Lyra's POV
I couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.
Leo's presence still lingered in the air, thick and suffocating, even though he'd left the room hours ago. I could still feel the heat of his breath against my skin, the possessive grip of his hands, the way his voice had dropped to a dangerous whisper as he told me I was his.
But it wasn't just Leo anymore. Adrian was a shadow in the background, always watching. I felt like I was suffocating, trapped in a web of control and power that was tightening around me with every passing day. And the worst? The part that kept me awake at night?
I couldn't trust either of them.
I ran my hands through my hair, pacing the length of my room, my thoughts spinning. Leo's touch had sent a rush of heat through me, but it wasn't just desire. It was fear. Fear of what he was capable of. Fear of what he might do next. Fear that I was losing more than just control,I was losing myself.
I needed answers. The puzzle pieces Adrian had dropped into my lap, the cryptic warnings from Leo, it all felt like some twisted game that I didn't understand. And somehow, I was the center of it.
My heart raced as I grabbed my phone and dialed the number I never thought I'd use again. My father's lawyer. The man who had handled all of our family's affairs after my dad's death. I hadn't spoken to him in years, but I needed to know if there was any truth to what Adrian had said.
As the phone rang,my stomach twisted in knots,dread building up.
"Ms.Carson?" The voice on the other end was as smooth as ever, but I could hear the hesitation. "What can I do for you?"
"I need information," I said, my voice shaky but firm. "About my father. About our family's... connection to the Mafia."
There was a long pause on the other line. I could hear his breathing, could almost picture him, sitting at the desk, weighing the options. He didn't want to tell me. That was clear.
" Ms.Carson,it would best if—"
" I'm not asking," I cut him off. " I need to know. Now."
Another pause. Then, a deep sigh. "Your father... he made certain choices, Ms. Carson. Choices that tied him to the Weston family. To Leo Weston's father, specifically."
I froze, my heart dropping into my stomach. Leo's father?
"What kind of choices?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"He owed them a debt. A very large one. Your father wasn't just doing business with the Mafia, Ms. Carson. He was in deep, and when he couldn't pay his debts, he made arrangements to settle them."
"Arrangements?" My throat tightened. "What kind of arrangements?"
Another pause, longer this time. "There was an agreement made, one that would clear your family's debt. Your father... he promised something in return."
My chest felt like it was closing in. "What did he promise?"
The lawyer hesitated, then said the words that shattered my world. "You, Ms. Carson. He promised you."
The phone slipped from my hand, crashing to the floor as the weight of his words sank in. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. The walls felt like they were closing in, pressing down on me, suffocating me.
Promised me?
I stumbled back, collapsing onto the edge of the bed, my mind spinning, replaying the conversation over and over. My father had promised me to the Weston Family? To Leo's family?
I wasn't just caught in a power struggle between Leo and Adrian. I was owned. I had been promised like a piece of property, like a pawn in a game I didn't even know I was playing.
I thought back to all the cryptic warnings, the way Leo had said I belonged to him. The way Adrian had talked about the debt, the bloodline. I had thought they were just trying to manipulate me, to pull me into their twisted world of control and power. But it wasn't just that.
It was deeper. Darker. My family was part of it. And now, I was trapped in the middle of it.
My hands were shaking as I tried to process what I'd just learned. I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to believe this was all some horrible nightmare that I could wake up from, that none of this was real.
But it was real. And the worst part? There was no way out.
Leo had been right. Adrian had been right. There was no escaping this. No matter how hard I fought, no matter how much I resisted, I was bound to them. bound by a debt that had been written in blood long before I had any say in it.
I was nothing more than a pawn in a game that was older than me, older than my father. A game of power, control, and violence. And now, I was the prize.
A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about Leo's possessive touch, his dark, predatory eyes. He wasn't just claiming me because he wanted me. He was claiming me because I had been promised to him.
There was no running. No hiding. I was his now.
And I had never felt more terrified in my life.