Page 77 of Fallen Heir

I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. The gag muted everything. But I heard it in his voice—the sick satisfaction. He was enjoying this.

He stepped closer, the soles of his shoes sticking slightly against the filthy floor. "Don’t worry,” he said, “I’m not done with you. Just figured I’d keep you here tonight. Let you soak it all in. I’ve got big plans for you, Savannah.”

I swallowed hard, pushing against the gag, my jaw aching from how tightly it had been tied. I shifted it as best I could, squeezing the sides of my cheeks to create just enough give. It wasn’t much, but it let me breathe, let me force something out. My voice cracked behind the cloth, weak and broken—but it came out.

“Bruce… why… why are you doing this?”

That was all it took.

The shift was instant.

The rage in him ignited like a spark dropped into gasoline. His hand came down before I could move, before I could even brace for it. The slap landed hard across my face, sending me flying to the floor with a grunt that barely made it past the gag.

I didn’t feel the pain.

Not really. My body was so consumed by it—layered in bruises, fatigue, and shock—that I couldn’t tell the calm from the chaos anymore. Everything just blurred.

"Because ofyou!” he shouted, spit flying. “Precious little SavannahSinclair.You couldn’t just let me kill you, could you? Couldn’t just die and let metake what was rightfully mine.”

He was pacing now, breathing hard, the vein in his neck pulsing with every word.

“You never worked a goddamn day for that money. I’ve workedmy lifefor it. Everything I’ve done, everything I’ve lost—it should’ve beenmine!”

I lay on the floor, face throbbing, eyes burning, but none of it compared to what was happening in my chest. The crushing pressure. The quiet ache of realization that nothing I said would reach him. He was gone—whatever man he used to be had long since bled out.

The blow had knocked the gag loose. It hung awkwardly at my jaw before slipping down to the base of my neck.

“If this is about the money…” I whispered, voice ragged and barely audible, “you can have it. All of it.”

It wasn’t a trick. It wasn’t a plea. It was the truth.

I didn’t want a single dime—not after learning the cost it carried. Not after learning where it came from. That blood soaked into the foundation of every account, every asset, every title.

I didn’t need to know every detail.

I didn’t want blood on my hands.

But judging by the stains on the floor, the smell in the air… and the cries—if that’s what they were—barely audible, barely human. Like echoes clawing through the walls…

There was already too much of it.

Bruce crouched in front of me, his breath hot with rage and rot. His eyes scanned my face like I wasn’t even human—just a pawn that had outlived its usefulness.

“It’s too late for that,” he sneered, voice low and sharp like a blade sliding between ribs. “You think I brought you here to bargain? No. I’m done playing.”

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper that made my skin crawl. “I’m going to sell you to the highest bidder.”

My blood ran cold.

“Your little boyfriend?” he spat. “Yeah, he’s been real busy. Shutting down a few of my operations. Digging around where he doesn’t belong. Andmy boss—” his mouth twisted into a cruel grin, “—well, he’s itching to get his hands on the one responsible.”

He stood slowly, like he wanted me to feel every second of what he said next.

“So I’m going to lead them straight to him. By using you.”

Chapter 26

Jaxson