Chapter 19 X Ruby came in without knocking . She always does that when she wants something . " Torren , " she said , all breathy and fake concern . " You've been drinking too much again . Let me help you relax . " She slipped onto my lap without waiting for permission , and her hands slid over my chest . " Get off ! " She leaned in , pressing her body closer . " I can make you forget her . Let me remind you what it's like to be wanted . " I snapped . I shoved the glass aside and stood , making her stumble off me . " You will never be her , " I said sharply . " No matter how hard you try . You will never touch what she had . " She blinked , hurt flickering in her eyes . Then she straightened her back and tossed her hair over her shoulder . # E sea .. " She was never yours to begin with , Torren . You just used her . You think she stayed because she loved you ? No. She stayed because she had nowhere else to go . She was broken . She was begging for scraps . And you let her starve . " 도 I stepped forward , close enough that she backed into the wall . " She was never yours to compete with , " I said low and deadly . " Don't confuse her silence with surrender . She owned this house more than you ever will . " Ruby swallowed and looked away . I left her there and walked to the bedroom , but I couldn't sleep . I stared at the ceiling until 3 AM , then grabbed my phone like a fucking addict and typed it out . " You're mine , Therese . " Sent . I stared at the message . Read it ten times . Waited for the dots to show . They never came but instead , I got a notification . Number blocked . I threw the phone across the room and watched it smash against the wall . Pieces scattered across the floor like glass bones . My heart was pounding and my hands shook with rage . She blocked me . She fucking blocked me ?! I stormed out of the bedroom and went down to the private bar . Ruby followed , her voice trying to sound sweet . " Chapter 18 3/3 54.5 % Aug 48 % D X - " Torren , please stop this . You're better than this . Let's just go back upstairs and- " I turned and shoved her hard against the wall . Not enough to hurt , just enough to shut her up . " Get out of my sight , Ruby . Before I lose what little patience I have left . " Her eyes filled with tears . She looked like she wanted to say something , but she didn't . She turned and walked away , barefoot and silent like a ghost . I poured the whiskey . No ice . No glass . Just the bottle . And I drank like I was trying to kill something inside me . Because she was supposed to be mine . And I was supposed to be the one who walked away first … Not her . Never her . The place was called The Crooked Wolf . My private bar . No press . No fans . No Ruby . Just me , my liquor , and the kind of rage that sat in my gut like acid . I was already on my third bottle when I grabbed my phone and called Mico . " Get your ass here . Now . " He didn't ask questions . That's why I kept him . Thirty minutes later , he stepped into the dim room , nodded at the bartender like always , and made his way to the back booth . I didn't move . Just leaned back on the leather seat … one arm stretched across the top , the other gripping a half - empty bottle of scotch like it was the only thing keeping me grounded . " You called , boss ? " he said , calm as ever . I let the silence stretch for a second . Then I spoke , voice low , cold , certain . " Find Cleo . Find where Therese is hiding my son ." He blinked . " You want me to- ? " " I want you to track her down . Use her security . Her friends . Her damn maid's phone if you have to . I don't care how . I want that kid . I'm going to use him to bring her back . She'll crawl if I hold what she loves . " But Mico didn't nod like he usually did . He hesitated . Scratched the back of his neck and looked away . And just like that , I knew something was wrong . " What? " I snapped . " Why are you quiet ? Say it . " He sighed , heavy and tired . " You're not gonna like this , boss . " I stood , the bottle still in my hand . My voice dropped , sharper now . " Say it , Mico . " He looked at me then , as if the words physically hurt to carry . But he said them anyway . " Your son's gone " Chanter 19 2/3 56.6 % ס X " Your son's gone . " Everything stilled . " Gone where ? " He swallowed hard . " Dead . " I blinked . I felt the word hit me , but not sink in . Not yet . " What ? " " Cleo … he died . Last week . After Jude's birthday party . It was sudden . At the hospital . He didn't make it . " For a long second , I just stood there . Then I moved . I lunged forward and punched Mico so hard in the jaw he staggered , knocking over a stool on his way down . His lip split open , but he didn't complain . Just wiped the blood away like it was nothing . " You're lying ! " I shouted . " You're fucking lying , Mico ! Why the hell didn't anyone tell me ? " He didn't flinch . Didn't raise his voice . Just reached into his coat , pulled out a folder , and tossed it onto the table between us . " Because you weren't listening to anyone , Torren , " he muttered . " You stopped answering calls unless it was about your stocks , your brand deals , or Ruby . " I snatched the folder open . My hands shook . Medical reports . Discharge summaries . A death certificate . A photo of a child - sized urn . The date was printed at the top in cold , clinical ink . Same day I was laughing with Ruby at that rooftop party . The same day I posted her in my stories . Toasted champagne . Let myself forget that Therese existed - even just for a few hours . My knees gave out . I didn't even feel myself fall . Just hit the floor , clutching the pages , rereading them as if the truth might rearrange itself on the third or fourth time through . " He was dying … " I whispered . " And I didn't even know . " And then , fuck help me , I remembered . I remembered Therese that morning , standing in the doorway with our son in her arms , sobbing . I remembered the fear in her eyes . The panic . She said his lips were turning blue . That he wasn't responding . That something was wrong . And me ? I told her to stop being dramatic . Said she was using Cleo to get my attention again . I accused her of crying wolf , like always . I told her I'm with Ruby and cutted off the call .