My Stepbrother's Warm Trap Novel by Sage Cole _ Novel





My Stepbrother's Warm Trap Chapter 01

No one in the Flanagan family knew that Vivienne Rogen had been involved with her adopted brother, Charles Flanagan, for a long time.
On countless quiet nights, she would slip into his room with practiced ease and lose herself entirely in his arms.
Charles was a bit reluctant at first, but eventually, he began leaving a dim wall lamp on every night, waiting for her.
Vivienne thought she had finally melted his cold heart, especially after his assistant, Preston Hadley, publicly bought the one-of-a-kind tiara—"Starlight"—last month.
Rumors spread through their social circle that Charles might be getting married soon, and Vivienne believed that once she finished her postgraduate studies, he would make their relationship public.
The next morning, blinding camera flashes went off repeatedly in the bedroom.
Vivienne was ripped off the bed as a bucket of ice water slammed over her head, sending a shiver racing through her body.
"Know your place! How dare you, an adopted nobody, climb into your savior's bed?!"
Lilliana Rutherford stood near the bed, staring down at Vivienne with a condescending air, holding the tiara.
She was Charles' fiancée?!
Vivienne stiffly turned her head and looked at Charles, who was leaning against the headboard.
Charles looked completely calm, his face blank. He casually grabbed a robe and draped it over himself, his gaze sweeping over her with disdain. "The tiara is an engagement gift for Lilliana.
"Vivienne, you've crossed the line."
Those words were like a blade, stabbing straight into Vivienne's chest.
What she thought was mutual love was, in his eyes, nothing more than a fling he could end at any moment.
The scandal got the entire Flanagan family riled up.
Vivienne knelt on the cold marble floor of the living room. Charles' grandfather, Stanley Flanagan, hit her hard on the back with his cane.
"We raised you for 12 years, making sure you have everything you need. Is this how you repay us, by seducing your own brother?
"You're a disgrace to the family! Lock her in the basement. Without my permission, she's not to be fed!"
Vivienne bit her lip hard, not making a single sound.
She deserved it.
She knew Charles was the untouchable heir of the Flanagan family and that they were technically siblings, yet she still threw herself at him like a moth to a flame.
Back then, it was Charles who had taken her hand outside the orphanage and brought her home.
When someone called her an unwanted bastard, he was the one who broke the person's leg coldly.
On every stormy night, he covered her ears and said gently, "I'm here with you."
It all turned out to be an act.
After being locked in the basement for three full days, Vivienne was nearly dehydrated.
The servant guarding her forgot to lock the door, and with her last bit of strength, she crawled back to her room, intending to take her ID from the drawer and leave the Flanagan family for good.
She opened the drawer, but it was empty—the several thousand dollars she had saved from scholarships were also gone.
Supporting herself against the wall, she went downstairs to confront Charles, but outside the slightly ajar study door, she heard him chatting and smoking with his friends.
"You transferred the funds under Vivienne's name to Lilliana as a wedding gift? That was the settlement from her father's fatal accident. You've gone too far."
Charles exhaled a ring of smoke, his voice cold. "Is that so?"
"Is it not? Everyone is laughing at her now. Even the architecture department is considering holding back her graduation certificate.
"You deliberately let Lilliana catch you in the act just to obtain those funds, right?" Charles' friend clicked his tongue. "But honestly, after sleeping in the same bed for three years, don't you have any feelings for her?
"Back then, you insisted on adopting her despite everyone's refusal. You even let her practice handling the company's core projects. Was it all really just an act?"
The study fell silent for a few seconds, with only the crisp click of a lighter flicking on and off.
"You must've been watching too many romance flicks." Charles scoffed, his tone chillingly indifferent. "If she were that important, I wouldn't be marrying Lilliana."
His friend sighed.
"That makes sense, but you've kept it well hidden. Vivienne probably still doesn't know that her father didn't die from driver fatigue and falling off a cliff, but took the blame for your father instead.
"You didn't just keep her in the dark—you held her here with lies and false affection, letting her lose her best years. That's ruthless."
"It's what she owes us." Charles' voice carried no warmth. "As long as she stays obediently, I'll provide for her for life."
Outside the door, Vivienne bit down hard on the back of her hand until blood seeped into her mouth, yet she felt no pain.
She finally discovered the truth.
Every stain on her father's reputation had the Flanagan family's fingerprints all over it.
Charles' kindness toward her had been nothing but a carefully planned imprisonment all along.
Yet, like a fool, she fell in love with the son of her father's killer. She even chose to be his secret lover for three years.
Sharp pain left her gasping and shivering, but the conversation in the study was not over yet.
"After you get married, what do you plan to do with her?"
Charles casually crushed out his cigarette.
"Her money is gone, and her reputation is ruined. A bird with clipped wings has nowhere to go except this cage of mine.
"I'll just buy her an apartment somewhere and keep her there. It's not like we can't afford that."

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