THE VOSS KANE LEGACY SERIES (BOOK1)

002

TALIA

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel tightly.

My mind was filled with different thoughts. What if he had caught on to everything?

I honked uncontrollably, driving through the traffic.

I arrived at the gate of the mansion, dread sinking in my stomach.

Ian stood on the balcony, his back turned to me, smoke curling from his mouth. But he wasn't alone. There was another woman, but she was backing me as well.

I hated the smell of smoke. Ever since he approached me with that smell, he noticed the little frown I tried to hide. Since then, he hadn't smoked in the house for five years. This was a habit he promised he would quit, one promise he kept, until now.

I climbed the stairs, he didn't turn, so did she. There was something oddly familiar about her posture.

Then he paused mid-drag and turned with her, and my heart sank.

My supposed sister.

Isla Voss. Or rather, Isla Kane.

I stopped mid-stairs, my hands frozen at the rail.

Was this what Victor meant when he said he would step in? Bringing Isla in to finish the plan?

Isla turned facing me, flashing the same cool smile she had growing up, her perfect jawline, and her long flawless black hair.

“You should go.” Ian managed.

I knew what this meant, what I didn't know was why Isla was back. She played her part in the plan already, this was my part to play.

Nobody communicated anything to me. I stared at her, my mind filled with uncountable questions.

Ian took one last drag as he crushed the cigarette on the ashtray.

“Ian.” I managed, my voice already weak.

He glanced at Isla, then back at me.

“T-Talia. Meet my wife,” he said, intertwining their fingers together.

I couldn't get my eyes off their hands.

I wanted to scream. I needed an explanation.

That was when it all clicked. Victor's word came ringing. Victor never bluffed. He didn't say things he wouldn't do. He once warned that if I didn't learn how to break firewalls in twenty-four hours, he was going to burn my back. Which he did. It created a big scar, but I covered it with a tattoo.

I smiled, trying to hold back my tears, my sight already blurring.

“Isla. Isla Kane.” she smiled.

“Hm.” I managed. Any more words and I would break down. I always had a hunch that Isla secretly hated me, but she was my sister, I doubt she hated me.

Maybe indeed, she needed to step in and end this revenge once and for all.

“And you are?” she asked.

“Talia Voss. I work for your husband.” I muttered, gripping the rail tightly.

I needed someone to tap me out of this dream. One minute I'm trying to clone documents to get revenge for my family, the other minute I realise I'm being sidelined by that same family?

Ian didn't respond to me anymore. He had said all he wanted to. In my head, I knew the sparks between us were just games, but my heart didn't listen. With a man like that, it was hard not to imagine more.

I turned back once more, staring at Isla, hoping she would give me a signal or something. I needed to believe I wasn't being betrayed, yet she said nothing. She just kept on flashing her smile, leaning on Ian.

“I already informed Sora on your way here to pack your things,” he said.

“Okay,” I responded.

Everything he had given me, I could take. My accounts were funded, and he even gifted me a property, a villa. I left with everything I owned, but not the reason why I was here.

I got in, as I drove off, the villa lights dimmed behind us. My things were being sent to the new villa Ian gifted me.

I couldn't explain the emotions that were surging through me.

Anger, betrayal, many things I couldn't process.

How didn't I get hold of this? Why didn't Victor tell me he was changing the plan? Why did it feel like I was being tossed around?

I opened my call log, searching for Victor's number. He never called me ever since I entered Ian's life. We communicated on the watch he gifted me.

I called him, but the call went straight to voicemail. What was going on? My eyes were so focused on my phone, hoping Victor picks that I didn't see the car coming in front of me.

The impact came from nowhere.

One second I was looking at my screen, begging and hoping for Victor to pick.

The next second, my world was exploding.

My car spun, my seatbelt tightened across my chest. My windscreen shattered into a thousand pieces, my vision slowly turning pitch black.

I could hear the faint sound of rain on broken glass and lightning, thundering from a distance.

The last thing I could remember was my door cracking open, and someone pulling me like I weighed nothing.

With my faint strength, I tried to push away, but I couldn't.

“Wait, I've got you.”

The low sound of a very familiar voice.

“Stay with me.” he said.” Look at me,” he begged, tapping my face. I tried, but blood was in my eyes. I saw faint red and blue lights, and the wailing of sirens before I saw darkness.

The next time I opened my eyes, everywhere was white. I thought I had died, until I heard muffled voices.

I saw a man half asleep, his hands pressed to mine.

I pulled my hands out in shock, hissing in pain as a result of the impact.

He got up, his dark hair falling over his face.

“Finally, you're awake.” he breathed, like he'd been waiting to say that.

“Fina- how long has it been?” I whispered, finding it difficult to talk with the tubes attached to me and the machines breathing for me.

“Three days,” he said.

“Three?” My eyes widened.

He exhaled before he spoke. “You had a collapsed lung, six cracked ribs, a fractured skull, and internal bleeding they barely caught in time.” he managed, like it was the most difficult thing to say.

I looked at him, he had the same blood-stained Shirt from that night, his eyes were red. Someone had given him hospital Scrubs to change into, but he didn't.

I tried to speak, but he stopped me. “Don’t. Just rest,” he said.

“My things.” I managed.

“I had my boys search the car properly, taking everything before the police arrived,” he responded.

Tears ran down my face, my heart racing.

The machines went crazy as the nurses rushed in.

They gave me something that made the world soft again.

My sight became blurry, but I saw something move beyond the door—a shadow maybe.

Once again, everything became dark.