Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

"No, that's not my kink." Chantelle's voice was sharp as she glared at him with clenched teeth. "I just figured that if you were stupid enough to try something on me, I'd finally have a reason to end you myself."

Andrew raised a brow, still amused. "Can I ask... have you ever actually dated anyone before?"

Her tone went cold. "Once. It didn't last."

"Only once?" Andrew said, surprised. "Sounds like the guy couldn't keep up."

Chantelle gave a humorless laugh. "He couldn't. Before we got together, I made the rules clear-no touching without permission. But that jerk was even worse

than you.

"The moment we were official, he tried to grab my chest and whispered disgusting things. So I broke both his arms, shattered his legs, and dumped him into the water."

Andrew winced. "So... you killed the guy?"

She scoffed. "I wanted to. Unfortunately, he got lucky. Some fishing boat pulled him out of the water before he drowned."

Andrew shook his head. "Still can't figure out how Mr. McCormick decided you of all people should be his right hand."

Chantelle headed for the front door. "That's because I earned it. You don't need to understand. And now that you've seen what you wanted, can I leave?"

Andrew was about to give a casual 'sure' when his phone rang.

The screen showed Aspen's name, but the voice on the other end was not hers. It was a smug, mocking male voice that instantly turned Andrew's blood to ice.

"Hey, Andrew. Thought you were good at hiding, didn't you? Why don't you come on over and kneel in front of me like the little dog you are? Otherwise, I'll have some real fun with Aspen. Inside and out, I'll break her in ways you can't imagine." Andrew's voice dropped to a chilling monotone. "Seth?"

The voice on the other end laughed. "That's right. It's me. You and Aspen can run all you want, but you'll never escape me. You humiliated me in front of Quinton and made me look like a joke. noveldrama

"Now I'm sitting in your company, big guy. Come here and beg for my forgiveness. You've got ten minutes. If you don't show, I'm taking Aspen and Supreme Capital with me."

The line went dead as Seth's wild laughter echoed one last time.

Andrew stared at the blank screen and muttered darkly, "Don't worry, I won't need ten minutes. I'm not coming to beg for your forgiveness-I'm coming to take

your damn head."

A dangerous energy burst from him so suddenly that Chantelle froze in place. She

looked at him in alarm. "What happened?"

Andrew pushed past her and threw open the door. "My people are in trouble. I

need to go now."

Without hesitation, Chantelle followed. "Wait. I'll drive."

Moments later, her car roared down

from The Sovereign Residences. As they sped through the city, she glanced at him and asked, "It's your assistant, right? Ms. Aspen Stevens? I warned you not to let your guard down. Who's behind this?"

Andrew's gaze darkened. "Seth Haywood."

Chantelle's grip tightened on the wheel. "One of the Haywoods? Andrew, that's serious. If this gets out of hand, you could find yourself at war with the entire family."

Andrew's tone was ice-cold. "Relax. I won't make it that big. I just plan to end Seth."

At Supreme Capital Group's headquarters, several employees huddled in a corner, trembling. Meanwhile, Seth's men stood over them and guarded them.