Page 106 of Broken Bonds

“It’s not a trap,” I protest, my mind racing for a way to appease him. “Let Stella go and it’s yours.”

Another bitter laugh escapes his lips. “You’re not going to take anything else from me. Stella stays with me, she’s mine.”

Panic grips me as I realize the full extent of his obsession and delusion. He truly believes that Stella is his, ignoring the fact that she has chosen me—her husband—over the man who tricked her.

“I just want to know that she’s okay.” My voice is pleading now, strong on the outside but shaking with fear within. “She has nothing to do with this.”

“You’re wrong,” he spits back. “She was supposed to be mine. The woman I chose for myself, and you took her away from me. Do you think I don’t know that she slept with you?”

My heart drops at his accusation, knowing that he must have some kind of informant within my inner circle to know such intimate details.

“Let me see her,” I beg him once more.

The look in his eyes tells me everything I need to know—there is no reasoning with him. And as I stand there, helpless and desperate for any form of escape or resolution, I am struck by the realization that this man before me is not just my long-lost brother—he is a dangerous and unstable stranger who will stop at nothing to exact revenge on the family he feels has wronged him.

As Broderick nods, the same tattooed man we saw outside emerges, dragging Stella by her arm. My heart races as she screams my name, pleading for help, but I can only focus on her body, searching for any signs of harm. My mind races to find a solution, but I know we have to tread carefully with Broderick’s volatile temper and Davis lurking in the shadows.

Before I can formulate a plan, the tattooed man speaks. “Maybe we should start with her,” he says, raising a gun to Stella’s head. I see a flash of determination in her eyes, determined to fight until the bitter end. But before she can make a move, Broderick claims her as his own, and dismisses any threat from the gun-wielding man. “I’ll take care of her, she’s mine.”

My anger boils at his possessiveness over my wife.

But then Hadley’s voice breaks through the chaos. “And what am I?” asks a female voice, one I know well. This reveals another player in this twisted game. She approaches Broderick with confidence, marking her territory and pulling him into a kiss that he barely responds to. Shit.

In an instant, everything is unraveling. This has been in motion for thirty years, carefully planned and orchestrated. The grudges run deep.

“This poor girl was nothing but a chess piece, a pawn. But I’m the queen.” Hadley states, but she’s wrong when she declares herself the main piece in this game. That title belongs solely to my wife, my love, to Stella.

Suddenly, a gunshot echoes through the room and chaos erupts. The tattooed man falls lifeless to the ground and Stella crumples beside him. In a split second, Broderick pulls her close to him like a shield.

Coward.

We have lost our element of surprise and now Broderick knows we are not alone. But he also reveals his own hand in this deadly game.

“Tell your partner to come out,” he bellows, holding the gun against Stella’s head. Her eyes meet mine with fear and desperation. My heart breaks for her- pregnant and in this dangerous situation.

But I am proud of her for staying strong. And I know I will have a chance to tell her that once we get out of here.

“Put down your gun,” Broderick demands, but I refuse to give up my only advantage. Giving in now would be signing my own death warrant.

“You claim to love her, but you use her as a shield. What kind of love is that, brother?” I challenge him, trying to appeal to his sense of family and loyalty.

He laughs, lowering the gun from Stella’s face. “I’m not testing my love. I’m playing with yours.”

Damn him for knowing my weakness.

“And you, Hadley?” Stella speaks up, drawing our attention to my assistant- the one who has been aiding Broderick all along. “You say you love her, but you don’t hesitate to use her to protect yourself. What kind of love is that, brother?”

He laughs, as he lowers the barrel of the gun down the side of Stella’s face. “I’m playing with yours, not testing mine.”

Damn, he knows she’s my weakness.

“And you, Hadley?” Stella spits out, her words like bullets aimed at my assistant. I can practically hear the venom dripping from her tongue. “You think I’m just a pawn? Well look at us now, all eyes on me. They both love me, while you were just another piece in Broderick’s twisted game.”

My assistant’s eyes blaze with rage, clearly hitting a nerve. Stella knows exactly how to push Hadley’s buttons.

“Why didn’t Broderick want to marry you?” she continues to taunt. “After all, it wasn’t his name that would appear in this mess of a marriage. It was your reputation on the line.”

Hadley’s face turns an angry shade of red, her grip on the knife tightening as she rages against Broderick.

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