The Almighty Dominance

Chapter 374

Josephine stretched with a lazy yawn, arms high over her head.

"Good morning, Miss Sophia."

When she noticed Alex was awake, her face lit up. "And good morning to you, Alex."

"Morning, Josephine," Alex replied, unsure what else to say under Sophia's sharp, burning stare.

Josephine swung her legs off the bed, cracking her neck like nothing unusual had happened.

"I'll make breakfast for the three of us, okay?" She started toward the door as if it were any other day.

Sophia stepped in her path, eyes narrowing. "How can you two be sleeping together?"

Josephine met her gaze without a flicker of guilt. Growing up in the cramped orphanage, sharing a bed had never been a scandal.

"Oh, Alex fainted in front of the clinic, so I brought him to his bed," she said through another yawn.

"But then he got all teary and didn't want to let go. Maybe he needed a friend, so I stayed. I was tired too, so I fell asleep there. That's all."

With that, Josephine turned and headed off to make breakfast, leaving them alone in the room.

Sophia's eyes flicked between them-both fully clothed, nothing looking out of place.

She wanted to scold Alex, but Josephine's words pulled her up short.

Alex... fainted? And teary-eyed?

Could that have been because she had shot a bullet to his forehead yesterday?

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked from the bed.

Sophia moved to his side, her warm fingers brushing his forehead before she could think better of it.

"Did that little stunt I pulled yesterday-shooting the bullet to you-make you faint? Did it hurt so bad you almost died?"

Alex's eyes sharpened. This wasn't the Sophia he knew the one who lashed out first and thought later.

was softer. Concerned. It threw

said. “It's just... lately, there's been too

"You're

silence stretched between them before Sophia

what do you think

Alex searched her face-beautiful, but

her hands together tightly, panic flickering

widow now... and if you

she was headed. In the past, he

his life, everything felt

give her

phone shrilled. She glanced at the screen.

away. "Mother?

voice came through, frantic. "Our neighbor just

"What?"

minutes later, fire engines roared in

and Alex stood side by side, watching orange flames devour the sprawling

wearing their hospital patient clothes, eyes wide at

in panic as she lurched toward the burning mansion. "My money! My jewelry-my

Sophia yanked her back hard, her voice sharp

jewelry are still inside! I have to

money's probably already gone, but the gold and

If you go

arms around her mother, holding

do we do? This is our home-our property! How can it be burning

down her face as

expression unreadable, had already given the order-forty guards to deal with Henny and Clarissa, then burn the place to the

like they'd done exactly

its walls groaning before collapsing into

any luck, it would take Henny and Clarissa

explosion tore through the air, the ground shuddering

blew the Mansion apart, reducing it to a heap of smoking rubble, while a wave of black

have been the gas-or something just

and furious. "My mansion! Oh my