All Chapters of Strangers in the End: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The steward took it, glanced at it once, and immediately called out with the utmost respect, "Donna. Please, this way to the second floor."A ripple of shock ran through the crowd.Someone muttered under their breath, "Did you see that? That looked like the Thorne family crest.""No way. She carries the crest, and he called her Donna. Don't tell me she's Don Thorne's wife?"The rustling murmurs wouldn't let up, and they were honestly starting to grate.A cold edge sharpened in my eyes, and I turned to walk away, only for a cool, strong hand to clamp down hard around my wrist.Eli's grip was heavy enough to nearly crush the bone, his cool palm carrying that cold scent that belonged to him alone.It was the scent the old me had known best, and now it did nothing but turn my stomach.A panic I couldn't read churned in his eyes, his knuckles digging into my flesh, refusing to loosen even a fraction. "You're married? And to Leon Thorne, of all people?"Karina stood off to one side, her shri

On the velvet tray lay a pair of gilded twin-band rings.The engraving was intricate and exquisite, the craftsmanship flawless, a clever mechanism hidden inside.The auctioneer announced their history in a ringing voice and opened the bidding at thirty million.Karina was the first to raise her paddle, calling out in a high, sweet voice. "Eighty million!"I tapped the glass lightly with my fingertip and said flatly, "One hundred million."The whole hall went quiet for an instant, then erupted, every head tipping up toward mybox.The smile on Karina's face froze in a heartbeat, fury churning in her eyes."A hundred and thirty million! A stray out of nowhere, and she dares bid against me?"She said it through gritted teeth, the mockery in her words plain for all to hear."A hundred and fifty million." My tone was even as I named the new figure.Talk broke out below, plenty of them settling in to watch the show.Humiliated into a rage, Karina shot to her feet and shrieked, "A hundred and

Heavy and chaotic footsteps sounded at the entrance to the hall.Dozens of black-clad bodyguards swept in around a middle-aged man with graying temples as he strode into the hall.The bulge of a snub-nosed pistol showed plainly at his waist. This was Karina's own father, Anthony, the former Don of the Perrone family.Anthony's features were mean and sinister, and the moment he came through the door his eyes locked onto me in the main box upstairs.He lifted a hand, and every bodyguard behind him drew, raising their guns in unison to aim my way, the dense cold glint of metal pressing the guests into holding their breath and shrinking back.He charged up the stairs in long strides, his heavy leather shoes thudding against the marble.He looked me up and down with open contempt, his tone insufferably arrogant. "Layla? Long time no see. You dare cause trouble at Thorne's auction, and put a gun to my daughter's head? You've got a death wish!"I lowered my hand, and Karina instantly threw he

That cry of "Don" was like a thunderclap, bursting through the dead-silent hall.He came on against the light, the hem of his black coat sweeping with each step, the cold white glow tracing the knife-sharp line of his profile.There wasn't a shred of warmth in those deep-set eyes, as though he were looking down on a swarm of ants."Who gave you the nerve to point a gun at my wife?"His voice wasn't loud. It even carried a lazy, offhand ease, yet it bore a suffocating authority that landed heavy on every heart in the room.Anthony's arrogant, mean face froze in an instant, his pupils shuddering violently.He stared fixedly at Leon, lips trembling, staggering two uncontrolled steps before he barely caught his balance."D-Don Thorne?"Anthony's voice was as dry as sandpaper scraping. "You just said... she's your..."Leon didn't look at him, only climbed the stairs at a measured pace.The sound of his leather shoes on the marble struck at Anthony's taut nerves, one beat after another.He c

In the footage, I went to the archive room as usual to check the accounts.The camera caught it clearly, too: when I left the archive room, my hands were empty.And after I'd gone, Karina, in an extravagant gown, slipped into the room, opened the safe, and hurried off with a stack of classified files tucked against her chest.Before she left, she even made a point of wiping away her own fingerprints.The whole hall exploded, murmurs surging up on every side.Karina looked at her own profile, sharp and clear on the screen, and a violent shudder ran through her as she shrilled back, "This is fabricated! You got someone to doctor the footage! Eli, say something, it was you yourself who ruled she was the thief back then!"She whipped her head around toward Eli at the door of the box across the way, desperate for some shred of support.Eli stood frozen where he was.Beneath the silver-gray hair, his features were ashen, his lips opening and closing again and again without a single word comi