fiction
Rafael Moretti refused to look at any woman’s face, because he said beauty had lied to him once before. But when the white sheet was finally removed from the woman he chose, the millionaire froze as if the past had walked into the room breathing 😨 / Chapter 9 / 10

Chapter 9 - The Ashes of the Past

Time seemed to fracture.

As the wall of fire raced across the fuel-soaked floorboards toward Leila, Rafael didn't hesitate. He dropped his weapon, lunging forward through the blinding smoke and intense heat.

Bang!

Valeria scrambled toward the side exit, clutching her designer handbag, but as she reached for the door, Marcus and the tactical team swarmed in from the shadows, slamming her against the timber wall and snapping steel cuffs onto her wrists.

"You're finished!" Valeria screamed, kicking and thrashing as Marcus dragged her toward the waiting transport. "Rafael will burn with her!"

Inside the burning boathouse, Rafael threw himself over Leila, using his own body as a shield against the roaring flames. With a desperate burst of adrenaline, he tore the heavy zip-ties from her wrists and ripped the tape from her mouth.

"Rafael!" Leila coughed, smoke filling her lungs. "The beam—watch out!"

Above them, a massive overhead wooden beam, weakened by decades of rot and the fierce fire, cracked down the middle and began to plummet.

Rafael threw his arms over Leila, taking the crushing impact of the falling timber across his back with a muffled grunt of pain. The sheer weight pinned him down, the heat searing the air around them.

"Get out!" Rafael choked out, blood trickling down his forehead. "Leila, run!"

"I left you once!" Leila screamed tears streaming down her soot-stained face as she pushed against the heavy burning beam with every ounce of strength in her body. "I am never leaving you again!"

Drawing on a primal, unbreakable reservoir of survival and love, Leila dug her scarred thumbs into the rough wood, leveraging her entire weight alongside Rafael's struggling muscles. With a guttural cry, they heaved upward together.

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The beam shifted, rolling off into the burning flames below.

Seizing the opening, Rafael scooped Leila into his arms, bursting through the side exit just as the entire roof of the boathouse caved in with a thunderous roar, sending a pillar of fire shooting into the night sky.

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