Chapter 55

🍾Christian’s POV...

Ahh, this brat. She really thought she could outrun me? Escape after making me fall so damn hard for her? I smirked to myself as I carried her over my shoulder, stepping out of the dense forest and onto the road. With a simple signal, Jaxon, my ever-efficient bodyguard, handed me an anaesthetic syringe. It was just a precaution—because knowing Stella, she'd either jump off the damn chopper or, worse, push me out of it.

Her furious curses rang in my ears as I placed her onto the seat, her eyes blazing with pure hatred. That’s my girl.

"You asshole! I don’t want to go with you! Take your damn chopper and fly your sick bastard ass far away from me!" she spat, her fists pounding against my chest.

I smiled. Distracting her was easy, just hold her gaze. She’d always meet my stare head-on, fierce as ever, but it made her oblivious to my hands working fast. In a swift motion, I jabbed the syringe into her arm.

"You—" she barely managed to accuse me before her body gave in, her eyes fluttering shut as sleep took over.

I exhaled, pulling her into my arms as the chopper lifted off. The entire flight, I kept her close, her warmth against me, her scent flooding my senses.

She was mine. Running was never an option. And she chose running away.

Thirty minutes later, we landed at the mansion. I carried her straight to our room, gently placing her on the bed. Ava was already waiting.

"Change her clothes," I instructed. "She’ll lose her mind if I do it."

Ava sighed but nodded, getting to work. I left her to it and made my way to the living room, where Nick, Liam, and MJ were already waiting.

Their gazes were sharp, questioning like they already knew I did something that would make even the devil raise an eyebrow.

/Flashback/

I was with them when my phone buzzed. Security.

"Sir, Stella tricked us," the guard said, his voice hesitant. "She told a saleslady that you were keeping her caged, and she helped her running away."

I hung up.

Clever girl. But why?

Nick had already tracked her, and I sure as hell wasn’t wasting my time driving through traffic like some peasant. I took the chopper instead. If she had even a second to admire my dramatic entry, she ruined it by cursing me to hell and back.

But she never really had a chance to escape. I always knew this day would come.

That’s why I put trackers in all her footwear.

No one ever checks shoes. If someone kidnapped her, tortured her, locked her up— they wouldn’t bother taking them off.

Smart. Me. Yes, baby.

As soon nick tracked her location, I flied to her.

/Flashback ends/

Nick cleared his throat, arms crossed. His tone was serious. “So, why was she running away from you, Chris? What the fuck did you do?”

I exhaled slowly, rubbing my temples. No point delaying it. They were my brothers. They’d find out anyway.

“Nothing serious,” I muttered. “I just chopped off her mother’s hands and cut out her father’s tongue.”

Silence.

Nick blinked. “You. Did. What. And you think that’s nothing serious?"

Liam raised an eyebrow. "You’re telling us this shit now?"

MJ just exhaled sharply, shaking his head.

“Who else knows?” Liam asked, his voice unnervingly calm.

“MJ, Titan, and Ragnar.”

Liam let out a slow breath, running a hand through his hair. "Chris, are you out of your goddamn mind? She’s going to fucking hate you. They were still her parents."

I shrugged. "They abused her. She should be grateful."

Nick’s jaw clenched. "You didn’t think this was important? You didn’t think she’d react?"

"No," I said honestly. "They treated her like shit. I assumed she wouldn’t care that much."

Nick let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "Chris, you dumb asshole. She still loved them. No matter what they did, they were her parents. And you—you just decided to butcher them like some kind of twisted gift?"

"It was necessary," I replied, voice cold.

"No, it was psychotic," Liam snapped. "And now she’s running away from you? Gee, I wonder why."

MJ crossed his arms. “This could ruin your entire relationship, Chris. You should’ve handled this better.”

I waved them off, uninterested. “She’ll get over it.”

Nick scoffed. "She better. Because if she doesn’t, you just burned every last chance you had with her."

MJ narrowed his eyes. "Do you at least know who told her?"

I gritted my teeth. “Not yet. But I’ll check her phone when Ava’s done.”

As if on cue, Ava stormed in, hands planted on her waist. Her glare could have melted steel.

"Alright, someone start explaining. What the actual fuck is going on?"

I sighed. "Nick will fill you in. I have something more important to do."

Nick shot me a glare, but I ignored it.

She groaned but didn’t argue. As Nick started explaining, I returned to our room.

Ava followed soon after, but this time, she had a smirk on her face. "You know, I gotta admit," she said, arms crossed, "you did a great job. After everything they did, this brings me some peace."

I nudged Nick and Liam with a smug grin. See? At least someone appreciates my brilliance. Idiots.

"But," Ava continued, serious now, "you’re not going to mistreat her if she tries to run away, right?"

I stayed silent.

"Chris." Ava’s voice sharpened. "Promise me."

I shook my head. "I don’t know, Ava. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her with me. Whether it's whatever-fuck."

She sighed, but I wasn’t in the mood for lectures. I stopped her before she could argue.

Then, I grabbed Stella’s phone from the table and pressed her fingerprint against it. The screen unlocked instantly.

Nick, Liam, MJ, and Ava hovered over me as I scrolled through her messages. An unknown number caught my attention. She had called her mother too. Interesting.

I clicked on the texts and found an image attached. A laugh escaped me.

Dramatic bastards. They really went all out.

I handed Nick a look—he nodded, understanding the assignment. He’d get every detail about that number.

But first, a little fun.

I called Betty. They both don't deserve respect, so I call them with their name.

She picked up, and I didn’t even let her speak before mocking, "Oops, sorry. I forgot- you don’t have hands."

Then, I hung up and immediately dialed Tom.

"Hey, Tom," I greeted smoothly. "Oh wait, shit, I forgot you can’t talk. Pass the phone to Betty, will you?"

Silence.

Then, a furious growl from Betty. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

I chuckled "Mind your tone."

She went silent for a second, then spoke again, much calmer. "What do you want, Mr. Knight?"

“That’s better.” I leaned back. “"Whom did you send your little Oscar-worthy ugly performance to?”

“What?” she feigned confusion. “I don’t understand.”

I asked, sending her the picture. "Don’t even try lying. Whom did you send it to?”

“I- We didn’t send anything. Maybe someone planted a camera at our house?”

I scoffed. “I’m not dumb, Betty. It’s a selfie. Try again.”

Silence.

Then, in a tiny voice, she admitted, “I just got a message… They offered me a lot of money. I got greedy. Please—”

I smirked. "Another lie."

She responded" I'm not lying."

I snapped "Another lie. Let’s meet. Now."

She gasped. "Chris, please--"

I hung up.

I called Titan.

Titan made a quick call to the guards stationed near their house. Within thirty minutes, both Betty and Tom were dragged into the mansion, their faces drained of all color.

I leaned against the desk, watching them struggle in the grasp of my men.

"Welcome to hell again, BASTARDS."