Ale''s had barely stepped out of the apartment when his phone buzzed.
Carlos was on the line, and he sounded frantic.
"Sir, there is an emergency," Carlos blurted.
"What now?" Alex snapped, bracing himself for bad news.
"We''ve taken Han''s mansion and scooped up all his intel. Turns out he''s been dealing with Jericho Kane."
"I already know that. Give me something new."
"Han''s also joined forces with Charles Kingston.".
"What?" Alex''s tone darkened.
"He''s selling his sister, Jasmine, to seal Kingston''s leadership-with Han and Jericho backing him."
"Are you certain?" Alex demanded.
"Kelly went to confront Charles at his mansion. It''s been two hours... no word from her. We think something''s gone wrong, I''m requesting permission to storm the ce and get her out."
"Don''t bother," Alex cut in, his voice like ice.
"I''ll handle this myself. If they''ve hurt her, I swear I''ll kill Charles with my own hands. "
"Yes, sir," Carlos said, then the line went dead.
Alex nced at the sky, a muscle jumping in his jaw. Power crackled through him,
and in one explosive burst, he leapt into the air and vanished.
A heartbeatter, Sophia appeared from behind the building.
She looked around, confusion etched on her face.
"He was here a second ago," she whispered, frustration welling up. "How does he always vanish so fast?"
Guilt gnawed at her.
Alex had been doing everything he could to free her from Jasper, yet everything had spiraled into chaos.
Maybe he''d hoped to apologize to her, but it wasn''t even his fault in the first ce.
Earlier, in front of her parents, Marco and Megan, Sophia couldn''t find the courage to stand up for Alex as everyone med him.
Now, slipping away from them, she was determined to find Alex and apologize.
"He definitely went this way. How could he just... vanish?" Sophia murmured, her chest tightening with an uneasy dread.
This time, it felt like Alex might truly walk away from her, and the thought was unbearable.
"Sophia, you''re so stupid," she whispered to herself.
A few hours before, Kelly had barreled down the road toward the Kingston mansion, rage pounding in her veins.
She mmed her car to a stop, then burst into Charles''s study with murder in her eyes.
"Kelly," Charles said, standing stiff by his desk. "Why the sudden visit?"
Kelly stomped over and threw a smartwatch onto the table, ring at him. "Exin this."
Charles barely nced at it. "What is it?"
"Han''s watch," she shot back. "Enough games, I know you''ve teamed up with the Drakes to bring down your own family, all behind Jasmine''s back!".
Charles let out a slow, mockingugh. "Wow, did you rim all the way here? You''re dripping with sweat."
He wrinkled his nose. "That sweet smell of yours... It''s a little too much."
Picking up a nearby perfume bottle, he rolled it between his fingers before spraying a burst of it right in front of her, like a bully tormenting a defenseless animal
"Don''t change the subject!" Kelly yelled, her anger sizzling.
Charles exhaled, stepping closer. "I''m the Kingston firstborn. Everything was supposed to be mine-Vancouver''s entire legacy. But somehow, it''s all going to Jasmine."
"It''s your father''s call!" Kelly retorted.
His voice turned soft, dangerously so. "Kelly, I''ve loved you for five years. I''ve tried everything to make you mine, yet you keep standing by Jasmine. Why?"
"Because she''s better," Kelly hissed without blinking.
Charles shook his head. "You think that''s the reason? No. I''ve been too easygoing for too long. That ends now. I''m done letting anyone tell me what I can or can''t have."
"You''re unhinged," Kelly spat.
Charles leaned in, eyes glinting with something cruel. "No, I''m finally wide awake. And I''m going to take what''s mine. Starting with you, Kelly. You know how I feel about you."
"Love can''t be forced, you maniac!" Kelly roared. "I''ll tell your father everything. Let''s see you worm your way out of that!"
She spun on her heel, but before she reached the door, her vision swam, and she crumpled.
Her heart pounded with sudden horror. She realized it toote-the perfume.
It was a drug.
Charles crouched beside her, lifting her chin with a casual cruelty. "A little gift from Jericho Kane. Han gave it to me as a show of good faith."
Kelly''s vision blurred. She felt something hard pressed between her lips.
A pill. She twisted her head, spitting it out, but Charles seized her jaw and slugged her in the gut.
"You''ll swallow it," he growled. "And then you''ll ept me as your master."
She felt the pill dissolving on her tongue, a bitter tang clinging to the back of her throat.
"You bastard!" she gasped.
"Fight it all you want," Charles sneered. "You''ll be begging for me soon enough."
Summoning everyst shred of will, Kelly shoved him off and hurled herself toward the nearest window.
She crashed through, shards of ss exploding in the air.
Pain tore at her skin, but shended hard outside and started running.
"Damn it! Second floor!" Charles shouted, dumbfounded. She wasn''t supposed to have the strength to escape.
Two guards charged in. "Young Master, is something wrong?"
"Kelly stole something from rie!" Charles barked. "Bring her back Now!"
Kelly careened down the road, her grip on the wheel slipping as waves of heat surged through her.
The drug was an aphrodisiac, and it seared through her veins with relentless fire.
"That filthy bastard," she muttered through clenched teeth.
Her focus wavered as her body fought against the drug''s effects.
Suddenly her head reeled as a truck''s horn thundered in her ears.
She jerked the wheel, lost control, and her car screeched across the pavement toward the guardrail.
-rattling jolt.
It mmed to a halt, wedged against the metal with a teeth-
Before she could breathe, another car barreled out of nowhere, plowing into her.
The guardrail gave way, and her vehicle careened down a steep embankment. Branches whipped at the windows, cracking the hood, until she crashed headlong into a towering tree.
The airbag exploded, smashing her back against the seat.
Pain ripped through her ribs, burning in her lungs. Rain trickled in through the shattered windshield, and the scent of wet earth clung to twisted steel.
Suddenly, two figures appeared, yanking open her door. One seized her arm and snarled,
"Kelly, you''d better go back to Young Master Charles and return whatever you took."
"I didn''t steal anything," she rasped, her voice ragged.
"Then exin yourself," the other snapped, raising a gun. "We''re not ying around here, Kelly."
"Neither am I," she shot back, voice trembling but fierce.
In a sh, she pulled out her own weapon and fired twice. The shots cracked through the rain-soaked day, and the men dropped before they could react.
Panting, Kelly realized she was still alive-barely.
But with Charles''s men on her trail, time was running short.
She drew a shaky breath, shutting her eyes as she fought to steady her heart.
She will rise, fierce and unbroken, against the tide meant to drown her.
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