Chapter 45 LUCIEN DRAYKE DOESN’T FORGIVE.

Chapter 45 LUCIEN DRAYKE DOESN’T FORGIVE.
ZANE POV

“Babe… Camila pisses me off so fucking much,” I muttered, staring at Kade as water droplets slowly crawled down his defined abs. He had just stepped out of the shower after fucking me so good, towel hanging low on his hips, looking looking way too good for how irritated I was feeling. “I swear I would’ve dumped her ass a long time ago if she wasn’t the only ticket to Xavier’s properties.”

Kade wiped his face with a smaller towel, his movements slow and controlled. He didn’t even look at me when he replied, “Just let her do her thing. Xavier isn’t an easy man to crack.”

I groaned loudly and leaned back against the headboard, dragging a hand through my hair. “Do you think I should tell Ronan about all this?”

Kade finally paused, then shook his head. “What do you think Ronan would do? This is your life, babe. Your father has done more than enough for you already. It’s about time you started standing on your own.”

His words landed like a slap. I stared at him, jaw clenched tight. Never in a million years did I think I’d be sitting here listening to Kade — of all people — telling me this shit.

He continued in that calm, even tone of his, “You know it’s not too late to start from scratch. I have a lot of insider information on how Xavier operates. I can feed it to you. You could actually build something real instead of chasing shortcuts. Something real on your own. Doesn’t that sound better?”

“Never,” I snapped. “It’s too late for that bullshit. I’m thirty-seven already. It would take me at least three years to get anywhere meaningful. But with this plan… in eight months, maybe less, I’ll wake up an instant billionaire.”

Kade just stared at me for a long moment, expression unreadable. Finally, he let out a quiet sigh. “Fine then.”

“I’ll be at your service if you need anything, sugarplum,” he added, the corner of his mouth twitching.

I smirked and shifted on the bed. “Should we have another round of sex now, honey?”

“Nah, babe. We just finished. I’m exhausted and I still have a lot of work to do.”

I rolled my eyes and looked away, annoyed. The silence stretched between us until Kade spoke again.

“Wait… what if Camila stops asking and just forces herself on him? Get him drunk first or something.”

I raised an eyebrow. “He might still not remember having sex with her if she forces him.”

Kade shrugged. “Well, in that case… Camila videos the whole thing. Like a Sex tape.”

My eyes lit up instantly. A slow grin spread across my face. “Babe, you’re a genius. Why the hell haven’t I thought of this before?”

I reached for my phone quickly and dialed Camila’s number. It didn’t go through. I tried again. Still nothing.

“Fuck. This bitch! When something important comes up, she’s nowhere to be found,” I growled. “I can’t wait to get rid of her soon. She’s been getting on my last nerve.”

I dialed again. Still no answer.

Just then, Kade’s phone rang sharply on the dresser. He glanced at the screen, frowned slightly, and picked it up.

“Hello? Who’s this?” he answered casually, still towel-drying his hair with one hand.

The voice on the other end spoke rapidly. Kade’s hand froze mid-motion. His entire posture changed in an instant — shoulders stiffening, back straightening. His eyes widened with clear shock.

“What?” His voice sharpened. “What are you saying right now?”

He listened intently, brows pulling together. The longer he listened, the more his face darkened.

“Repeat the plate number,” he demanded, his tone suddenly cold and urgent.

He listened again, then repeated slowly, deliberately:

“Yes… yes, it’s… Sierra-Lima--9-7-2….”

My stomach dropped violently.

Isn’t that my car’s plate number?

The calm in the room shattered completely. Kade slowly lowered the phone from his ear and placed it back on the dresser with deliberate care, like he was trying not to drop it. His jaw hung slightly slack, eyes still wide with disbelief.

For the first time since I’d known him, Kade looked genuinely stunned — almost frozen.

He stared straight at me, saying nothing. The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. Water from his still-damp hair dripped onto his shoulders, but he didn’t move to wipe it away.

I sat up straighter on the bed, heart suddenly hammering.

“Kade?” I asked, my voice tighter than I wanted. “What the fuck is going on?”

Kade’s eyes stayed locked on mine for another heavy second before he finally spoke, his voice low and serious.

“Were you in an accident recently?”

My stomach twisted violently. How the hell does he know?

No one was on that street. It was completely empty. I checked. I know I checked.

But the memory slammed into me anyway.

THAT NIGHT (FLASHBACK)

LAST NIGHT—

I jumped out of the car, pulse thundering in my ears, engine still rumbling behind me. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I rounded the hood, breath ragged and shallow.

The white headlights sliced through the night, lighting up the shape on the ground.

She lay on her side, one arm flung out at a sickening angle, dark hair fanned across the asphalt like spilled ink. For one frozen second, my stomach plummeted—I thought she was dead.

Then her left leg twitched. Just a small, jerky spasm. Alive. She was still alive.

Relief lasted less than a heartbeat.

I whipped my head left, then right, eyes darting wildly over the empty street. No headlights. No pedestrians. No movement. I scanned the buildings, the lampposts, every dark corner where a camera might be lurking. Nothing. Just silent sidewalks and distant parked cars.

Pure fucking luck.

Heart slamming against my ribs, I spun around, yanked the door open, and dove back inside. The door slammed shut with a hollow bang. My fingers fumbled the gear shift as I threw the car into reverse. It lurched backward violently.

I barely checked the rearview mirror before slamming it into drive and peeling away.

The city lights blurred past as I merged onto the highway, breath still coming too fast.

She’d be okay. Just bruised. People survived worse

I blinked hard, the memory dissolving as the present rushed back in. 

See… I checked. No one was there. Kade is obviously trying to pull my leg.

“Me? Accident?” I forced a scoff, trying to sound casual. “Do you think I’d be caught doing something like that? You know me better than anyone.”

Kade didn’t smile. His jaw clenched tight as he stared at me.

I tried to ease the sudden heavy tension in the room. “Should I make us some stir fry or something?”

Kade ignored the question completely. Without a word, he turned and walked out of the bedroom. I quickly followed him, unease crawling up my spine.

He went straight outside to the parking lot. I stayed a few steps behind, watching as he walked around my car, eyes scanning every inch.

My stomach twisted even harder when I saw it.

The front plate number was missing.

Kade stopped dead in front of the car. His eyes narrowed at the dent on the hood and the small, dark stains near the bumper. He crouched down, inspecting closer.

Then he stood up slowly, voice low but furious.

“Zane… the whole crime scene is being traced back to you. Your plate was found at the scene of the accident… splashed with blood.”

He turned to face me fully. His eyes burned with a mixture of anger and raw disbelief.

“The woman you hit has been in the hospital for days. She’s losing a lot of blood and the doctors don’t know if she’s going to make it.” Kade swallowed hard. “She’s not some random nobody we can sweep under the rug. She’s the wife of Lucien Drayke.”

I raised an eyebrow, unfazed. “And who the hell is Lucien Drayke? You’re stressing yourself over some pathetic nobody.”

Kade stared at me like I had lost my mind. “Don’t fuck with me right now, Zane. Lucien Drayke — CEO of Élan Beauty Co., the relaxer company that’s been rumored to cause cancer for years.”

I shrugged my shoulders casually. “So what? What sounds spooky about a relaxer seller?”

Kade pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly trying to keep his patience. His voice dropped even lower.

“He’s not just a ‘relaxer seller.’ You know the Iron Reapers MC?”

“Yeah, I know them,” I replied, folding my arms across my chest.

“Well, he’s the head of the entire association. That biker group takes lives like it’s nothing. And when people protested against his products last year, every single loud voice suddenly went silent — either thrown off cliffs or buried six feet under. Most of the bodies were never found.”

My stomach twisted, but I refused to show it.

Kade continued, his tone urgent now. “Every time Lucien appears on TV, he flaunts his wife like she’s his whole world. He’s obsessed with her. If he finds out someone put her in the hospital… he won’t let it go. He will hunt them down.”

I let out a dry laugh. “Oh, wait. So he doesn’t even know she’s in a severe condition right now?”

Kade shook his head. “He’s out of the city. That’s what Apollo just told me on the phone.”

Apollo. One of Kade’s most reliable underground contacts. The man who always knew things before they became public.

“Well then,” I said, waving my hand dismissively, “I can just bounce. I’ll head back to Atlanta tonight. He won’t find me there. I’m done with this fucking city anyway.” I scoffed. “And why the hell was such a rich woman walking alone on the road at that time? She basically caused her own death.”

Kade looked at me like I had slapped him.

He took a step closer, his voice low and laced with genuine fear — not for himself, but for me.

“Zane… this isn’t a game. You don’t understand who you’re dealing with. Lucien Drayke doesn’t forgive. He doesn’t negotiate. If that woman dies, he will burn this entire city down looking for the person responsible. And right now, every trail leads straight to your car — and to you.”