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The Mute Bride's Secret Billionaire Contract
img img The Mute Bride's Secret Billionaire Contract img Chapter 5 5
5 Chapters
Chapter 9 9 img
Chapter 10 10 img
Chapter 11 11 img
Chapter 12 12 img
Chapter 13 13 img
Chapter 14 14 img
Chapter 15 15 img
Chapter 16 16 img
Chapter 17 17 img
Chapter 18 18 img
Chapter 19 19 img
Chapter 20 20 img
Chapter 21 21 img
Chapter 22 22 img
Chapter 23 23 img
Chapter 24 24 img
Chapter 25 25 img
Chapter 26 26 img
Chapter 27 27 img
Chapter 28 28 img
Chapter 29 29 img
Chapter 30 30 img
Chapter 31 31 img
Chapter 32 32 img
Chapter 33 33 img
Chapter 34 34 img
Chapter 35 35 img
Chapter 36 36 img
Chapter 37 37 img
Chapter 38 38 img
Chapter 39 39 img
Chapter 40 40 img
Chapter 41 41 img
Chapter 42 42 img
Chapter 43 43 img
Chapter 44 44 img
Chapter 45 45 img
Chapter 46 46 img
Chapter 47 47 img
Chapter 48 48 img
Chapter 49 49 img
Chapter 50 50 img
Chapter 51 51 img
Chapter 52 52 img
Chapter 53 53 img
Chapter 54 54 img
Chapter 55 55 img
Chapter 56 56 img
Chapter 57 57 img
Chapter 58 58 img
Chapter 59 59 img
Chapter 60 60 img
Chapter 61 61 img
Chapter 62 62 img
Chapter 63 63 img
Chapter 64 64 img
Chapter 65 65 img
Chapter 66 66 img
Chapter 67 67 img
Chapter 68 68 img
Chapter 69 69 img
Chapter 70 70 img
Chapter 71 71 img
Chapter 72 72 img
Chapter 73 73 img
Chapter 74 74 img
Chapter 75 75 img
Chapter 76 76 img
Chapter 77 77 img
Chapter 78 78 img
Chapter 79 79 img
Chapter 80 80 img
Chapter 81 81 img
Chapter 82 82 img
Chapter 83 83 img
Chapter 84 84 img
Chapter 85 85 img
Chapter 86 86 img
Chapter 87 87 img
Chapter 88 88 img
Chapter 89 89 img
Chapter 90 90 img
Chapter 91 91 img
Chapter 92 92 img
Chapter 93 93 img
Chapter 94 94 img
Chapter 95 95 img
Chapter 96 96 img
Chapter 97 97 img
Chapter 98 98 img
Chapter 99 99 img
Chapter 100 100 img
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Chapter 5 5

The silence that followed Arnulfo's departure was short-lived.

Mrs. Higgins appeared in the doorway of the dining room. She wasn't wearing her mask of servitude anymore. Her face was twisted in ugly triumph.

"Since the Master is gone," Higgins said, her voice grating, "as the mistress of the house, you have duties. The wine cellar needs inventory."

She didn't wait for an answer. She turned and marched toward the basement door.

Erline wiped her mouth with a napkin and followed. She knew this was a power play, but she had to learn the layout of the house anyway.

The wine cellar was two levels down. The air grew colder with every step, smelling of damp earth and old cork. It was dimly lit by flickering bulbs in wire cages.

Rows of dust-covered bottles stretched into the darkness. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in alcohol.

"Count them," Higgins ordered, pointing to a wall of crates. "If one bottle is missing, I will tell Mr. Bond you drank it."

Erline looked at the wall. It would take hours. She didn't argue. She stepped forward and began to count, her finger hovering over the bottles.

Higgins didn't leave. She stood on the bottom step, watching.

"Don't think wearing Chanel makes you anything other than what you are," Higgins spat. "You're just a whore he bought to breed with. A mute whore."

Erline's hand paused over a bottle of 1982 Bordeaux. She took a breath and continued.

Higgins, emboldened by the lack of reaction, stepped down. She walked up behind Erline and shoved her hard between the shoulder blades.

"Are you listening to me?"

Erline stumbled forward. She crashed into the wooden rack. A bottle wobbled and tipped over.

Reflex took over. Erline lunged, catching the bottle by the neck just before it hit the stone floor.

But as she caught it, the back of her hand scraped violently against the rough, unfinished wood of the rack. A splinter tore through her skin. Blood welled up instantly, bright red against her pale skin.

Higgins saw the blood and smiled. She reached out and grabbed Erline's injured arm, digging her nails into the wound.

"Does that hurt?" Higgins whispered. "I can make it hurt more."

Pain shot up Erline's arm. Her eyes went cold.

She shifted her weight. She knew Krav Maga. She knew exactly how to grab Higgins' thumb and snap it backward to break the joint. It would take one second.

She tensed her muscles, ready to strike.

Step. Step. Step.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the stairs above. Leather on stone.

Erline released her tension instantly. She let her body go limp. She allowed herself to fall to the floor, curling in on herself, clutching the bottle to her chest like a shield.

Arnulfo appeared at the top of the stairs. He had come back.

He stopped. He took in the scene. Erline on the floor, bleeding. Higgins standing over her, face twisted in malice, hand still raised.

The temperature in the cellar seemed to drop ten degrees.

"Sir!" Higgins gasped, jumping back. "She... she fell! She's clumsy!"

Arnulfo walked down the stairs. He moved slowly. The sound of his shoes was the only sound in the room.

He walked past Higgins as if she were furniture. He knelt beside Erline. He took her hand, the one dripping blood onto the dusty floor.

He looked at the cut. Then he looked at the bottle she was still clutching. It was unbroken.

He stood up and turned to Higgins. His expression was terrifyingly blank.

"Are you deaf, Mrs. Higgins?"

Higgins was trembling now. "Sir?"

"I said she is my asset," Arnulfo said softly. "You damaged my property."

"I..."

"Can you afford to pay for her?" Arnulfo asked. "Can you afford the repairs?"

Higgins fell to her knees. "Please, Mr. Bond."

Arnulfo looked toward the stairs. "Security."

Two guards came down.

"Throw her out," Arnulfo said, boring. "Ensure she is blacklisted from every agency in the state. If she finds work walking a dog, I will be disappointed."

Higgins screamed as they dragged her up the stairs. Her nails scraped against the stone.

Arnulfo looked down at Erline. He didn't offer her a hand.

"Clumsy," he muttered. "Get upstairs. You're bleeding on my vintage."

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