2025-06-16 15:30:16
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Sadie shook her head. Damn that thought.She nearly yanked off his necklace just to stop herself from thinking too hard, replacing it quickly with hers.Now it was his turn.She lowered her gaze, refusing to look at him. She had no idea what she’d do if their eyes met again.“All done,” Charles finally said. “Guard that necklace with all your strength.”“If I do, I won’t have any left for anything else,” she muttered. Then, after a breath, “But… did you really buy it with your first paycheck?”Charles nodded, silent.Somehow that meant more than words. A part of her felt it wasn’t just a necklace—it meant something. And the fact that he’d give that to her… made her feel more special than being Sadie Wyatt ever had.God. She was really going crazy.“I’ll make something for us,” she said, heading for the kitchen. “And don’t you dare tell me if you misplace that necklace.”“I should be tellin
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Sadie shot Charles a glare, signaling with her eyes for him to chill. He ignored her. God, she's never seen two friends who insult each other this way and managed to be on good terms. “Um… Thomas, don’t mind him,” she said quickly. “He’s a little... um…” “No need to explain,” Thomas said smoothly. “Men get defensive when I’m around their partner. I’m used to it.” The sarcasm was thick, matching Charles’ usual tone. “With that said, can we move to the point? Time matters here,” Charles said. Thomas listened as Sadie walked him through what happened. She hadn’t left out any detail, though she remembered very little. She’d fallen asleep and woken up to the mess. “I’ll get back to you,” Thomas said, standing up. “I’d appreciate it if you reached out to me instead,” Charles said, stepping forward. “My fiancée is a pretty woman. I don’t want people sniffing too close.” Sadi
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Charles gave him a side glance. “Do you need me to repeat myself?”“No, sir. My brain just malfunctioned for a second. I’ll handle it.”“Thank you so much, sir. I really—” the man broke into grateful tears.Charles cut him off coldly. “Let’s just hope we never meet again in real life.”He ended the call.By now, all the guards had gathered in front of the house. None of them said a word. Eyes on the ground. Silent.Sadie had already questioned them earlier, asking if anything strange happened overnight. But what were they supposed to say? “Sorry ma’am, we ate takeout and passed out like kids at a slumber party”? They knew they were done for.And this job? It wasn’t your average security gig. Sadie paid them real money. More than most got in a year under other A-listers.Now Charles was standing in front of them—and that made everything worse.It wasn’t his looks. It was the aura. The man
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She darted a glance at Charles—who was already walking toward the mirror.“You did this?” he asked, his voice low, cautious.“Must’ve been one of those fans,” she said with forced casualness, though her feet wouldn’t carry her even an inch farther into the room. “Don’t tell me you’re scared, Charles.” She tried a light tone. “Stuff like this happens to celebrities all the time.”Charles turned to her, disbelief etched across his face. “What?”“I guess someone broke in,” she shrugged. “Nothing new. That’s why I keep telling you—I’m not just some regular girl in New York.”Her eyes flicked toward her phone on the nightstand—but there was no way she was going near it. Not when she didn’t even know if she was still alone in that room.“I… I can’t find my phone, though,” she added, pretending to search around her.“Here.” Charles picked it up and handed it to her.She smiled, taking it. “You’ve got sharp ey
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Charles knocked on the gate once.Silence.There were no guards outside. Fair. It was midnight. Since he met Sadie, she hadn’t been getting midnight visitors, so the lack of presence didn’t feel off—at first.But two seconds later, after knocking again—then again—and still getting no response?Something was off.The guards shouldn’t be asleep. Not in this house. Not on his watch.He pulled out his phone and dialed Hardin. Let him check the gate. If these fools were actually sleeping, Charles wasn’t going to let it slide.Hardin picked up on the second ring.“Took you long enough,” Charles snapped. “Open the gate.”There was a chuckle on the other end.A chuckle?“You’re not pulling my leg, are you?” Hardin asked, sounding amused.Charles frowned. “What?”“My house doesn’t have a gate,” Hardin said. “And I can’t even hear your voice—”“Your house?” Charles cut
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“Just tell me who—”The man cut him off with a sharp look.“I don’t know who. But if you want, I can tell you the nine other men I made that necklace for.”“Why won’t you tell me who killed—”“Shut your mouth, bastard, and let me think.”He shuffled over to a pile of cloth stacked on a rusted bedframe—how he got it down here was anyone’s guess. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Charles.“Their names are all I have,” the man said. “It’s been ages. I don’t know what they’re up to now. They graduated high school years ago.”“You’re really not going to tell me who the murderer is?” Charles asked, sliding the paper into his pocket.The old man stared at him for a long, cold second. “Get out of here,” he muttered.“I’m going already.” Charles paused, annoyed but oddly respectful. The guy was infuriating—and yet, kind of easy to talk to. “If you want, I could help you get a new house.”
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