Deal with the Dark Don
img img Deal with the Dark Don img Chapter 3 Desperate Edges
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Chapter 6 Shame and Salvation img
Chapter 7 Night of Fire img
Chapter 8 Fragile Victory img
Chapter 9 Seeds of Betrayal img
Chapter 10 Ghosts of the Past img
Chapter 11 Velvet Chains img
Chapter 12 Loyal Shadows img
Chapter 13 Breaking Point img
Chapter 14 Traitor's Whispers img
Chapter 15 Echoes of Betrayal img
Chapter 16 Rival's Envy img
Chapter 17 Family Secrets img
Chapter 18 Shattered Trust img
Chapter 19 Passion and Power img
Chapter 20 Fragile Hope img
Chapter 21 Life's Burden img
Chapter 22 Obsessive Vows img
Chapter 23 Corrupt Shadows img
Chapter 24 Traitor's Game img
Chapter 25 Shared Ghosts img
Chapter 26 Political Games img
Chapter 27 Jealous Flames img
Chapter 28 Loyalty Tested img
Chapter 29 Proposal's Weight img
Chapter 30 Double Stakes img
Chapter 31 Double Agent img
Chapter 32 Truth's Edge img
Chapter 33 Traitor's Move img
Chapter 34 Mother's Memory img
Chapter 35 Collision Course img
Chapter 36 Wounded Hearts img
Chapter 37 Past Promises img
Chapter 38 Circle of Trust img
Chapter 39 Dangerous Allies img
Chapter 40 Public Facade img
Chapter 41 Hidden Truths img
Chapter 42 Confrontation's Heat img
Chapter 43 Rival's Play img
Chapter 44 Fractured Loyalty img
Chapter 45 Mother's Warning img
Chapter 46 Bug's Revelation img
Chapter 47 Tangled Hearts img
Chapter 48 Ambush Aftermath img
Chapter 49 Armed Choices img
Chapter 50 Traitor's Mask img
Chapter 51 Knife's Edge img
Chapter 52 Protective Chains img
Chapter 53 Rival's Threat img
Chapter 54 Trust's Fracture img
Chapter 55 Political Pawn img
Chapter 56 Stalker's Shadow img
Chapter 57 Mother's Past img
Chapter 58 Confession's Weight img
Chapter 59 Corrupt Deals img
Chapter 60 Ledger's Secrets img
Chapter 61 Caught in Lies img
Chapter 62 Rival Alliance img
Chapter 63 Leaked Truths img
Chapter 64 Twin Stakes img
Chapter 65 Gift of Fear img
Chapter 66 Stolen Light img
Chapter 67 Ransom's Price img
Chapter 68 Traitor's Sabotage img
Chapter 69 Escape's Edge img
Chapter 70 Flames of Rescue img
Chapter 71 Hospital Shadows img
Chapter 72 Corrupt Smiles img
Chapter 73 Political Pressure img
Chapter 74 Hidden Allies img
Chapter 75 Betrayal's Cost img
Chapter 76 Gunpoint Truths img
Chapter 77 Rival's Return img
Chapter 78 Cracked Loyalty img
Chapter 79 Hospital Ambush img
Chapter 80 Heartbeat's Fear img
Chapter 81 Note's Warning img
Chapter 82 Evidence Exposed img
Chapter 83 Shadowed Pursuit img
Chapter 84 Friend in Danger img
Chapter 85 Ultimatum's Weight img
Chapter 86 Into the Den img
Chapter 87 Captive Again img
Chapter 88 Betrayed Assault img
Chapter 89 Trap's Chaos img
Chapter 90 Bullet's Path img
Chapter 91 Critical Care img
Chapter 92 Public Threat img
Chapter 93 Media Storm img
Chapter 94 Family Leverage img
Chapter 95 Trust's Trial img
Chapter 96 Under Fire img
Chapter 97 Desperate Stand img
Chapter 98 Betrayed Assault img
Chapter 99 Labor's Danger img
Chapter 100 Last Stand img
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Chapter 3 Desperate Edges

Scarlett Boone's flat was a tight shrine to survival, its peeling wallpaper and thrift-store furnishings saturated in the sharp aroma of disinfectant and sadness. In the living room, a hospital bed dominated the space, where Eleanor lay, her face haggard, her breaths shallow and strained. Scarlett stood by the bed, her auburn hair falling into her doe-like eyes, her wiry figure trembling as she counted crumpled cash from her diner shifts.

At twenty-three, she was a phantom on Birmingham's bustling streets, her little body haggard from hunger and exhaustion, her hands rough from scrubbing dishes. To the city, she was nobody, a waitress scraping by, but to Ivy and the nurses who took her frantic payments for Eleanor's cancer treatments, she was a light of obstinate optimism. The weight of her mother's illness crushed against her chest, each bill a reminder of the war she couldn't afford to lose.

The phone rang, slashing through the silence like a sword. Scarlett seized it, her heart thumping. "Miss Boone," the hospital administrator's voice was chilly, professional. "The surgery's off. Your payment's short."

"I paid everything I had," Scarlett replied, her voice quivering, fingers squeezing on the phone. "She's dying! You can't do this!"

"You need the full amount by tomorrow," he added, his tone stern. "Or we let her go."

"Tomorrow?" With her eyes burning and her voice raspy with fright, Scarlett spoke up. "That isn't feasible! She urgently needs that operation!

He yelled, "Rules are rules," and the line died, leaving her ear buzzing hollowly.

With her sobbing buried on her knees, Scarlett collapsed to the floor next to Eleanor's bed. She reached out to touch her mother's weak hand, its skin cool and paper-thin, whispering, "Mama, I'm trying." A painful, short-lived fantasy of escape that was now buried beneath the weight of reality was the recollection of the masquerade's kiss. She had been roused to recklessness by the stranger's steel-blue gaze and lips, but she couldn't afford the luxury.

Ivy rushed in as the door opened, her green eyes burning with worry and her blond curls wild. The leather creaked under the weight of her bag as she dropped it upon the drooping couch. "You appear to have been struck by a truck, Scar," she remarked as she knelt next to her. "What's happening?"

Using the back of her hand to wipe away her tears, Scarlett murmured in a hollow voice, "They're canceling Mama's surgery." "Ivy, I have no money left. Too late.

With a strong voice, Ivy grabbed Scarlett's shoulders and screamed, "Then we fight." "Girl, you're not alone in this. We will work things out.

"How?" With a snap, Scarlett threw the money jar on the floor, causing the coins to rattle. "All I have is this! Some change and a few of dollars. It's insufficient!

Ivy's gaze grew softer, but her hold remained tight. She said with a sneaky smile, "That guy from the masquerade." He appeared to have a lot of money. Scar, he might be your chance.

Scarlett's cheeks reddened as she recalled the stranger's kiss, his touch, his aroma, and how he had given her a sense of life. She shook her voice and twisted the hem of her diner uniform as she continued, "I don't even know his name." "He is merely a shadow."

Ivy's tone was intense as she said, "Then find him." "Scar, you have that fire. Make use of it. No one is going to grant you a miracle.

Scarlett nodded, uncertainty eating away at her determination like a ravenous rat. As she dug through her luggage for the masquerade invitation, an unmarked letter fell out and landed on the floor with a gentle thump. She gasped as she opened it and saw pictures of her kissing the stranger beneath the lights in the ballroom, her face visible through the lace mask. As she gave them to Ivy, cold, piercing fear curled in her gut. With her hands shaking and her voice hardly heard, she murmured, "Who took these?"

Ivy's eyes grew wide as she traced the glossy pictures with her fingers. "Scar," she added in a low, frantic voice, "someone's watching you." This isn't just any creep. This is a premeditated action.

A note with the following incisive and methodical handwriting was tucked inside the envelope: "Midnight, diner parking lot." Come by yourself.

"Who is involved in this?" With her pulse racing like a caged bird, Scarlett asked in a tremulous voice. "Why me?"

Taking hold of her arm, Ivy remarked, "You're in something deep." "Are you attending that meeting?"

Fear clawed at Scarlett's chest, but her jaw set, determination hardening her features. Even though her hands were still shaking, she spoke steadily now and said, "For Mama." "I have no other option."

With blazing green eyes, Ivy nodded. With a tone that left no room for debate, she declared, "Then I'm coming with you." "Close, but not quite." You're not alone in this.

With a faint smile, Scarlett's heart warmed with thanks. "Thank you, Ivy," she murmured quietly. "But if this doesn't work out..."

"It won't," Ivy interrupted, her smile ferocious. "Scar, you're tougher than you appear."

The diner parking lot was a puddle of darkness at midnight, and the smell of rain-soaked pavement and gasoline filled the air. With her auburn hair catching the faint illumination of a flickering neon sign, Scarlett stood by herself, her sneakers scuffing the damp pavement. Despite the fact that her heart was beating like a battle drum, she straightened her shoulders and resisted giving in to terror. "Show yourself!" she yelled, her voice piercing the quiet, defiant and keen despite the shaking in her palms.

A towering, powerful person with a distinct silhouette against the neon glow arose from the shadows. In the low light, his eyes gleamed like a predator's, and his weight drained her lungs of breath.

"Who are you?" Scarlett's fists were clinched at her sides to conceal her trembling, but her voice was strong as she asked.

With a silky and menacing voice, he murmured, "Your only hope," and moved closer until his shadow fully engulfed hers.

            
            

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