Page 88 of Heartless Stepbrother

The SUV rolled to a smooth stop near the front steps.

A single man in a black suit waited by the entrance. No smile. No wave. Just a quiet nod when he saw Riley.

Of course Riley Maddox had private staff standing outside his house waiting for him like a soldier reporting for duty.

I swallowed hard.

The house loomed higher when I stepped out of the car, its presence pressing against my skin like cold fingers.

My suitcase felt too small in my hand.

I felt too small.

And still, beneath all the awe and intimidation, something else curled low in my stomach.

Curiosity.

Fear.

A strange, unwelcome anticipation.

Because even from here, even from the front steps, the mansion felt like him, controlled, impossible to read, and hiding something dangerous behind all that glass.

Riley came around the car, reached past me, and picked up my suitcase like it weighed nothing.

“Welcome home, princess,” he said.

And the way he said it made the air around us tighten, like whatever waited for me behind those doors wasn’t something I could run from.

Not anymore.

The man in the black suit stepped forward to take the suitcases from Riley.

“Welcome home, Mr. Maddox,” he said with a respectful dip of his head. Then his gaze slid to me. “Miss Carter, if you’d like, I can show you the—“

“No.” Riley’s voice cut clean through the air.

Not loud.

Not sharp.

Just… final.

The kind of tone that didn’t need volume to enforce obedience.

The staff member froze mid-sentence. His spine straightened a fraction.

“I’ll take her,” Riley said. “You can go.”

The man hesitated for less than a breath, barely visible, but enough for me to notice, and then nodded quickly. “Of course, sir.”

“And,” Riley added, already turning toward the doors, “tell the household that my father and stepmother won’t be returning tonight.”

A flicker of surprise crossed the man’s face. “Understood.”

He disappeared through a side entrance, almost relieved to be dismissed.

My pulse drummed as the double doors opened in front of us with a soft hydraulic hiss, revealing the first glimpse of the Maddox estate’s interior.