LOGINVictor’s announcement made my heart race with fear and excitement at the same time.
“I am leaving for London tonight for three days,” Victor said during breakfast. “Important meetings. Behave yourself while I am gone, Ava.” “Yes, Victor,” I replied quietly, keeping my eyes down. The moment his private jet left New York, something inside me shifted. I tried to fight it all day. I stayed in my room, but my mind kept replaying Damien’s kiss against the piano. I felt terrible. I had sold myself to an old man, and now I could not stop thinking about his son. Evening came. I drank more whiskey than I should have. The alcohol made my skin feel hot. I stood in the living room when I heard his footsteps. Damien walked in slowly. His eyes looked dark and hungry. “You have been avoiding me again,” he said. “I had to,” I whispered. “What we did last night was wrong. I am your father’s wife. I feel so guilty.” He stepped closer. “Guilty? You kissed me back like you wanted it.” I looked away. “I should not want it. I sold myself to your father. He is old enough to be my dad. Every time I think about him touching me, I feel sick. But when you look at me… I feel something else. Something I should not feel.” Damien poured two glasses of whiskey and handed me one. “Then stop fighting it, Ava. Tell me the truth.” I took a big sip. The warm liquid gave me courage. “I hate myself for wanting you. I feel dirty for marrying him for money. But ever since you touched me, I keep thinking about you. I should not want my stepson. This is so wrong.” He drank his whiskey in one gulp and put the glass down. “I hate what you did too. But I need you. I need to fuck you so badly it hurts.” We started circling each other in the living room. My heart beat faster with every step. The air felt thick with tension. “Damien, please,” I said softly. “We should stop before we do something we cannot take back.” “No. I am done holding back.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the master bedroom. Victor’s bedroom. Inside the room, he closed the door. My legs felt weak as I stood near the huge bed. “This is his bed,” I said. “We cannot do this here.” Damien moved fast. He grabbed the front of my silk dress and ripped it open. “I hate you for making me want you like this,” he growled. “But I need to fuck you more than I need air.” I gasped as the dress fell to the floor. Instead of pushing him away, I grabbed his shirt. “I want you too,” I admitted in a shaky voice. “God help me, but I do. I feel so ashamed, but my body aches for you.” He pushed me onto the massive bed. I lay back and spread my legs for him. Damien dropped to his knees and buried his face between my thighs. His tongue licked me with strong, hungry strokes while his fingers pushed deep inside. “Oh my God, Damien,” I moaned loudly. “That feels so good. I should not want this, but please do not stop.” He sucked on my most sensitive spot and moved his fingers faster. “You are so wet for me. Say it, Ava. Tell me you want your stepson.” “I want you,” I cried out. “I want you so much it scares me.” The pleasure built fast. I clutched the sheets tightly as my body shook. I came hard, screaming his name while waves of pleasure crashed over me. Before I could catch my breath, Damien flipped me onto my stomach. He pulled my hips up and thrust into me in one deep stroke. “Fuck, Ava,” he groaned. “You are so tight and wet.” He started pounding into me hard and fast. I pushed back against him, meeting every thrust. “Harder,” I begged. “Please, Damien.” He fisted my hair and pulled my head back. “You are dripping for your stepson while your husband is gone. Say it.” “Yes,” I moaned shamelessly. “I am dripping for you. Fuck me harder.” He slapped my ass and drove deeper. The pleasure was intense. I came again violently, my whole body trembling as I moaned his name. Damien pulled out and lay on his back. “Ride me. I want to watch you.” I climbed on top of him without hesitation. I sank down slowly, taking every inch of him. It felt so deep. I started moving my hips faster. My breasts bounced as I rode him. “Look at you,” he said. He grabbed my breasts and sucked hard on my nipples. “You are mine now.” “I should not be doing this,” I panted, still riding him desperately. “But I cannot stop. I want you too much.” We came together. I cried out as he filled me completely. We were still not satisfied. Damien carried me to the shower. Hot water poured over our bodies. He pressed my back against the tiles, lifted one of my legs, and thrust into me again. “I want you,” I whispered against his mouth as he fucked me deep. “Even though it is wrong, I want you so badly.” He pounded into me until we both came once more. My legs shook when he finally turned off the water. We collapsed onto the ruined bed. I lay against his chest, breathing hard. Reality slowly came back. “What have I done?” I whispered. Tears filled my eyes. “I sold myself to your father and now I begged his son to fuck me in his own bed. I feel so guilty, but I cannot regret it. I wanted you too.” Damien lit a cigarette and took a long drag. He looked down at me with dark, possessive eyes. “You belong to me now, Ava. Not him.” I wanted to argue, but deep down I knew he was right. My body still hummed with pleasure from everything we had done. Suddenly, Damien’s phone rang on the nightstand. He reached over and answered it. His face became serious. “What? When?” He listened quietly then ended the call. He looked straight at me. “Victor is cutting his trip short. He will be back tomorrow morning.”The rain came down in sheets over Montmartre and I knew we were chasing more than just a name.I pulled my coat tighter around me as Damien and I hurried down the narrow cobblestone street. Water soaked through my shoes but I kept moving. Paris at night felt alive and dangerous all at once with the fog rolling in thick and the lights from little cafes cutting through the mist. We had landed only hours ago and already we were on the hunt for Charlotte Vance. The artist who might be Victor’s secret daughter. The half sister we never knew existed.Damien kept close his shoulder brushing mine. “The gallery owner said she works late most nights. This should be the place. You ready for this?”I nodded gripping his arm. “Ready as I will ever be. What do we even say to her? Hey your dad was a monster who hid you from the world and now his old business partners want to use you like a chess piece?”He let out a short laug
The private jet engines roared to life and I gripped Damien’s hand so tight my knuckles turned white knowing we were leaving our baby girl behind in a city full of enemies.I sat across from Damien in the leather seats of the jet our knees almost touching in the small cabin. The city lights of New York faded below us as we climbed into the night sky. Maya was safe back in the penthouse with layers of security we trusted with our lives but every mile we flew away from her felt like a knife in my chest. I had kissed her sleeping face a hundred times before we left whispering promises I hoped I could keep. Now the plane carried us toward Paris and the truth about Victor’s secret daughter. We had to find her before Julian used her to tear everything apart.Damien leaned forward his eyes locked on mine. “You okay love? We can still turn back if this feels wrong.”I shook my head swallowing the lump in my throat. “No. We hav
The private meeting room felt smaller than it should have as I slid the thick folder across the table toward Julian De Witt and watched his aristocratic face for any sign of fear that never came.I had chosen this neutral location carefully a quiet suite in a midtown hotel far from the penthouse and the prying eyes of the press. Maya was safe at home with Damien and our most trusted team. I had come alone because this confrontation needed to be mine. The evidence from the foundation’s audit burned in the folder like live coals. Months of forensic work had uncovered the De Witt family’s dark pipeline of art forgery and cultural theft. I was ready to use it. Ready to force Julian to back down from his family’s claim on my daughter. But the moment I sat across from him I knew this meeting would not go as I had planned.Julian leaned back in his chair his posture relaxed and elegant in his tailored suit. His cold blue eyes met mine with poli
The weight of the latest De Witt threat pressed on me like a stone and I decided right then that I would no longer sit quietly while strangers tried to claim pieces of my daughter’s future.I stood in the study of the penthouse with Maya playing at my feet stacking colorful blocks with focused determination. At two years old she had become a whirlwind of energy and curiosity filling our days with laughter and small discoveries. But the threats from across the Atlantic never fully left my mind. Julian’s visit and the Swiss contract had shown us how deep the De Witt family’s reach extended. They wanted influence over Maya. They wanted a claim on the bloodline. I refused to be a passive pawn waiting for lawyers and Damien to handle everything. As head of the Maya Foundation I had resources and authority. It was time to use them.I kissed the top of Maya’s head and called for the nanny to watch her for a while. Then I sat at the large
The moment Julian De Witt stepped into the glittering New York art gala I felt the air thicken with danger and I knew this evening would test every ounce of control Damien and I had left.I stood beside Damien in the grand ballroom of the Metropolitan Museum of Art my hand resting lightly on his arm. The high profile event had been carefully arranged to project strength and normalcy after the recent threats. Crystal chandeliers cast warm light over the crowd of New York’s elite. Paintings worth millions hung on the walls while waiters moved silently with trays of champagne. We had come to protect our reputation. To show the world that the Langford family stood united and unbroken. But inviting Julian had been a necessary risk. The De Witts had made their claim clear. Ignoring them would only make them bolder. So we hosted him here in public where every move would be watched by hundreds of eyes.Maya was safe in the penthouse with our most trusted te
The security footage from the nursery breach played on loop in my mind as Damien prepared to leave the penthouse alone and I realized the man I loved was about to walk straight into the lion’s den for our daughter.I stood in the doorway watching him check his weapon one last time. His movements were precise and calm but I could see the fury burning beneath the surface. Julian De Witt had crossed a line that no one should ever cross. The antique coin on my nightstand had been a warning. A message that the De Witts could reach us anywhere even in our most protected space. Damien had not slept since the discovery. He had spent every waking hour tracking Julian’s movements through the city. Now he had located him on a private yacht anchored in the Hudson River. Instead of sending a team he had decided to go himself. I wanted to beg him to stay but I knew better. Maya’s safety was on the line and Damien would move mountains or burn them down to pro
The security chief’s face went pale when he pulled the small black device from behind the nursery wall and I felt Victor reach out from his grave to touch my daughter one last time.I stood frozen in the doorway of the nursery holding Maya in my arms as the team worked around us. She
The moment the lawyer spoke the words, I felt the ground shift beneath me like the floor of the world had opened up to swallow us all.I stood in the sterile conference room of the private hospital wing, my hand resting on my rounded belly, six months of life kicking steadily inside me as
The sound of breaking glass shattered the air like a thousand screams, and I watched the man who had owned my life for so long disappear over the edge into nothing.I lay strapped to the hospital bed in Victor’s private clinic, my wrists and ankles raw from pulling against the leathe
The sound of Damien’s fist connecting with Victor’s jaw echoed through the medical suite like a crack of thunder, and I realized this was the moment the father and son had been racing toward since the beginning.I lay strapped to the hospital bed, the leather restraints cutting







