Chapter 34 Tangled Bonds
Valenticias POV~
I jerked awake, my breath burning in my chest, Stefan’s arms holding me tight as the gas dissipated from the safe house. He looked at me with desperately relieved eyes, his voice filled with urgency. “Valenticia, what happened? Are you okay?”
My head was throbbing, the memory of collapsing under the gas’s sting fuzzy, but his worry grounded me. “I'm… fine,” I nodded, weak, the hand with the bandages hurting. He swept me up easily, carrying me out to his car, the rain-soaked night slapping against the windows. The car ride was quiet, my mind whirring with Clara’s picture- gagged, imprisoned in the van.
The silence was broken by Elaine’s call, which came while at a new safehouse hidden away as a stark bunker in Seryne’s industrial sprawl. “Valenticia,” she said, her voice strained, “I dug into Natasha’s past. Dmitri offered to marry her if she put you in the trouble. It’s personal.”
My heart turned over, Dmitri’s betrayal was a wound that never closed. Stefan’s eyes were sharp and searching and they caught mine, I found myself unable to ignore the pain – at least for the moment – to focus on Clara. “She’s using Clara to get at me,” I said, my voice barely sounding normal. “Let's find them quickly, I'm tired. ”
Stefan nodded, his jaw tight. “Gideon hacked into the GPS of the van. It’s over at Galden’s warehouse, east side.”
I felt my resolve surge to save Clara at any cost. “We go,” I said, rising, the pain in my cut hand a throb but I dismissed it. “No delays.”
Stefan’s hand brushed my arm, his tone protective, causing far too much of the forbidden warmth I was feeling. “We need a plan, Valenticia. Natasha’s waiting for us. And she wouldn't be waiting that silently. ”
He stood at a small distance between us and yet his gaze met mine – so vulnerable. I thought of the safe house, his fingers on my jaw, his look at my lips, a hunger I had felt as well that was somehow resurfacing. The instant moment was broken when Carter called, his voice urgent. “Clara’s on the news. Her family put her there. But Natasha’s leak—you know, your emails fumbled Clawford’s stock. The board’s in chaos.”
The news felt like a punch, and Natasha’s sabotage had just left my beginning legacy in ruins, Stefan’s hand squeezed mine, his voice steady. “Clara first. The board can wait.”
We made our way to the warehouse, which was a huge hulk of steel and rot on the east side of Seryne. Stefan had his Glock out, my knife felt heavy in my hand, and our footsteps almost soundless as we made our way inside. The warehouse was all dark and filled with crates, the silence broken by the distant drop of leaking water. A muffled cry led us to Clara, battered but safe, bound to a chair in a shadowy corner, her eyes wide with terror when it met ours.
“Clara,” I breathed, hurrying to her, my knife cutting her ropes. Her arms shook as she clutched me, her voice rough. “Valenticia… I’m sorry.”
“You are safe now,” I said, my heart pounding as my phone chimed with a video. I knew it had to be Natasha. My breath got caught in my throat at the image.'A live feed of Clawford’s boardroom, the members all seated with grim faces voting me out, Larson’s gavel crashing down. “Valenticia Clawford is stripped from immediate effect.”
The video replayed again, their voices filled with disappointment and betrayal, and I stood frozen, shattered, and stared at the screen. A clatter sounded—guards, Natasha’s men, booted feet coming nearer. I heard Stefan’s voice, a little distant through my fog, calling my name. “Valenticia, move!”
His arms grabbed me, lifting Clara over his shoulder as he dragged us out a side exit, where guards were being drawn in their direction, voices piercing in the darkness. They shot bullets at us, my legs splintering, but Stefan’s hand was iron, leading us to his car. He shoved Clara behind the seats, heaving shallow breaths, and I curled into the front one, the throb of the video still lingering as he pressed the accelerator and the warehouse vanished into the rain.
By the time we got to the safe house, I was trembling. I gave Clara water at the safe house. I could see her hands trembling as she drank, her bruised face a reflection of my guilt. “Rest,” I said, my tone hushed, needing her strength before we demanded an avenue to talk. “You’re safe now.”
Stefan's eyes grew thin, and his voice took on an urgent edge. “She has to talk, Valenticia. We’re running out of time.”
Clara nodded, her voice sounding scratchy. “Natasha… she blackmailed me into planting a virus in Clawford’s servers! It’s how she bugged your emails, how she’s framing you.”
The discovery felt like a punch, Natasha’s reach was wider than I had imagined. I thought about it over and over again, my mind racing, when my phone buzzed again, a new email dinged. It was a video of me, admitting that I had cheated, my voice uncannily composed, the video poised to go viral in the next hours. I gasped, fear and shock clouding my chest, the walls of the safehouse pressing in.
Stefan came and walked to my side, placing his hand on my shoulder, his low voice. “We’ll stop this, Valenticia. You’re not alone.”
His voice was warmer, more furious, and it pierced the silence but the thumping of my heart, the room went still as I held his stare, his determination. “Clara needs to go to the station, to make them know that she's alright. Her family had filed a report for a missing person remember.”