[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my":3,"chapter-bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-144":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","[BL] Bound to My Enemy: The Billionaire Who Took My Girl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1735778,2219,"Chapter 144: Hunt","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-144",144,"\u003Cp>CASSIAN\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dial tone echoed in my ear like a funeral knell. Alex’s voice, smooth and mocking, played on a loop in my skull. \"We’re having a little fun here, Cassian... You’ve already lost.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rage that followed was a physical thing, a black, suffocating tide that drowned the logic I usually prided myself on. I stood in the center of the gala’s main hall, the glittering chandeliers and the forced laughter of the elite feeling like a personal insult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t shove past people; I tore through them. I moved like a predator through a flock of sheep, my shoulders knocking guests aside, ignoring the indignant gasps and the spilled champagne. My eyes were frantic, scanning every cluster of suits, every silk gown, searching for a flash of Noah’s navy suit or the silver-tongued monster who had taken him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I checked the bathrooms. Empty. The balconies overlooking the sea. Nothing. I stormed through the VIP sections, my presence a dark storm cloud that silenced every conversation it touched. They weren’t here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stopped in the middle of the ballroom, the music suddenly sounding like white noise. My mind, sharpened by the desperation of a man who had everything to lose, began to strip away the distractions. Alex was a narcissist. He wanted control, and he wanted it close. He wouldn’t have driven miles away. He wouldn’t have risked the city traffic if he wanted to \"have fun.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was still in this building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pulled out my phone and hit the speed dial for Viktor, a tech specialist working for the Wolfe family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I need a location. Now,\" I barked, my voice a serrated blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"On who?\" Viktor’s voice was steady, the sound of rapid typing already clicking in the background.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alex Hendrix. He’s with someone. He took them somewhere private within the last fifteen minutes. He was last seen right here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m on it. Checking the registry for his vehicles... three cars, all still in the parking structure. He hasn’t driven out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He’s still here,\" I whispered, the confirmation settling in my gut like lead. \"But where would he go? The venue is crawling with people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m pulling property records for the district,\" Viktor said. \"Hendrix owns a downtown apartment, too far. An estate twenty-five minutes north. An investment property on the west side, it’s under renovation. None of these fit a fifteen-minute window on foot.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked up at the ceiling. The building was a historic landmark, a massive sprawl of stone and modern glass additions. \"Viktor. Does Hendrix own anything in this building?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pause. The clicking of the keyboard intensified. \"Checking building records... navigating the shell companies... wait. There’s a penthouse. Top floor. The ownership is buried three layers deep in a company called Hendrix Holdings LLC. Cassian, it’s his. It’s a private residence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart rate spiked, a painful thud against my ribs. \"How do I get there?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Private access. East wing. It’s a separate elevator bank, unmarked. It requires a high-level key card. You won’t get in through the main lobby.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was already running.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The east wing was quiet, the air cooler and the carpet thicker. I found the unmarked door, a slab of dark wood with a discrete card reader glowing red beside it. I didn’t reach for a card. I didn’t have time for a hack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pulled my 9mm from its holster and fired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bang was deafening in the narrow corridor, the smell of gunpowder instantly sharp. The lock shattered, and I kicked the door open. Inside was a small, plush lobby. Two security guards, alerted by the shot, were already drawing their weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sir, this is private property, \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t let him finish. I fired twice. I wasn’t aimining to kill, not yet. One shot took the first guard in the thigh; the second caught the other in the shoulder. They went down with yelps of pain, their weapons clattering to the floor. I didn’t look at them. I stepped over them and hit the elevator button.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doors slid open, revealing a mirrored interior. There were no buttons. Just another card reader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned back to the guard on the floor, the one clutching his leg. I knelt on his wound, ignoring his scream, and ripped the lanyard from his neck. I swiped the card. The elevator hummed to life and began its rapid, silent ascent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind me, I heard the heavy thud of boots. My own security team, led by four of my best men, burst into the small lobby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sir! Wait for backup!\" one of them shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doors closed. I was alone in the rising box of glass and mirrors. I watched the floor numbers climb, 10, 15, 20. I checked my magazine. Full. I had extra clips in my jacket and a knife tucked into my boot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Underneath the deadly calm of my preparations, terror was clawing at my throat. Please, let him be okay. Please, let me be fast enough. I couldn’t think about what Alex might be doing. If I did, the rage would blind me, and I needed to see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elevator chimed, and the doors slid open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four guards were waiting in the private hallway. They didn’t talk. They didn’t ask for ID. They opened fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I dived to the left, my body rolling across the marble floor as bullets shattered a decorative vase behind me. I took cover behind a massive marble column, the stone chipping away under the barrage of lead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I waited for the rhythm. One, two, three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I leaned out and fired three shots in rapid succession. The lead guard dropped with a hole in his forehead. I shifted my aim and caught the second in the chest, his body spinning back against the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The remaining two were smarter. They took cover, coordinating their fire. One began to flank me, moving around the far side of the column. I heard his footsteps, heavy and hurried. I waited until I saw the shadow of his gun barrel, then I lunged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grabbed the barrel, redirecting the shot into the ceiling, and slammed my forehead into his nose. I felt the bone crunch. As he staggered back, I put a bullet into his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>",1040,"2026-06-06T16:23:43.455Z",1,"novelbin.me","984483619c69278339e9ba5f3a9b29cfe05e9872dae58925c86adfb051e8b3fb","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-145","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-143",307,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-cover.jpg"]