All Chapters of OWNED IN THE DARK: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

MATHEWThe private executive lift didn't just carry us to the top floor; it felt like it was hoisting us out of the wreckage of a war zone.The white lights of the elevator cabin hummed overhead, but my eyes never left the woman standing inches from me. Ciara had her reading glasses back on, her grey blazer pulled tight, but her fingers were still vibrating against the leather of her briefcase. The scent of our frantic release in the garage was still trapped in the fabric of her clothes, thick and intoxicating."You're still pale," she murmured, her voice flat and professional, though her eyes were tracking the erratic pulse in my throat."The Afrodisiac is almost gone, Ciara," I growled, my voice a rough, gravelly rasp as I stepped into her space, my broad chest pinning her slightly against the mirrored paneling. "The only thing running through my veins right now is you.""I have a board brief in forty minutes," she whispered, her lips barely moving as she looked up at me through th

MATHEWThe master bathroom was still thick with the humid, heavy scent of our encounter when I finally stepped out of the steam. I had just finished washing the last traces of Maggie’s chemical cocktail from my skin, my muscles finally responding to my commands without the sluggish, terrifying lag that had nearly killed me in Shoreditch.I fastened the belt of a dark grey robe, my eyes automatically tracking the state of our bedroom. The heavy charcoal overcoat I’d draped over Ciara was gone. The bed was empty, the silk sheets ruffled where she had been sleeping off the sheer, exhausting weight of how I’d taken her.My internal alarm system instantly spiked.I strode out into the corridor, my bare feet silent against the heavy runner rugs of the private wing. I didn't get more than three paces toward the nursery before the localized security terminal near the stairwell flashed a steady, silent amber. A data breach warning."Louis," I muttered, tapping my earpiece as I headed down the

MATHEWThe Grand Ballroom of the Savoy was blinding. Crystal chandeliers dripped white light over six hundred of London’s elite, the air thick with the suffocating smell of expensive champagne, roasted truffles, and high-society hypocrisy. It was the annual Horizon Holdings Children’s Charity Gala. We were here to raise millions for medical research; operationally, it was a high-tier security deployment wrapped in black-tie silk.I stood by the towering marble pillars near the edge of the dance floor, my arms crossed over my chest. The tailored tuxedo I wore felt tighter than a tactical vest, the silk bow tie a literal noose. My eyes never stopped scanning the room, executing a continuous sweep from the VIP balcony down to the service entryways.After the Mayfair courtyard ambush three days ago, my threat assessment matrix was pinned in the red. The criminal Mary and my mother had dismantled was currently rotting in our basement isolation cells, but the fallout from the Richmond leak

MATHEWThe custom engine of the SUV cut out, leaving nothing but the aggressive, ticking heat of the radiator to break the absolute silence of the estate.I didn't wait for the security team to clear the gravel. I was out of the driver’s seat before the vehicle had fully settled, my boots crushing the stone as I tore across the courtyard toward the grand entrance of the mansion. The black-tie tuxedo jacket was already gone, ripped off and tossed somewhere on the A40, leaving me in nothing but my black dress shirt with the sleeves aggressively rolled up to my elbows. My boxer’s knuckles were white, the heavy, metallic ache in my hands demanding something—someone—to break."Louis!" I roared, slamming the reinforced double doors open.The grand foyer was flooded with defensive white light of a level-one lockdown. Louis was leaning against the sweeping marble staircase, his encrypted tablet cradled in one arm, a remarkably calm expression on his face that instantly lowered the erratic, fr

CIARA"Ciara, darling," Carlista murmured, gesturing with her espresso spoon toward the reception lobby. "I know we’ve spent the last twenty-four hours mapping a multi-billion-pound infrastructure conspiracy involving my unhinged family, but I believe our primary logistical bottleneck at this exact moment is sitting in Mary’s inbox."I didn't answer immediately. I tapped my fingers against the keyboard, pulling up the real-time security logs for the executive floor."Louis," I said into my wireless earpiece, my voice dropping into that flat, icy plateau of pure professional exhaustion. "Why are there four massive, stone-faced men in tailored Brioni suits standing directly outside the elevator bank wearing ear-pieces that use a localized Kremlin encryption matrix?""Ah. Glad you noticed, Ciara," Louis’s voice crackled back, completely devoid of his usual stoic discipline. He sounded like he was trying very hard not to burst into a full-scale riot of laughter. "The outer perimeter hasn'