Just My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires by Esther Pen novel Chapter 299

10:22 Wed, Aug 26

My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires

Chapter 299

IAN’S POV

The silence inside my childhood bedroom was suffocating.

I paced back and forth across the plush carpet, stepping from the edge of the large leather sofa to the glass balcony doors and back again.

Outside, two armed security guards in black suits stood on the wet stone terrace, their hands clasped behind their backs watching every move I made through the reinforced glass.

Downstairs, two more guards stood outside my heavy oak bedroom door. I had tried the handle an hourago, but the sharp, heavy click of the external lock was a constant reminder that my father meant every word he said.

I was a prisoner in my own home.

My jaw throbbed with a relentless, dull ache where my father’s ring had split my skin. Every time I ran my tongue over my back teeth, I tasted a faint trace of copper. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the fiery, agonizing knot tightening inside my chest.

My phone was gone. My laptop had been confiscated. My father had pulled every plug, cut off the room’s wireless network, and isolated me completely from the outside world.

He thought he was taming me. He thought a slap to the face and locked doors would make me surrender Aria to Brandon Sterling.

Aria.

I stopped pacing, pressing my palms against my temples as my breathing grew shallow and uneven. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her standing in that study, her soft eyes wide with confusion and fear as Brandon held her against his side.

She had looked at me like I was a monster. But I knew the truth. Brandon was controlling her. He had spun a web of lies around her, convincing her that she needed his protection, keeping her trapped on that fortress of an estate.

She was waiting for me to break her free. She had to be.

The quiet click of the heavy door lock echoed through the room, cutting through my thoughts.

The door swung open just enough for my mother to slip inside. She was carrying a silver tray with a bowl of steaming soup and a tall glass of water. Her face was pale, her dark eyes red-rimmed and swollen from hours of crying.

The guard outside pulled the door shut behind her, the lock sliding back into place with a definitive thud.

“Julian,” my mother whispered, setting the tray down on the small coffee table near the sofa. “You need to eat something, my sweet boy. You haven’t touched a thing since last night.”

I stood still, staring at her with hollow eyes. “Where is Father?”

“He left for the corporate headquarters an hour ago,” she said, her voice trembling slightly as she reached out to touch my arm. She winced when she saw the dark bruise blooming along my jawline.

“He is trying to manage the press. Brandon’s media outlets are broadcasting the police report on every channel. It’s… it’s horrible, Julian. The company stock is already dropping.”

She pulled a soft silk handkerchief from her pocket and gently dabbed at the cort.er of my split lip.

“Your father is furious, but he’s doing this to protect you, she insisted softly, her voice filled with desperate maternal

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10:22 Wed, Aug 26

My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires

rationalization. “He just wants you to stay quiet until the lawyers can settle this. You have to forget about that girl, Julian Ara has brought nothing but ruin to this family. She turned you against us, and now she is letting that man tear your life apart

Asharp surge of rage flickered in my stomach, but I forced myself to swallow it down. I couldn’t flip out like I did last night. If screamed, she would leave, and I would remain completely cut off.

I looked down at her, forcing my expression to soften, letting my shoulders slump into a posture of total defeat.

“You’re right, Mother,” I lied, keeping my voice low and broken. “I was… I wasn’t thinking straight. Everything happened so fast. My head is spinning.”

Eleanor’s eyes filled with sudden relief, tears glistening on her lashes. “Oh, Julian…”

“I just feel so disconnected,” I murmured, rubbing my forehead with a shaky hand. “Father took everything. I don’t even know what the news is saying about me. I feel like a ghost sitting in this room.”

“It’s better if you don’t look at the news, darling-”

“Please, Mother,” I cut in, taking her hand in mine and squeezing it gently. “Just let me check the financial reports. I want to know if the Vance Group is going to survive this. I want to help Father fix what I broke. Do you have an old tablet? Anything?”

Eleanor hesitated, looking nervously toward the closed oak door. “Your father gave strict orders-

“Father doesn’t have to know,” I whispered, leaning closer. “You know I wouldn’t leave. The guards are right outside the door and on the balcony. Just give me an hour with a screen so I don’t go insane in this silence. Please.”

She stared at me for a long moment, her maternal instinct completely blinding her to the desperation in my eyes. She patted my cheek gently.

“Wait here,” she murmured softly. “I have my old tablet in my dressing room. It doesn’t have a cellular chip, but it can connect to the house’s private guest network.”

Ten minutes later, the door unlocked again, and my mother slipped back into the room. She quickly pressed a thin, silver tablet into my hands, covering it with a folded cloth napkin so the guards wouldn’t see.

“Be careful, Julian,” she warned in a hushed tone. “If your father finds out, he will be furious with both of us.”

“I won’t let him know,” I promised, my fingers tightening around the cold metal of the device. “Thank you, Mother.”

The moment she left and the door locked shut behind her, the soft, apologetic look vanished from my face.

I rushed over to the corner of the room, sitting on the floor behind the tall wingback chair where the balcony guards couldn’t see me through the glass. I powered on the tablet, my thumb flying across the glass screen to open an encrypted

browser.

I didn’t check the Vance Group financial reports. I didn’t care about the stock prices or my father’s corporate meetings.

My fingers typed one name into the search bar: Brandon.

The top search results instantly flooded the screen, and my heart slammed against my ribs.

The media was in a complete frenzy Headline after headline detailed the high-profile break-in at the Sterling estate. complete with leaked statements from the police precinct. But what made my blood run cold was an urgent corporate press release published just thirty minutes ago.

STERLING ENTERPRISES LAUNCHES HOSTILE TAKEOVER BID FOR VANCE GROUP FOLLOWING ESTATE TRESPASS INCIDENT

10:22 Wed, Aug 26

My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires

Brandon wasn’t just defending himself. He was moving in for the kill. He was using my arrest to crush my father’s company, to strip our family of every ounce of power, wealth, and influence we possessed. He was trying to erase us completely so that

a would have nowhere left to run.

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