Chapter 135 A Dangerous Heart
chapter one hundred and thirty five
Dimitri’s POV
I woke up feeling lighter than I had in a long time. For the first time in days, I felt a little hope. I thought about Val. I thought about the way she cried in my arms when Nona died. I thought about how tightly she held me, how she didn’t push me away, how she let me stay with her through the worst moment of her life.
I thought about the kiss. I thought about the way she looked at me before it happened, scared but still staring into my eyes. I thought about the way she leaned into me. I thought about the way her whole body trembled when I told her I loved her.
That kiss replayed in my mind over and over again.
I picked up my phone, ready to see a message from her. Maybe a “Good morning.” Maybe “Thank you for yesterday.” Maybe anything.
But the screen lit up with a news alert.
“BREAKING NEWS: Valenticia Dykstra and Lucas Ryder Announce Engagement.”
I opened the article quickly. My hands started shaking. Another headline popped up.
“A Power Union: Ryder Corporation Confirms Engagement to Dykstra Heiress.”
Then another.
“Business Analysts Praise Strategic Engagement Between Lucas Ryder and Valenticia Dykstra.”
Then one more.
“Photos Released: Lucas and Val Seen Together at Private Meeting Before Announcement.”
I scrolled fast, hoping it was fake.
No.
It was everywhere.
Confirmed by both companies.
My breath left my chest.
“Engaged?” I whispered.
My voice cracked and my stomach twisted. My heart felt like it dropped to the floor.
I clicked on the photos. There were pictures of Val and Lucas standing together from an old business event. They used it as if it was taken yesterday. Lucas looked calm. He looked sure of himself. Val looked serious, maybe tired.
I kept scrolling. PR teams were calling it a smart move. Investors were celebrating. People online were already writing congratulations.
I felt sick.
This could not be real. There was no way this was real.
Just two nights ago, Val cried in my arms.
Just two nights ago, she held onto my shirt like she needed me. Just two nights ago, she kissed me back.
How did she wake up and sign herself into another man’s life?
I threw my phone on the couch and paced the living room.
“No,” I muttered. “No, no, no.”
I grabbed the phone again and looked at the articles. Every one of them felt like a punch.
Lucas knew all of that. He knew exactly when to strike. I felt heat rising in my body. “She wouldn’t choose him,” I said out loud.
I knew Val.
I knew her heart and I knew her fears. I knew the way she looked at Lucas when she first met him. Cold. Distant and very annoyed.
She would never choose him out of love.
This had to be something else.
“He forced her,” I whispered. “He cornered her.”
That was the only explanation my mind allowed.
Everything inside me twisted into something dark. I picked up my phone again and opened the messaging app. I typed Val’s name. My thumb hovered over the keyboard.
But then I saw another message.
A private clip of Stefan reacting to the news.
He sat in a private conference room, staring at a tablet with the engagement headline. His face looked destroyed. His hands shook. He looked angry and confused, like someone just ripped the ground out from under him.
Seeing him like that made something in my chest snap again.
So I wasn’t the only one hurt. But instead of calming me, it made it worse. Stefan was hurt. I was hurt.
Everything felt out of control.
And Lucas stood smiling in every headline.
I stopped pacing and grabbed my hair with both hands. My thoughts spun faster and faster.
“She didn’t do this willingly,” I muttered. “She couldn’t have.”
I grabbed my keys and walked toward the door, but I couldn’t move. My mind felt like it was on fire.
How could she say yes to Lucas?
“How could he take advantage of her like this?” I whispered.
I walked back inside and sat on the couch. But sitting still made it worse. I stood again. I paced. My breath felt trapped in my throat.
“If she won’t protect herself… then I have to do it.”
I pulled up old contacts on my phone—people I swore I would never speak to again. People who dealt with things no normal man wanted to know about.
I hesitated for a moment.
But then I hit the call button.
The men were dangerous. They didn’t smile, they didn’t ask many questions. They only wanted the payment.
I only wanted her taken away from Lucas. I wanted her somewhere safe. I wanted her somewhere she could breathe, somewhere she could think without pressure, somewhere she could see that Lucas was using her.
The leader nodded once.
“It will be done.”
They began their work fast. They followed her car. They watched her house. They mapped her routine. They hid in plain sight.
But one of them messed up.
He got too close to the security at her company.
Someone noticed.
The police arrested him before he could escape.
When I got the call from the group, my heart dropped.
“He’s caught? What do you mean he’s caught?”
“He was seen. He failed. He’s in custody now. They say he’s already talking.”
My entire world went still.
Talking?
Talking about what?
Could he be talking about me?
I felt panic burn through my chest.
If he revealed my name? If he said anything? If he even hinted—
My reputation would be destroyed. My company would fall and I would go to prison. Val would hate me forever.
I felt cold.
Hours later, another message came in.
“He’s dead.”
I stared at the screen.
Dead?
“What happened?” I asked.
“Someone killed him inside the holding cell.”
I never asked for this. I never wanted anyone dead.
I only wanted to protect Val.
But now I was in the middle of something darker than anything I ever touched. Someone else had stepped in. Someone else had cleaned the mess. Someone else was now holding the secret.
I didn’t know who.
I didn’t know why.
I didn’t know if they would come for me next.
My hands shook so hard I had to sit down.
I turned on the TV to distract myself, but the first thing on-screen was another headline:
“International Investors Welcome Ryder–Dykstra Engagement Deal.”
Lucas was winning. He was growing stronger. And Val was now tied to him.
I leaned back on the couch as my heart pounded so loudly I could hear it.