Chapter 201 [ 482 words ] Chapter 201: Augustus looked down at her with absolute disgust. He kicked his leg back, ripping the fabric from her grip. “Remove her,” Augustus commanded. Finch raised a hand. Two massive security guards stepped into the study, grabbed Harper by the arms, hauled her
Chapter 200 [ 517 words ] Chapter 200: She didn’t hug her daughter. She raised her right hand and swung it with every ounce of strength she possessed. Smack. The sound of the slap was deafening in the quiet room. The force of the blow knocked Harper completely off balance.
Chapter 199 [ 498 words ] Chapter 199: Her palms were sweating profusely. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She reached the heavy oak doors, wrapped her trembling fingers around the cold brass handle, and twisted. A soft click echoed in the silence. The door was unlocked. A massive wave
Chapter 198 [ 517 words ] Chapter 198: Inside the study, Finch remained completely unaware of the interruption in the hallway. His face was a mask of professional stoicism as he turned to the second half of the Spectre Advisory report. His voice lost a fraction of its monotone flatness.
Chapter 197 [ 485 words ] Chapter 197: Finch continued reading in his flat, emotionless tone. He detailed Caroline’s origins: born in a middle-class suburb in Virginia to parents who were currently drowning in a second mortgage. The report stated that Caroline had graduated from a standard state university nursing
Chapter 196 [ 521 words ] Chapter 196: She walked to the front registers, her mind a chaotic blur of adrenaline and dread, completely devoid of any desire to make small talk or wait for a slow card reader. She pulled three crumpled twenty-dollar bills from her pocket, dropped them
Chapter 195 [ 470 words ] Chapter 195: “If that is really your dog,” Caroline stated brutally, “then you are a disgusting, abusive owner. You don’t even have the basic decency to avoid grabbing a fresh surgical wound.” The atmosphere in the aisle shifted instantly. The crowd of shoppers lowered
Chapter 194 [ 467 words ] Chapter 194: Caroline’s fingers remained locked into the nerve cluster on Beatrice’s shoulder. Her grip felt exactly like a hydraulic press clamping down on soft tissue. Beatrice’s arrogant, furious expression warped into a mask of pure agony. She let out a high, piercing shriek
Chapter 193 [ 479 words ] Chapter 193: The accusation was precise, and it landed exactly where Caroline intended. Beatrice’s composure shattered. She looked down at the whimpering dog in her arms, at the fresh blood staining her sleeve, and her face drained of color. For the first time, there
Chapter 192 [ 506 words ] Chapter 192: chain reaction that could end with Bell’s men storming a civilian PetSmart before noon. Jarrod’s enemies would triangulate the incident within hours. The cover he had built to protect her would shatter on a pet-store security camera. Caroline’s grip on Beatrice’s shoulder
Chapter 191 [ 507 words ] Chapter 191: “Take your filthy hands off me, you piece of trash!” Beatrice screamed, clutching the whimpering dog to her chest. “You stole my dog! It’s worth over ten thousand dollars! Do you know who my family is? I will have you thrown in
Chapter 190 [ 495 words ] Chapter 190: She looked entirely out of place among the suburban shoppers in their yoga pants. Beatrice wore a full Chanel pre-fall tweed suit, massive black designer sunglasses, and four-inch stilettos that clicked aggressively against the polished concrete floor. She had been up all
Chapter 189 [ 486 words ] Chapter 189: The dog heard her crying. It jumped off the bed, limped over to her, and began frantically licking the salty tears from the back of her hands. Caroline grabbed the small animal and pulled it tightly against her chest, rocking back and
Chapter 188 [ 498 words ] Chapter 188: She walked over to the old wooden desk and pulled open the bottom drawer. Inside sat a stack of her high school yearbooks and a faded diary. She stared at the innocent objects, and a sudden, violent wave of absurdity washed over
Chapter 187 [ 503 words ] Chapter 187: She had come home seeking comfort. She wanted her mother to hug her and tell her everything would be okay. Instead, she was being interrogated and blamed for a divorce that hadn’t even happened. “Mom, stop!” Caroline yelled, her voice cracking. “We
Chapter 186 [ 489 words ] Chapter 186: Bell shook his head. “Negative. The Colonel initiated Code Black. You are confined to the perimeter of this building.” Caroline dropped the duffel bag onto the hardwood floor. She walked right up to the towering mercenary. She tilted her head back, her
Chapter 185 [ 496 words ] Chapter 185: K. C. Bell sat in the hidden security control room behind the kitchen. The walls were lined with glowing monitors displaying every camera feed in the building. Suddenly, the military communications terminal on the desk flashed a bright, violent red. A heavily
Chapter 184 [ 494 words ] Chapter 184: Caroline reached down and carefully lifted the small animal onto the bed. It curled up against her side and pressed its warm body against her ribs. Caroline turned her head and buried her face in the dog’s fur. A single, hot tear
Chapter 183 [ 494 words ] Chapter 183: “I am not your prisoner!” Caroline hissed into the phone, her gray eyes flashing with fury. “I am an adult. I can have a conversation with a coworker without asking for your permission!” “You are mine,” Jarrod stated brutally. The raw, obsessive
Chapter 182 [ 508 words ] Chapter 182: She walked over to her locker. The metal door was dented from where the janitor had pried it open with a crowbar days ago, but a heavy, brand-new combination padlock secured it. She spun the dial, popped the lock, and pulled the