Chased by My Possessive Ex (Dylan) novel Chapter 56

Chapter 36

Chapter 56

HUNTER

零

It has been days since the incident, and still, nothing. No leads. No sightings. No whispers in the underground that could point me in her direction. Every report my men bring me sounds the same, hollow and useless, like they are all afraid to say the one thing they know I refuse to hear.

I have not slept. Not even for an hour.

Every time I close my eyes, she is there. Dylan’s face appears so vividly it feels cruel. Sometimes she is looking at me the way she did before everything fell apart, guarded but still soft. Other times she is frightened, calling my name in a voice I cannot reach no matter how hard I try. I wake up soaked in sweat, my heart slamming against my ribs like it is trying to escape my chest.

Nights are the worst.

The silence stretches too long, broken only by the ticking of the clock or the distant footsteps of guards outside my room. I sit on the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor, replaying every moment that led to her disappearance. Every word I said. Every decision I made. Every second I chose control over honesty.

If I had just told her the truth.

If I had not sent her away.

If I had not let her walk out of my sight.

The city is burning because of that clan. They wanted retaliation, and they got it. But they did not just attack my territory. They went straight for her. Dylan was not collateral damage. She was the target. That much is clear now. They wanted to hurt me in the only way that truly mattered.

And it worked.

My men move carefully around me now. They lower their voices. They avoid my eyes. They know I am balanced on something sharp and unstable, one wrong word away from unleashing hell on everything around me. I can feel it in my bones, this constant pressure, this rage mixed with fear that never fully settles.

I walk through my house like a ghost, every room reminding me of her absence. Her scent still lingers in the sheets. Her presence echoes in places she barely touched. It is torture, knowing she was here, knowing she should still be here.

She is alive. I cling to that belief like it is the only thing keeping me upright. If she were dead, something inside me would have shattered completely. I would not still be breathing like this, aching like this, hoping like this.

The knock on my office door came sharp and deliberate, the kind that announced confidence rather tha permission.

“Come in,” I said, already knowing who it would be.

18:24 Thu, Jan 1

Chapter 56

Marian Velasquez stepped inside like she owned the place. Impeccably dressed, perfectly composed, her smile soft and practiced. The kind of woman raised to survive rooms like this and the men who ruled them. Her presence alone was a reminder of unfinished business.

“Hunter,” she greeted warmly, closing the door behind her. “You’ve been hard to reach.”

I leaned back in my chair, schooling my expression into something neutral, something controlled. “Busy days,” I replied calmly. “You know how it is.”

Her eyes lingered on my face a second too long, as if searching for cracks. “I heard about the chaos near the airport. An unfortunate incident.” She tilted her head slightly. “You didn’t tell me things were that unstable.

Unstable.

If only she knew.

I gave a slow shrug. “Territory disputes. Nothing new. It’s being handled.”

She walked closer, resting her hand on the edge of my desk, lowering her voice. “My father is concerned. When our names are mentioned together, incidents like that draw attention.”

There it was. The reason she was here. Not concern for me. Not fear. Strategy.

“I have it under control,” I said evenly. “And your family is not implicated.”

Her lips curved into a faint smile. “Good. Because we wouldn’t want misunderstandings between us.”

I met her gaze, steady and unreadable. “No, we wouldn’t.”

She hesitated, then asked casually, “And the woman?”

My blood ran cold, but my face did not change. “What woman?”

“The one rumored to be close to you,” Marian said lightly, as if gossip amused her. “The media loves inventing stories.”

I let out a quiet chuckle. “You know of all people how people around us talks. They love to make things dramatic. There’s no one that matters.”

A lie. Smooth. Necessary.

She studied me again, then straightened. “I’m glad to hear that.” She reached out, brushing her fingers against my sleeve in a familiar, possessive gesture meant for watching eyes. “We still have appearances to maintain

I stood, signaling the conversation was over. “Of course. And Marian,” I added softly, “tell your father I appreciate his patience. This alliance is…. important to me.”

Her smile widened, satisfied. “I’ll let him know.”

When she finally left, the door closing behind her, the room seemed to breathe again.

18:24 Thu, Jan 1

Chapter 56

I exhaled slowly, my hands curling into fists.

I hated every second of pretending. Hated standing this close to the Velasquez name while knowing their clan had blood on their hands.

But I wasn’t done. Not even close.

I needed Marian. I needed her trust. I needed this alliance intact just a little longer.

Because once I found Dylan, once she was safe, once I had everything I needed-

The Velasquez clan would learn exactly what it meant to go against me.

I leaned against my chair as I massage my temple. But it hadn’t been long since Marian left when there’s another knock on the door.

“Come in,” I said, my voice steady even as something in my chest tightened.

The door opened just enough for one of my men to step inside. He did not meet my eyes right away. Instead, he held out a thick envelope with both hands, like it weighed more than paper ever should.

“Sir,” he said quietly. “The laboratory report.”

My fingers closed around it, and that was when I noticed the tremor. Subtle, but there. I clenched my jaw, forcing my hand to still as I dismissed him with a nod. He left without another word, the door clicking shut behind him.

The room felt too small.

Too quiet.

I stared at the envelope for a long moment, my thumb brushing over the seal as if delaying the inevitable could somehow change what waited inside. I had faced death more times than I could count. I had ordered executions. Watched empires fall.

But this felt different.

I tore it open.

The paper inside rustled softly, an ordinary sound that felt obscene against the pounding of my heart. My eyes scanned the page once. Then again. Slower this time. More desperate.

DNA match confirmed.

Female remains recovered from the blast site.

Positive identification: Dylan.

The words blurred.

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