2024-10-09 21:13:42
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CHAPTER 777
Her wrists were cinched tight with heavy-duty zip ties to the arms of a cold, iron chair."Welcome back, Counselor," a voice purred. "I was beginning to think I’d overshot the dosage. It would have been a shame to photograph you while you were drooping. The lighting in here is far too expensive for a slouch."Persis blinked rapidly, her teeth chattering as the cold air hit her soaked skin. As her vision cleared, the first thing she saw was the pregnant woman from the store.Except that the maternity coat was gone. She was now dressed in a sleek tactical turtleneck, her frame lean and muscular. She wasn't holding a gun anymore; she was holding a professional-grade Leica camera, the lens pointed directly at Persis’s face."You," Persis managed to wheeze.She looked around the room, her heart sinking into a cold, hollow pit. It wasn’t a dungeon or a basement; it was a meticulously curated studio. The walls were a stark, gallery white, and dozens of high-intensity softbox lights surro
CHAPTER 776
Marek met her gaze, his expression unreadable."She’s a Washington now, Perseia. She has resources you haven't even seen yet. But right now, everyone… yours, hers, and Tedmond's… is moving toward the same coordinate. We have to wait for Albert to give the word."Perseia didn't look entirely satisfied, but she nodded curtly. She reached Millicent’s side and knelt before the older woman, taking her hands."We’re staying put, Millicent," Perseia said, her voice forced into a soothing melody. "The boys are handling the hunt. We’re going to stay right here and wait for the call."Millicent looked at her, her pale eyes surprisingly clear. "He won't just find her, Perseia. He’ll destroy the world that took her. I just hope Persis is ready for the man he becomes when he’s protecting his own."*****The air in the subterranean command center was frigid, smelling of ozone and high-end cooling fans. Tedmond stood in the center of the dark room, his silhouette cast in the flickering blue glow
CHAPTER 775
"Young master," Marek said, his voice a jagged edge of grief and raw, unfiltered panic. "They have her. They took Persis. A gray van, armored, probably Crossroad Men. I’m… I’m losing sight of them."Marek stood in the center of the asphalt, his gun still leveled at the empty space where the van had been. He expected a roar of fury. He expected the sound of glass shattering or a scream of agony to rip through the speaker. Instead, there was a silence so profound it felt like a physical weight."Tedmond?" Marek pressed, his heart hammering against his ribs. "Did you hear me? They have Persis."On the other end of the line, Tedmond exhaled. It was a slow, terrifyingly steady sound. When he spoke, his voice wasn't filled with the rage Marek anticipated. It was relaxed, chillingly so. It was the tone of a man who had already moved past emotion and into the cold, surgical realm of total war."I heard you, Marek," Tedmond said quietly. "Relax. Stop chasing the van. If it’s armored and
CHAPTER 774
Perseia appeared at the end of the aisle, her eyes widening. "Persis! You look like a Rorschach test.""I know, Sia," Persis sighed, dabbing at her shoulder with a sodden napkin. "I’m going to the restroom to see if I can salvage this before it sets. Stay with Millicent?""Of course," Perseia said, her gaze flicking toward the front window. Marek was visible through the glass, his brow furrowed as he tracked the interaction. "Go. Scrub. I’ll make sure Mother doesn't buy the entire candy aisle."Persis offered a quick, strained smile to the pregnant woman one last time before slipping toward the back of the store.Outside, Marek’s grip tightened on his phone. He didn't like the separation. "Hino, Persis, is heading to the back alone. Minor accident with a civilian. I don't like the look of it. Move to the rear exit. Now."**The restroom was as clinical and silent as the rest of the boutique. Persis stood before the wide, backlit mirror, the cold sting of the latte seeping through
CHAPTER 773
“A previous arrangement,” Perseia said carefully. “Not our favorite chapter. The point is, Tedmond was still in it. And he used to appear at certain functions looking…”She paused, searching for the precise word.“…maligned. That’s the only word. He would stand in a room full of people, dressed impeccably, and somehow manage to look like a man who had been personally wronged by the concept of the evening.”“Like he was being held there against his will by invisible obligations he was too principled to abandon,” Millicent added.Millicent was watching her with quiet attention.“And Persis…” Perseia turned to look at her sister, a grin breaking through properly now… warm, irreverent, and entirely fond. “…Persis, who has never in her life approached anything recklessly, who measures every decision like she’s submitting it to a tribunal.”“Persis looked at this enormous, brooding, thoroughly miserable man across a room and something in her simply…” she made a small, helpless gesture, “…d
CHAPTER 772
The doctor nodded, closed the folder, and quietly excused herself.The three of them sat in the silence of the afternoon light until Millicent broke it."Well," she said, her voice dry and faintly amused. "It seems I am going to be a great deal of trouble for some time yet."Perseia made a sound that was half-laugh, wholly genuine. "Mother, I think you've been in trouble your entire life. The legs are irrelevant."‘Mother?’ Persis’s brows arched.Millicent turned to her, and something warm moved across her face. "I think," she said, "that I am going to enjoy having you in the family very much."Persis said nothing. She just looked at her hands and smiled, letting the moment be exactly what it was.*****The restaurant Perseia chose was the kind of place that didn't bother putting its name on the door. It didn't need to; the city knew it by reputation and by the particular quality of silence inside, the kind money buys, not the kind that happens by accident.The tables were set far
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