about you,” he said softly, leaning down. He gently brushed the corner of my eye with his thumb.
Only then did I realize tears were threatening to fall. My vision blurred.
I turned away, blinking them back. I don’t cry easily–I don’t even remember the last time I did. So why was it so easy now?
“If we rush, Adeline might retaliate impulsively the moment she loses her bargaining chip.”
“Then what’s your plan?” I asked, forcing myself to focus.
“The day before your birthday, you should leave the Anderson mansion. At the same time, we’ll extract your mother. You’ll claim your inheritance automatically, and you’ll be safe with her.”
“Adeline has an alliance with the Mengs. You think I’ll be safe just because I leave the mansion?”
“No. But you’ll be with me. And I dare anyone to come for you.”
His fingers traced my chin, stroking it. My breath hitched. The tension between us thickened again. I shook myself out of it, looking away.
I handed the iPad back. “Send me the link.”
He nodded.
A silence stretched between us before he finally stepped back, giving me space.
“Would you like to eat something?”
“I… need a minute.”
I turned and walked out.
I opened the door and walked out of the office. Two doors away, there was another balcony. Small pots of plants decorated it, but beyond that was just the crowded, high–end streets of New York.
+ put down my bag and lowered myself to the ground. Pulling out a silver case from my backpack, I retrieved my phone from the bag as well. A message from an unknown number popped up on the screen.
I pulled out a cigarette, pressed it to my lips, and, with a satisfying click of the lighter, a flame appeared.
Two images flashed back to back in my mind. First was Grace Milton–the woman who had been my childhood nightmare. Then, the picture of my almost lifeless mother.
I lit the cigarette.
The images felt like they were drowning me, the boulder on my chest cutting off all the air to my lungs. Only the burn of the smoke reminded me that! needed to breathe. “I can breathe.*
Finally, I clicked on my inbox and realized it was Killian who had sent me the link. I hadn’t had his number until now. He must have gotten mine quite easily.
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Chapter 23
My thumb hovered over the link, but ! hesitated. “Coward. I couldn’t find the courage to look at it again. Instead, I forwarded the link to J and K and my phone away.
I exhaled a slow stream of smoke.
Watching the ashes fall from the cigarette, I felt myself finally settle, a light buzz creeping in. The thought crossed my mind that the current owner of this. place wouldn’t like this.
I remembered the smoke marks on his torso and biceps.
A sudden wave of guilt washed over me, and I quickly flicked the cigarette away, stuffing the silver case back into my bag.
“You’re smoking again?”
I froze mid–zip, my fingers tightening around the bag’s strap.
AD
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