ALINA’S POV

“OH SHITY”

Standing in front of me with a scowl on his face was Ace.

How the heck did he know I was here!

bAce /bwas always with Lucian. Him being here could only mean one thing–Lucian knew I was here.

I walked toward him and quietly slid into the car door he was holding open for me.

I was relieved to see that Lucian wasn’t in the car, but I knew the storm i was heading into back at the mansion.

“Where bis /bLucian?” I tried to make small talk bas /bAce slid into the driver’s seat and zoomed off!--

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He red at me through the rearview mirror, and I was certain that if he had his way, he’d drive me off a cliff.

Boss is in the mansion.” He grunted before focusing back on the road.

“How mad is he, on a scale of one to ten?” bI /basked nervously, ying with my fingers.

“Twenty Ace said sharply.

“Oh boy.” I muttered under my breath.

It wasn’t my intention to sneak out, and it definitely wasn’t my intention toe see Adrian, but it had to be done. I only hoped I could make Lucian believe this was purely for revenge and nothing more.

“I know it’s not in my ce.” Ace’s voice dragged my attention to him. “But you really shouldn’t have gone to see Adrian.” He tried to keep his tone respectful, but I could hear the spite beneath it.

“You wouldn’t understand, Ace.” I sighed.

“Oh, I understand alright.” He snapped. “You really can’t let go of that scheming boyfriend of yours, and I really don’t care. All I care about is that you stop hurting Boss.”

“bYou don’t /bbknow /bwhat you’re btalking /babout, Ace, so I advise you mind byour /bdamn business,” I shot back, not appreciating his tone one bu.

bI /bbgot /bit he was trying to look out for Lucian, and I respected him for that. But he didn’t know a damn thing about what’s going on, a

and frankly, I couldn’t be bothered exining it to him either. The only person who deserved an exnation was the fuming bman /bwaiting for me at home.

Truth hurts, doesn’t it?” He muttered, shooting a smirk at me through the rearview mirror.

And all I wanted to do was wipe it off his silly face.

“You know what will hurt more?” I asked, bnot /bwaiting for him to banswer/b. “bYour /bbface /bwhen bLucian /bfinds out how you just spoke to me.

And that,dies and gentlemen, wiped the smirk right off his bface/b.

I didn’t want to threaten him, but he was honestly asking for it.

“My apologies, madame. I was out of line.” bHe /bbsaid/b, and for once, his tone was genuine.

bDamn /bright he was out of line.

1 was still bupset/b, but honestly, he was the least of my worries right now.

I didn’t bother responding. Instead, I leaned my head against the window, watching the scenery blur post. The rest of the ride was quiet, thankfully.

When the car approached the enormous gates of the ckwood estate, my heart began to race again. As we drove up the winding driveway toward the mansion, I nced around.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary but only if you didn’t know what you were looking for.

Half of the guards were missing.

“Where the hell is everyone!” I whispered to myself.

The car came to a halt in front of the grand mansion doors, and I wasted no time getting out and heading inside,

The air inside the mansion felt thick–gloomy. It waste, but the staff were still bustling around, none of them daring to leave.

I noticed a servant cleaning the hallway mirror. It was already sparkling, yet she kept scrubbing at it like a robot on a mission.

She was scared. They ball /bwere.

And only one person could provoke this kind of bfear/b.

Lucian

“Where is Lucian?” bI /basked aloud,

Maya rushed toward me, looking genuinely relieved to see me. The tension in the room was so thick, it could be cut with a knife.

“Wee back, Madame” She greeted me

“Where is Lucian, Maya?” I repeated my earlier question, my voice a little more firmer this time.

“Ma’am, Master Lucian is in the training room. She responded.

The training room.

It was where all the guards in the house did their workouts and trained. Lucian always employed the best of the best.

In my past life, I knew of bthe /btraining room because Lucian would always go there to relieve his rage whenever I pissed him off, but I bhad /bnever actually been there before. I didn’t even know which part of the mansion it was located in.

“Please take me there.” I implored.

I needed to do damage control, and fast.

“Right this way, ma’am.” She was all too eager to lead me.

We walked toward the west wing of the mansion, a ce I had never visited before–neither in bthis /blife nor thest. The hallway was identical to the east wing, yet somehow, it felt different. Colder. Heavier

We got to arge set of double doors, and she was just about to push them open when Ace came rushing up.

“bMaya/b, you bknow /bbetter than to do that.” He said bin /ba warning tone.

Maya’s hand paused on the door handle, and she quickly retracted it.

“bOpen /bthe door” I bordered /bMaya, but she didn’t move. Instead, she shot me an apologetic look.

I threw a quick re in her direction, then stepped forward to open the door myself–only to be blocked by Ace.

“Get out of my way, Ace. I gritted out.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do that, bmadame/b,” he replied, his tone low and apologetic.

“Do not make me brepeal /bbmyself/b, bAce/b.” My patience was running precariously low.

*I’m doing this for your own good, ma’am. I wouldn’t advise byou /bto go in there.”

“Well, isn’t bit /ba good thing I didn’t bask /bfor your badvice/b, then?” I shot him a tight, fake smile. “Now move”

With a resigned sigh, he stepped aside..

I grabbed the handles of the double doors with both hands and pushed them open.

6.28 AM P·

My eyes widened at the horrifying sight that greeted meb. /b