An understatement would be calling what I fell anger. No, anger was too feeble, too tame to capture the inferno raging inside me. My fury was volcanic, an unrelenting fire that had already consumed a part of me. When my men located her—and, of course, they did, because the veins of this city ran on the power I controlled–I didn’t hesitate and the man who dared kidnap her was left screaming on the ground with his legs broken. 1 haidn’t even bothered in savor it. The real pleasure would come later when I made him wish for death.
But now, all that wrath, all that burning energy, was focused entirely on lier.
Adeline
She stood stiffly in the mom I had prepared for her, her shoulders squared as though she could shield herself from what was coming. Her eyes slarted to every corner, drinking in her gilded cage, while I stood at the door, watching her with the quiet patience of a predator.
I said nothing at first, letting the silence wrap around us, suffocating and heavy. Silence was a weapon I wielded as sharply as any blade. I waited, letting her feel the weight of my presence, the unspoken threat hanging in the air.
Imally, she turned to me, her eyes holding a flicker of defiance that only made my jaw tighten. Her voice was soft but steady when she asked, “Are ven not going to tell me what my punishment will be?”
Tubed my head slightly, keeping my expression neutral, calm–a calmness that was far more terrifying than rage.
“Why did you leave without my permission?” I asked, my tone devoid of emotion. “And with that woman–someone who exists solely to stir up
Adeline looked away from me, her chest rising and falling as she drew in a deep breath. Her lips pressed together as though she was biting back a sharp retort. When she finally spoke again, she ignored my question entirely.
“What’s my punishment going to be?” she asked again, her voice firmer this time. “Are you going to kill me? Like you killed that man out there!”
“Answer the question, I said coldly
Her eyes flickered, fear dancing in their depths, but then they hardened. That spark of defiance was back, and she squared her shoulders as if bracing herself
“Why should I bother answering?” she said, her voice edged with bitterness. The verdict is going to be the same, isn’t it? Strike three, right? Just go ahead and do it. But leave my family out of this. They’ve done nothing to you.”
Her words should have angered me, but instead, they amused me. My lips curved into a slow, cruel smile.
This was what intrigued me about her. Adeline. No one spoke to me this wayNot anymore. I had made sure of in.
I took a step forward, and she instinctively moved back. I advanced again, closing the distance between us slowly, deliberately, until her retreat was lulted by the edge of the bed. She froze, her eyes fixed on me as though she expected me to strike her.
I didn’t.
Instead, I turned and walked toward the window, letting my hands clasp behind my back as I stared out at the estate below. The silence returned, stretching between us like a taut rope,
When I finally broke it, my voice was calm, almost conversational. “Do you know what your problem is, Adeline!”
She didn’t answer, but I heard her shift her weiglu, uneasy.
I continued, “You don’t understand the extent of your situation. You don’t understand me.”
Her voice wavered when she spoke, but she managed to sound steadier than I expected. “What you’re doing isn’t fair. This is emotional blackmail. Just.. tell me what you’re going to do to me and get it over with…”
I turned my head slightly, letting the corner of my mouth lift in a humorless smile. “Come here.”
Seconds passed. She didn’t move.
I turned fully to face her, my golden eyes narrowing. “I won’t repeat myself”
She hesitated for another leanbeat before her feet obeyed, carrying her toward me one shaky step at a time. When she stopped at my side, the Linsent of her–sofi, floral, infuriatingly calming–washed over me. My beast stirred, growling low in my chest, but I silenced it with sheer willpower
1/2
Chapter 13
“Look out the window,” I said, nodding toward it. What do you see?”
She glanced at me warily but obeyed, stepping closer to the glass and peering out. Her voice was quieter now, almost unsure. “I see people.. working. Doing their jobs. What does this have to do with anything?”
I didn’t answer immediately. I let her question hang in the air, then stepped closer, my presence looming behind her like a shadow.
“What if I told you.” I said softly, “that with a single word, every person you see down there could be dead within minutes?”
Her head snapped toward me, her wide eyes searching my face for any sign of a bluff. She found none.
“If I were in a particularly bad mood.” I continued, my voice as smooth as silk. “I could give the order right now. And nothing would happen to me. No one would question it. No one would dare.”
Her breath hitched, and she stepped back, but there was nowhere to go.
My father raised me in know absolute power by making sure everyone covered at the sound of my name. I am not the way I am because of some past childhood trauma that I need to work through to make me a better man. Being feared, being a monster is who I am and you don’t seem to understand the extent of my cruelty, Adeline,” I said, taking a step closer. “So let me make it clear for you.”
I reached out slowly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She flinched at the contact, and the corners of my mouth twitched into a cruel smile. “You’re really quite beautiful,” 1 murmured, my voice dropping lower. “Did you know that?”
Her lips parted slightly, and I saw her throat work as she swallowed hard. Her body went rigid, her eyes wide as though she couldn’t decide whether to run or fini.
1 stepped back suddenly, dropping my hand. I wonder,” I mused aloud, my tone light, almost playful, “what will happen to all that beauty when you go plummeting down three stories.”
The humor drained from my face as I gestured toward the window. “Go,” I said coldly. “Open it. Jump.”
Her mouth opened, then closed, as though her words had abandoned her. She shook her head faintly, whispering a single word: “Please”
I took a step toward her, my golden eyes narrowing. Don’t waste my time, Adeline.
Her breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling rapidly as panic consumed her. She looked at the window, then back at me, her eyes silently begging for mercy.
Tus mercy was a luxury I didn’t give.
My voice cur through the room like a blade, “I’ll give you just three seconds before I throw you out myself”
