Chapter 183

The morning light streamed through the tall windows of my estate, but it brought no peace. My hands shook as I sat on the edge of my chair, staring at the tea I had no intention of drinking. The news of Daniel’s arrest had spread like wildfire, and with it came the weight of my involvement. My chest tightened with guilt and fear. Daniel, that reckless fool, had dragged us both down into this mess, and now I was left to clean it up.

“Where’s Martha?” I snapped at a passing maid, my voice sharp and grating. She flinched, her tray wobbling in her hands. “1 asked for her an hour ago! Is no one competent in this house anymore?”

“I–I’ll fetch her immediately, ma’am,” she stainmered, scurrying off.

I stood abruptly, my chair scraping against the floor. The room felt suffocating, and I needed air, though I doubted it would help. Memories of my meetings with Daniel swirled in my mind each one a nail in the coffin of my composure.

“Christiana needs to go,” I’d told him over a glass of whiskey in a lounge weeks ago. “She’s ruining my son’s life.”

Daniel had leaned back, his smirk infuriatingly self–assured. “And what’s in it for me?”

“I can make you a household name,” I had said, my tone clipped. “You have the funds, but I have the connections. You’ll rise faster than you ever dreamed.”

At first, he’d hesitated, his eyes narrowing. “Why should I trust you? You’re Alex’s mother.”

“You don’t have to trust me,” I’d replied, my voice icy. “You only need to hate Christiana as much as I do.”

He’d agreed eventually, though he’d made it clear that his motives were far from noble. “She’s mine,” he’d said one night, his voice filled with a disturbing obsession. “She just doesn’t know it yet.”

I should have stopped then. I should have known he was too unhinged, too reckless. But my hatred for Christiana clouded my judgment. I thought I could control him. I was wrong.

A vase crashed to the floor, snapping me back to the present. One of the maids had bumped into a side table, her face pale as she bent to pick up the pieces.

“Leave it!” I barked, waving her off. My voice was shaking now, my composure slipping. I couldn’t afford any more mistakes, I’d gone to see the children earlier at Alex’s house. I couldn’t face him or Christiana, so I’d kept my distance, watching from a corner of the room as the kids played. They were safe. That should have been enough to ease my guilt, but it wasn’t. Daniel’s voice echoed in my head, his tone smug. “I’ll take the kids. That’ll get Christiana’s attention.”

“You can’t!” I had yelled at him over the phone. “That’s too far, Daniel!”

He’d laughed, a chilling sound. “You wanted her gone, didn’t you? This will make it happen.”

I had hesitated, torn between my hatred for Christiana and the line I knew we were crossing. In the end, I had agreed. And now, Daniel was in jail, and I was left to deal with the aftermath.

If he exposed me, if Alex found out… The thought made me sick to my stomach. I paced the room, my nail digging into my palms. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I’d wanted to free Alex, to make him see, Christiana for what she was. Instead, I’d become the monster he already thought I was.

“Madam,” Martha’s voice broke through my thoughts. She stood at the door, her face lined with concern.

“What?” I snapped, my voice harsher than I intended.

“Should I prepare your car? You seem… restless.”

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Chapter 183

1 glared at her, then turned away. “No. Just… leave me.”

She hesitated before retreating, leaving me alone with my spiraling thoughts.

Daniel had ruined everything, but I had let him. And now, I would pay the price. The question was, how much would it cost me?

As the silence of the room settled in around me, I could feel my pulse quickening. I paced back and forth, my mind racing. Daniel had become a liability…a dangerous one. He was sitting in jail, and with every passing moment, he was getting closer to exposing everything. All my careful maneuvering, all the secrets I’d kept hidden, could unravel if he spoke. And I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t.

I stopped pacing, standing still in the middle of the room. My eyes flicked to the window, but I didn’t see the view. My mind was elsewhere, calculating, assessing. There had to be a way to call this, to ensure Daniel would never speak a word about what he knew. He had to disappear. I needed him gone…permanently.

The thought of it sent a shiver through me. I wasn’t new to this game. I had always been the one pulling strings, the one in control. But this? This was different. Daniel wasn’t just a business rival or an ex–lover I could dismiss. He knew too much. His connection to me, to Alex, and to Christiana…it was too much for him to survive if I let things go on like this.

not with his arrest. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to turn things in his favor. He’d already threatened me once, and I had backed down. Never again. I wasn’t going to let him

had a way of seeing through the walls I built around myself, but I couldn’t let that stop me. She had to be distracted, pushed further away from the truth, just like Alex

need to

if he survived? Well, then I’d have to get creative. There were other ways to handle people like him. Money, power, threats. But with Daniel, I wasn’t sure money would work. He had his own plans, his own agenda. He didn’t

www

talk, everything I’d worked for would come crumbling down. Alex would

never saw

question wasn’t if I should do it…it was when. The longer I waited, the more time Daniel had to find a way to turn things

my head, my decision became clear. It would be swift. No room for mistakes.

never

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Chapter 184

Christiana’s POV.

reckless, maybe even stupid, but the nightmares had pushed me past my limit. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him, his smug face, his voice, commanding and cruel. He made me relive that

station, my heart pounding as I

sure you want to do this, ma’am?” the officer asked, his brows furrowed. “You don’t have to

even though my insides felt

I stood in the cold, sterile waiting area, my fingers gripping the strap of my purse like it was

hours before I heard the door creak open. And then

once well–groomed appearance now disheveled. His hair was longer, his beard unkempt. But his eyes? They hadn’t changed. That same smug

visitation room. “Christiana,” he said, dragging out my name like a song. “I didn’t think I’d see you here. Couldn’t stay away, could

tight, but I pushed the fear aside. “Don’t flatter yourself, Daniel. I’m not here

down, shackles clinking against the metal table. “Oh, but you are. You missed me so much

my hands gripping the edge of the table. “Miss you?” I spat. “You’re delusional. I

like you didn’t feel something for me once. You used to smile

“You were a good man once, Daniel. What happened to you?

he leaned back, shrugging. “What happened? You did, Christiana. You walked into my life, and I couldn’t get you out of my head. You were perfect…too perfect to let

in me. “Perfect? Is that what you tell yourself to justify kidnapping my

all for you. You and I were meant

me to strip to prove

but the smirk remained. “Love makes you do crazy things, Christiana. You wouldn’t

the chair scraping against the floor. “Don’t you dare talk to me about love. You don’t know the first thing about it.

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Chapter 184

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to yourself all you want, but I know the truth. I know you

head, laughing bitterly. “You’re pathetic. You’re sitting here in handcuffs, facing a trial that’s going to lock you away for life, and you still think

he quickly recovered. “Its not

you did

you’re nothing but a sad, twisted excuse for a man.

leave, his voice stopped me. “You’ll never be free of me, Christiana.

my eyes burning with anger. “What we had? You ruined any chance of that when you became

The officer gave me a concerned look, but I didn’t say a word. I

leaned against the car for a moment, my hands shaking as I tried to steady my breathing. He didn’t

trial come. Let him face the consequences of what he did Because I

hold me together. The moment the door shut, the dam broke.

was too much. The kidnapping, the threats, the fear that I’d never see my kids again, it all came crashing down like a wave, and I was drowning

the memories flooding back faster than

cold

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