ACE’S POV
The car swerved hard around a bend, tires screaming against wet asphalt. I braced Sharon closer to my chest, her head limp against my shoulder. Her breathing... wasn’t breathing. Too shallow. Too slow. Too quiet.
"Faster," I growled.
"Yes, sir!" the driver yelled, knuckles white on the wheel.
Through the back window, the black SUVs kept coming, Langley’s people . My father’s n. They weren’t shooting yet.
They didn’t need to, but they knew this terrain better than anyone. They knew exactly where they were pushing us toward.
A trap.
Another sharp turn. I tightened my grip around Sharon, blocking her from the jolt. My heart slamd against my ribs like it wanted out.
"Give the chance to show how wicked I am to my father," I whispered bitterly to myself, hoping Sharon would hear...
Victor was born in it... I wasn’t, atleast... I wasn’t supposed to be.
I wasn’t the one who pulled triggers.
I wasn’t the one who hunted people down.
I wasn’t the one who...
"Boss," the driver murmured. "They’re closing in."
I looked up. Three SUVs had split off, surrounding us, forming a crescent, cornering us.
Reality cut through sharp and clear. We had no choice
"Give a gun," I said quietly.
The driver stiffened. "Sir, no your father..."
"Give a gun ."
My voice didn’t rise.
It froze the air instead.
The driver swallowed hard, still shaking his head. "Boss, I can’t. Mr. Langley, he said you’re not to hold a weapon. Ever. If I give you a gun, sir, I’m finished."
I leaned forward slowly.
"Give a gun, now""
That was the limit to my anger...
Final.
Sothing in the driver snapped. His trembling hand reached into the compartnt beneath the seat and he passed a loaded pistol back to .
The tal felt foreign in my palm, it felt heavy and wrong
Yet... inevitable.
"Stop the car," I commanded.
"Sir"
"Stop the car"
The brakes screeched, the vehicle jerking sideways. Sharon slid, and I caught her before she could fall.
I looked at the driver. "Stay inside. Lock the doors. Do not leave her."
"But sir"
"You don’t move." My jaw clenched. "Sharon’s life is the only one here that matters."
He nodded quickly.
I lifted Sharon one last ti, brushing her blood-stained hair away from her face. Then I placed her gently across the back seat, buckling her in carefully, like she was fragile glass.
"Sir..." the driver whispered, voice breaking.
I didn’t answer him...
I stepped out of the car, gun hanging low by my side, and walked toward the SUV blocking our path.
Wind whipped against my face. Rain misted the air. Gravel crunched beneath my boots.
Ten ters...
Five..
Three.
The SUV doors opened and my father’s n stepped out, rifles raised but not pointed.
They were waiting.
The leader stepped forward.
"Boss’s son," he greeted with a mocking dip of his head.
"Ace Langley. Your father wants you brought ho."
I didn’t stop walking. Didn’t blink.
"You want a ssage for him?" I said calmly.
"Here it is, step aside or regret it."
A ripple of unease passed through the n.
The leader sighed deeply.
"Ace... your father wants his family together. Stop this madness. Let’s go ho. He needs to manage you before sothing worse happens."
My jaw tightened.
Control.
He ant control.
"I’m not going anywhere," I said coldly.
"Not without her."
The leader opened his mouth to speak but before he could a sound of gunshot cracked the air.
I froze. Slowly... painfully... I turned.
And my heart fell through the center of my chest.
The driver who stayed with Sharon... Slumped sideways against the seat, blood spreading across the window.
Shot dead...
My father’s n hadn’t moved.
None of their guns were raised.
The air was still stiff when I noticed the car...
"Sharon"
The engine roared, soone was inside, the person had climbed into the front seat and now the car was in gear.
The tires scread violently against the ground.
"No. No. NO...
The car shot forward, straight toward the cliff’s edge.
Ti split open.
"SHARON!!!"
I dropped the gun...
It hit the ground with a tallic clatter. I ran so hard the world blurred.
My throat tore open with the scream.
"SHARON!!! GET OUT OF THE CAR!"
But she couldn’t hear .
She wasn’t conscious.
The car was speeding faster and faster toward the cliff that fell straight into dark, violent water.
I reached for the door but my fingers just grazed the tal, the wheels lifted.
My breath snapped in my throat.
"Sharon..."
I took one step forward. Just one.
Then... CRACK.
Sothing slamd into the back of my skull.
White exploded across my eyes.
My knees gave out.
The world spun sideways, tilting, blurring. Before darkness swallowed , I heard one voice, cold, familiar.
"Get him "
_ _ _
I groaned, blinking against the burning light, as a sharp piercing sound woke up
My head felt like it had been split open.
My arms... heavy.
Thick ropes pinned to a chair, chest tight, wrists crushed behind .
"What... the hell..."
I yanked hard, but pain shot down my spine and up into my skull.
"F–fuck!"
The room steadied slowly, walls coming into focus, the scent of expensive cologne and disinfectant hanging in the air.
Langley estate. I was at my father’s house.
I stopped pulling when I heard a soft, controlled voice.
"Ace."
My eyes snapped up. Diana stood in front of .
Her expression was split clean down the middle... Half worry tugging at her brows, half ice freezing her mouth.
"Ace," she said again, stepping closer. "You’re awake."
I stared at her, chest rising hard and uneven.
"Get out of my way."
She flinched but didn’t move.
"I can’t."
"You will." I twisted my wrists again, ignoring the jolt of pain.
"Untie , Diana. Now."
She swallowed.
"You need to calm down."
"Calm...?"
A humorless laugh tore out of .
"You tied . Dragged back to this place. My father’s n tried to kill her. Sharon is...
Where is Sharon"
My voice cracked.
I shut my eyes, inhaling through clenched teeth.
Diana stepped closer, voice dropping.
"Ace... you are in this ss because of Sharon, what is she to you?."
My eyes snapped open...
My voice cut like glass. "Untie , I need to get to Sharon "
"You can’t " she whispered.
"They were only supposed to bring her but sothing happened and you were there too... You know Sharon is dead"
"Enough... Don’t you dare say her na from your filthy mouth "
I jerked forward, the chair scraping across the floor.
Diana staggered back.
"Ace, stop!"
"I’m going to find her," I growled. "I don’t care what you say to or whatever Victor wants "
"I’m your wife," she snapped without thinking.
Silence fell like thunder. My stare froze her in place.
"Not to ."
Her breath hitched.
Before she could speak, the door clicked open.
Heavy footsteps. A shadow entered the room...
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