His Possession, Her Escape
img img His Possession, Her Escape img Chapter 3
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Chapter 8 img
Chapter 9 img
Chapter 10 img
Chapter 11 img
Chapter 12 img
Chapter 13 img
Chapter 14 img
Chapter 15 img
Chapter 16 img
Chapter 17 img
Chapter 18 img
Chapter 19 img
Chapter 20 img
Chapter 21 img
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Chapter 3

A shiver went down my spine. The Sterling Syndicate rules were brutal, designed to maintain order through fear. They were for enemies and traitors. Never for family.

The primary rule for internal disputes was simple: the one who caused harm had to kneel and press their hand onto the very thing that caused the injury, as a sign of penance.

Debbi, seeing the look on my face, started her performance again. "Brennan, no. Please. It was just an accident. Don't punish her. After all, her father used to run everything. You're... you're still seen as his successor."

She was deliberately poking his biggest insecurity. His status as the man who married into power.

Brennan' s jaw tightened. A cold smile touched his lips. "She broke the rules. She needs to be reminded of them." He looked at me. "Kneel."

My mind reeled. "She is not a member of this family," I said, my voice shaking with disbelief. "The rules don't apply to her."

"She is my woman," Brennan declared, his voice ringing with absolute authority. "That makes it my business."

He turned to Debbi, his expression softening into one of tenderness. He kissed her forehead. "I'll protect you," he whispered for everyone to hear.

My heart felt like it was being crushed. The man who had sworn to protect me was now using the rules of our world to protect another woman, at my expense.

I stood frozen, unable to move.

Brennan' s patience ran out. "Hold her," he commanded his men.

Two of them grabbed my arms, forcing me to my knees. They pushed my hand down towards the shattered glass of the wedding photo on the floor.

Sharp edges bit into my palm. Pain, hot and immediate, shot up my arm. Blood welled up, dripping onto the smiling faces in the photograph.

Brennan didn't even look at me. He was too busy comforting Debbi, whispering soothing words to her. Then he lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the basement.

He left me there, kneeling in a pool of my own blood.

My mind drifted back to the first time I saw him. He was a lone wolf, fierce and untamable. I was drawn to his strength, his raw power. He had promised me a world where I would always be safe.

Now, he was protecting someone else. And I was the one he was protecting her from.

I fell sideways onto the cold concrete, the blood from my hand smearing the broken photo, covering his face, our faces, until they were unrecognizable.

With my good hand, I gathered the few things that still meant something to me – the letters he wrote me when we were young, the lighter he gave me, the things he now considered junk. I piled them together.

And I set them on fire.

The flames licked at the paper, consuming the words of love, turning the promises to ash. I watched, my face numb, as the fire burned away my past.

Later, Breann came down. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of smoke.

"Still playing with fire?" she sneered. She tossed a first-aid kit at my feet. "Here. Don't bleed all over the floor."

"Why, Breann?" I asked, my voice hollow. "Why do you hate me so much?"

She laughed, a bitter, broken sound. "You ask me why? Because of you, Marco is dead."

Marco. Her boyfriend. I had forgotten his name. He was an FBI informant. I found out about him myself, a threat to Brennan, a threat to our family.

I had tried to handle it quietly, to get him away from her without exposing him. But he was reckless. He made a move, and Brennan' s security detail took him out. It was a clean, swift operation. Brennan never even knew I was involved. I did it to protect him. To protect our family.

I did it to protect Breann from the truth of who she had fallen in love with.

"He was an informant, Breann," I tried to explain.

"Liar!" she shrieked, her face contorting with grief and rage. "You were jealous! You framed him! He was innocent! He loved me!"

She was sobbing now, consumed by a pain I had tried to spare her. "I will make you pay, Alyssa. I swear it."

I looked at her, at the girl I had raised, now twisted by a lie. A bitter smile touched my lips. "You'll regret this, Breann. One day, you'll know the truth, and you'll regret it."

"Never!" she spat. "Debbi is my friend. She's helping me get my revenge on you."

She turned and stormed out, leaving me alone in the dark, with the ashes of my memories and the deep, aching pain of betrayal.

I laughed, a raw, tear-filled sound. I had raised a viper. A fool who had been manipulated by a girl who was herself just a pawn.

I was wrong about Brennan. I was wrong about Breann. My entire life had been built on a foundation of lies.

And I regretted it. I regretted all of it.

            
            

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