Rebirth Of The Heiress And The Tycoon's Lover (Alina) novel Chapter 236

Chapter 236

AUTHOR’S POV.

Lucian was still smiling faintly when the call ended, the ghost of Alina’s voice lingering in his ear. He set the phone down on a nearby desk, staring at the black screen for a moment longer than necessary, as though savoring the warmth she’d left behind.

For the first time in days, he had heard her laugh without that thin edge of worry, and it had loosened something tight inside his chest.

But barely five minutes later, the device buzzed again. Without a second thought, Lucian picked it up, his lips curving.

“It’s been barely five minutes,” he drawled, his tone carrying that soft warmth he reserved only for her. “Don’t tell me you miss me already, wife–to–be.”

Silence.

Lucian frowned, straightening slightly in his chair. “Alina?”

There was nothing…no voice, no breath, just faint static crackling against the line. A distortion, the kind that pricked at his instincts.

He pulled the phone away from his ear and glanced at the screen. The smile faded instantly. Unknown

number.

Lucian’s jaw tightened. He snapped his fingers sharply at Ace, who was stationed near the window, alert even in supposed quiet. When Lucian held the screen up, Ace’s expression hardened immediately. Without needing further instruction, Ace typed rapidly into his secure device, summoning their tech team from the suite below.

Lucian lifted the phone back to his ear. “Who is this?”

At first, only static responded. He repeated, sharper this time, “I said, who is this?”

Then it came…the voice. Mechanical, distorted, grating like something out of a low budget sci–fi movie. Familiar. Mocking.

“So…” The voice drawled, broken and warped but carrying unmistakable smugness. “You’re finally getting married to Alina. That’s good. That’s good. It even makes my plan all the more better.”

Lucian froze. His fingers curled so tight around the phone his knuckles blanched. Rage flared instantly, hot and vicious. He knew that voice, he had heard it before in threats, in shadows that crept too close.

“You.” His voice dropped, venom dripping from every syllable. “Why don’t you stop hiding and come face me like a man? Let’s sort this out once and for all.”

The distorted laugh that followed was cold and hollow, echoing unnaturally against the static. “Where’s the fun in that, Lucian? No, no. I prefer this. The waiting. The watching. The not knowing.”

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Lucian’s pulse pounded, but his voice stayed sharp, steady, every word clipped. “You’re a coward. Hiding behind phones and machines, slithering in the dark. You don’t scare me.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” the voice hissed. “You’ve never been afraid of anything. But her?” A pause. The air seemed to freeze around the words. “What were you thinking though? Don’t you know that getting married to Alina will do nothing but put her in danger. Or didn’t it cross your mind that tying her to you is like painting a target on her back?”

Lucian’s stomach twisted, but he shoved the flicker of uncase deep down, burying it beneath raw fury. “You stay the hell away from her. You so much as breathe near her, and I’ll make sure you regret ever crawling inte this world.”

The laugh came again, distorted and cruel. “Oh, Lucian, I didn’t call to give marriage advice. I called to offer my sincere congratulations.” The word slithered like poison. “Enjoy your wedding. Enjoy every smile, every kiss, every vow. Because soon…”

The voice dropped lower, darker. “Soon, you’ll see me.”

The line went dead.

Lucian stood there, his chest heaving, the silence after the call deafening. For a second, the only sound in the room was the blood roaring in his ears.

“Boss?” Ace’s voice cut through, steady but tense.

Lucian turned sharply toward the tech team that had rushed in, his gaze like steel. “Did you get it? Did you get a location?”

One of the men shook his head, frustration etched across his features. “No, sir. The call wasn’t long enough. He dropped it before we could pin him. All we got was heavy scrambling… it was bounced through at least six different servers. Whoever it is, they’re good. Too good for a standard trace.”

Lucian cursed under his breath, slamming the phone onto the desk with enough force that it rattled against the wood. His composure was cracking,not something he allowed often, not something he could afford.

Ace stepped closer. “Boss, should I call Talia? She’s sharper than all of them combined. If anyone can break through that kind of scrambling, it’s her.”

Lucian’s head snapped up, eyes blazing. “No.”

Ace blinked. “No?”

“No,” Lucian repeated, voice low but firm. He raked a hand through his hair, pacing the room in tight, controlled strides. “If Talia gets involved, Alina will know. You think she won’t see the change in Talia’s face? She’ll ask questions. And she’s only just beginning to feel at peace again. I won’t drag her back into fear…not today. Not on our wedding day.”

Ace studied him for a long moment, his expression unreadable, before nodding once. He understood. He always did.

Lucian pressed his palms against the desk, leaning forward, his jaw clenched so tightly it ached. That voice’s words clawed at him, replaying over and over.

Om

Chapter 236

‘Doesn’t it cross your mind that tying her to you is like painting a target on her back?

His chest tightened.

Alina.

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He thought of the unease she had confessed to him in quiet whispers, the dread she couldn’t explain. A part of him wondered… was this what she had been sensing all along?

Lucian straightened abruptly, his decision clear. He turned to Ace, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Alina has security with her now, yes?”

“Yes, boss,” Ace replied without hesitation. “Her suite is covered. Discreet, but thorough.”

“Double it,” Lucian ordered. “I don’t care what it takes, move shadows from every other post. Her workplace, the store, the routes she usually takes…I don’t give a damn. I want every single one of them at that hotel. Around her. On her. Do you understand me? She doesn’t breathe without my men seeing it.”

Ace’s eyes hardened, his loyalty unwavering. “Understood boss.” He moved swiftly toward the door to relay the orders, his voice already issuing commands into his comms.

Lucian remained still, his hands gripping the edge of the desk until his knuckles turned white. His mind was a storm, Alina’s smile flashing against the backdrop of that distorted laugh, her laughter colliding with the memory of static, distorted voice and threats.

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