Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
For years, I lived in a gilded cage—a penthouse built of lies.
Groomed. Controlled. Owned.
My stepfather thought obedience was bred into my bones.
He should’ve fire only needs a spark.
They came like shadows in the night.
Seven men with blood on their hands and darkness in their eyes.
Barbieri and his crew didn’t rescue me—they kidnapped me.
But somewhere between the threats and the hard stares…
I started to breathe again.
Their leader watches me with cold calculation, seeing both weapon and weakness.
Hands that kill touch me with unexpected gentleness.
Eyes that have witnessed horrors linger on my skin.
Their whispers promise vengeance.
Their touches promise something else entirely.
They were only supposed to use me as leverage.
Now, they’re the only ones who make me feel free.
But when a secret I didn’t plan threatens everything we’ve built…
Who will be left standing in the ashes?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
PROLOGUE
PEARL
I woke up but kept my eyes closed. Something's wrong.
The sensation of restraints on my wrists and ankles made my heart race. Panic flickered in my chest as I tugged against the restraints, the chill of the metal sinking deeper into my skin.
How long had they kept me unconscious? Hours? Days?
The last clear memory I had was of that fire alarm in my building, strange men appearing like ghosts in my hallway. Then the helicopter ride into darkness, my world narrowed to sound and touch and fear.
I didn't want to open my eyes. But curiosity and fear battled within me, and I knew I had to look.
Slowly, I raised my eyelids, and I immediately regretted it.
The room I was in was dark, almost pitch black. I could make out a gray steel table in front of the chair I was bound to, and a very wide mirror on the wall behind it that was obviously also a viewing window for whoever was behind that. There was a door to the left, and I took strange comfort in that fact. If this is hell, at least it's got an exit.
Even in the dim light, I could make out my reflection in the window. My appearance was immaculate as always—perfect makeup and long blonde hair flowing just so. It was exactly how my stepfather demanded I look at all times. But his rules were the least of my problems now.
For a brief moment, I felt relieved to see no visible injuries, but then I nearly burst into tears as the gravity of my situation sank in. The adrenaline that had carried me through the kidnapping was fading, leaving behind a strange clarity.
Where was I? What the fuck was happening?
My chest felt tight, like I couldn't get a full breath. My hands shook, and the edges of my vision started to blur, making it hard to focus.
The door suddenly opened, flooding the room with harsh light. I turned away from the blinding brightness, my heart pounding so hard I could barely breathe. For one terrifying moment, I saw a shadow in the doorway.
Then the door closed, and darkness swallowed me again. But now I wasn't alone anymore.
My heart raced as footsteps crossed the floor, measured and controlled. The scrape of a chair. Then, the flick of a lighter cut through the silence, followed by the acrid scent of cigarette smoke.
I couldn't really see his face, just the sharp lines of his clean-shaven jaw and the glint of his glasses. Despite my fear, I found myself trying to piece together his features in the darkness. After the calculating efficiency of the men who'd taken me, this one was something else entirely—dangerous in a way I couldn't quite define.
His voice broke through the silence. "You haven't called for help." His words came out calm, almost too casual, but carried an intensity that made my breath catch. Something in that voice stirred an unfamiliar feeling within me—a pull I couldn't explain and didn't dare examine too closely.
I bit my lip, trying to keep it from trembling. "My stepfather will pay your ransom, mister, if that's what you're after. He—"
"We know all about your stepfather," he interrupted, his tone sharp with certainty. "And you're right, he will pay. Just not necessarily with money."
He took a long drag on his cigarette, the ember briefly illuminating his sharp features. I shivered involuntarily.
"Tell me, what's the last thing you remember?"
The question hit me like a punch to the gut. Flashes of memory surged through my mind: The helicopter's blades cutting through the night sky. The strange gentleness of my captors despite everything. The dizzying sensation of taking off, of leaving my gilded cage behind.
Then... darkness.
I swallowed hard, reaching for whatever strength I had left.
"What do you want from me?" The words came out softer than I'd intended, but steadier than I felt.
He leaned forward, close enough that I caught the faint scent of cologne beneath the cigarette smoke. "Sweetheart, your stepfather's power can only get him so far. It's time for you to help us change the rules."
My hands trembled in my lap, but something in his voice—a hint of respect beneath the steel—made me lift my chin. "I don't know anything," I whispered.
"Oh, but you can help us, Pearl." The way he said my name sent a shiver through me, one I couldn't quite explain. "You will help us. Whether you want to or not."
The door opened again and more figures entered the room. Five... no, six new shadows joined the scene, each moving with the same lethal grace as their leader.
His cigarette cast one last golden glow across his perfect features.
And I knew I was in trouble when I wanted to see more.
1
PEARL
Three Days Earlier
Iran the ivory-handled brush through my blonde locks, counting each stroke until I hit fifty. The soft bristles, once my mother's, now mine, whispered against my scalp.