Don’t Fall for the Billionaire Lover

In a split second, the tension in the room shot through the roof.

Kent was the first to jump up. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

He barely got the words out before a massive explosion ripped through the distance. The ground lurched under their feet, shaking so hard it felt like the world might crack open. St. Michael's Hall quaked violently. The huge statue of St. Michael-so big it looked like a mountain-wobbled and threatened to topple.

Every light in the hall snapped off at once, plunging them into darkness as smoke and dust filled the air. Panic set in. People bolted in all directions, desperate fornoveldrama

cover.

Connor and Chloe were just as shocked as everyone else. They rushed toward the entrance, trying to force the old wooden door open, but it wouldn't move an inch. No matter how hard they shoved, it was stuck tight.

Outside, the explosions kept coming, one after another, each blast shaking the ground and pounding in their chests. Chloe's mind raced. She had no idea what was happening, or why everything was blowing up.

It felt like forever-maybe ten minutes before the explosions died down. The shaking stopped, and a heavy silence settled in. Dust hung in the air, but slowly began to clear.

Chloe checked on everyone. Thankfully, they'd all managed to find cover-no one was hurt. But Killian was gone. Only Grant was left.

Chloe shot him a cold look. "You think I'd be stupid enough to trust you?"

Grant actually looked lost for once. "I don't know," he said, voice shaky. "I honestly don't know."

She didn't respond, just watched him. He looked pale, genuinely rattled-like he hadn't seen this coming either.

The truth was, they'd all worried something like this might happen before they even started up the mountain. Grant had used today's gathering as bait, hoping to draw out Jeffery and Nemo so he could take them both out in one go. He'd been convinced since he was a kid that they were behind his family's murder. Nobody changes their mind about something like that just

because of a few words-especially without proof. Grant just wanted revenge.

But what Chloe couldn't figure out was why he'd bothered inviting the heads of the

four big families. Was it just a cover?

At least they'd planned for the worst. Kash was waiting at the base of the

mountain, ready to come up if anything went wrong.

Chloe grabbed her phone and tried to call Kash. No signal.

"How is there no service? Did someone jam the signal?" she muttered. It had worked fine when they arrived.

Just then, Pax called out. "Guys, come look at this! What's happening out here?"

He was leaning over by a window-a wooden frame that had been shaken loose by the blasts. Chloe hurried over. Outside, there was nothing but

dirt. Earth was pressing in, spilling through the cracks and into the room.

Pax's voice was tight. "We're buried underground."

Suddenly, it all made sense to Chloe-why the door wouldn't budge no matter what. The whole chapel had been buried in the explosion. Did Killian really plan to bury them alive?

Erre

And if that's what was happening, why was Grant still here with them?