𝙱𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝙸𝚗 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚜

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟸: 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚄𝚗𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚍

---

The weight of Darius's revelation pressed on Elara like a

heavy blanket. Vincent. The name echoed in her mind

long after their conversation had ended. She could still

see the way Darius's face had hardened when he said

the name, the fear in his eyes that he tried so hard to

mask. This man-this shadow from his past-was more

dangerous than anything they'd faced before, and it

terrified her to think that Darius had carried this burden

alone for so long.But Darius had given her no more than

the name. No details, no explanations-just another wall

of silence that left her feeling helpless. She hated it. She

wasn't one to sit around and wait for answers to fall

into her lap. If Darius wouldn't open up completely, she'd

find the truth on her own. For the sake of their

relationship-for the sake of the love they'd fought so

hard to protect-Elara knew she had to uncover the

secrets of Darius's past.The next morning, Elara sat at

her laptop, the screen glowing with the familiar blue

light as she began typing "Vincent" into the search bar.

But just like she feared, it was a dead end. There

were hundreds of men with that name, none of them

connected to Darius's world of shadows and secrets.

Frustrated but undeterred, Elara clicked through page

after page, diving deeper into the abyss of information.

She knew this search wouldn't be easy. Darius's past was

buried beneath layers of deceit, and she needed to dig

deeper,to find the loose thread that would unravel the

entire story.Hours passed, and her coffee had long since

grown cold by the time she stumbled upon something-a

small, obscure article tucked away in the dark corners of

the internet. It was from years ago, detailing an

underground crime syndicate that had once been

thought dismantled but whose key players had

seemingly disappeared without a trace.Her heart raced

as she scrolled through the article. There it was: Vincent

Devereaux. The name sent a chill down her spine, and

when she saw the photo attached, it became all too real.

The man in the picture had sharp, calculating eyes and a

cruel smirk that seemed to burn through the screen.

According to the article, Vincent had been a leader in an

underground crime ring that specialized in arms dealing,

extortion, and even human trafficking. He was known

for being ruthless, leaving no survivors in his wake when