Master of his heart (Max and Brielle)

Brielle sat in the passenger seat, her eyes red from crying as she stared blankly out the window.

Aiden glanced at her, concerned. "Brielle, are you okay? You're shaking."

She tried to speak, but her throat felt blocked. She couldn't stop trembling. The clues were right there: Dustin had avoided everyone else and sent an email to Keiran about her, and her DNA tests had been tampered with repeatedly. If she didn't put the pieces together now, she'd be a fool.

But what had happened to Dustin?

The truth was within reach, but Dustin had vanished because of it, and no one knew where he was. She had to hold onto this secret tightly. Was Dustin the only one who knew the real story? Would the mastermind let him live? Who could it be?

Her eyes were bloodshot, and she gripped her phone tightly. Even Keiran's calls were getting cut off, proof she was being watched, and so was everyone around her. If someone as skilled as Dustin could disappear, the betrayal had to come from someone close. Someone he never suspected.

How long had this game been going on?

Panic surged within her, and she bit her lip hard. She couldn't trust anyone; she had to wait for Max. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her shaking body.

"I'm fine," she muttered, even though her head felt like it was about to explode.

Aiden and Addison sat beside her. Brielle pulled out a silver pistol and began disassembling and reassembling it, a new skill she'd learned. Addison, though quiet and a woman, was a fierce fighter and a great teacher. Noticing Brielle's mood, Addison signaled Aiden to keep quiet.

The car grew tense.

Brielle kept staring outside, realizing this had all been foreshadowed, like the lies about Mark's identity. He'd been part of every critical moment, and she'd never doubted him because of their years together.

Who would think a mentor who shared hardships and knitted scarves with her could be the villain?

Who else could be like Mark?

The deeper she thought, the darker it got. She felt like a puppet, her life controlled by others for over twenty years.

Meanwhile, a man sat with a laptop

on his knees, typing lightly. Several people knelt before him, trembling. The screen showed Keiran's email.

Wearing a mask, the man checked the sender, a slight smile on his lips.

"You let him escape and send this email right under your noses?"

The kneeling figures were too scared to speak. One started to, but the man grabbed a gun and

chambered a round, silencineret

him

with a single shot.

The others, drenched in sweat, pressed their foreheads to the cold floor.

The man's finger toyed with the gun. If he hadn't blocked Keiran's email account quickly, years of planning would've been ruined. "No excuses. Find him, leave no one alive."

The laptop was taken away and destroyed, all accounts wiped clean.

The man behind King bowed respectfully. "Max is abroad investigating Dustin. If you want Brielle's heart, King, now's the time. The Dorsey family will be busy."

QUMS

The man chuckled, removing his mask. The trembling men had been escorted out. King's fingers traced the mask, wiping it gently.

"Max isn't easy to deal with."

"King, I don't get it. He's just the Dorsey heir. One family isn't a threat."

King's eyes narrowed, deep as the ocean.

"He has another identity, one we haven't uncovered yet."

"If he really cares for Brielle, why would he let her suffer?"

King's finger paused on the mask.

"How do you know it's not on purpose?"