Novel-novel oleh Favour Kayla

Nickie's POVThe facility was two hours away by car.Leon drove fast, his hands tight on the wheel. Neither of us spoke much. The weight of everything sat heavy between us."Are you okay?" I said finally."No," he said honestly. "I keep thinking about her. Locked away for four years. While I thought she just left.""You didn't know," I said. "You can't blame yourself for what her brother did.""I should have looked harder," he said. "I gave up too easily."I reached over and touched his arm."You were grieving," I said. "That's not the same as giving up."He glanced at me, something softening in his face."Thank you," he said quietly.We drove the rest of the way mostly in silence, watching the city give way to smaller towns, then to open countryside.The facility looked peaceful from outside. A large building surrounded by gardens. Calm. Quiet. Nothing like what I imagined.We walked in together. A woman at the front desk looked up, surprised by our arrival."We're here to see Isabel

Chapter 29Leon's POVI saw the fear in Nickie's eyes and I hated it."I need you to trust me," I said. "Before I explain anything else.""Then explain," she said. Her voice was steady, but her hands were shaking.I took a slow breath."Her name was Isabelle," I said. "We were engaged four years ago. Before Knight Industries became what it is now. Before any of this.""What happened?" Nickie said."She wanted things I couldn't give her," I said. "Money faster than I could make it. Status faster than I could build it. When I told her I needed more time, she got angry. We fought. Badly.""And then she disappeared," Nickie said."Two days later," I said. "No warning. I called everyone. Her family wouldn't speak to me. The police said she was an adult who could leave if she wanted.""Did you look for her?" Nickie said."For months," I said. "I hired investigators. Nothing. She was just gone."Miss Thorne cleared her throat again."Sir," she said. "There's more in the file. I didn't want t

Nickie's POVI stared at the name on the screen.Daniel Kwon."That can't be right," I said. "Daniel is in protective custody. He's been cooperating with everyone. He gave us everything on Crane."Leon leaned closer, reading it again."Maybe someone used his old credentials," he said. "Like they used yours.""But why route it through him?" I said. "What does that even mean?"Leon was quiet for a moment."Unless he's not as clean as we thought," he said slowly.I shook my head."No," I said. "Daniel made mistakes. Big ones. But he's been trying to fix it. He wouldn't do this.""People change under pressure," Leon said carefully. "Especially people who've already sold research once."I stood up, my heart pounding."I need to call him," I said. "Right now."I dialed. It rang four times before he picked up."Nickie?" His voice sounded groggy. Like I woke him up. "It's five in the morning. What's wrong?""Did you access the Meritus files tonight?" I said. "Using my login?"Silence."Daniel

Leon's POVI called my lawyer at midnight.She answered fast, like she was already awake."I need everything on my father's hospital insurance," I said. "For Nickie's father. Right now.""What happened?" she said."Someone is threatening to touch his medical bill," I said. "Tonight or tomorrow morning."She was quiet for a second."I'll pull the records," she said. "Give me an hour."I hung up and looked at Nickie. She sat very still, staring at her phone."They can't just cancel it," I said. "The payment already went through. It's done.""You don't know these people like I thought I did," she said quietly. "They find ways."I sat beside her."Nickie," I said. "Look at me."She looked up."We caught Crane. We caught the funding trail. We caught Vance," I said. "We are going to catch this too.""What if they hurt him?" she said. Her voice was small. "What if this isn't about money anymore?"I didn't have a good answer for that. So I just held her hand.We sat like that until my phone r

Nickie's POVI didn't want to leave my dad.But Leon's face told me this was serious."Go," my dad said. "I'm fine. Really.""Are you sure?" I said.He squeezed my hand."I've survived worse than a scary woman in a nice coat," he said. "Go handle your business."I kissed his forehead and stood up.Leon called a car on the way down. We rode in silence, both of us thinking hard."What do you think they found?" I said."I don't know," Leon said. "But it's not good if it made them call an emergency session this fast."We reached the office building in fifteen minutes. Walsh was waiting for us outside the boardroom, his face grim."You need to see this," he said. "Both of you."We walked in. The screen was already up. Bank records. New ones."This came in an hour ago," Walsh said. "Anonymous source. Same as before."I looked at the numbers.A new account. Large transfers. Recent ones."What is this?" I said."It's payments," Walsh said. "From Marcus Vance."I froze.Marcus Vance. The board

Leon's POVI saw her face change."What's wrong?" I said.She showed me the phone.I read it fast."Call the hospital," I said. "Now."She dialed with shaking hands. It rang three times before someone picked up."This is Nickie Chen. I need to know about my father's room. Room 412."A pause. Too long."He's not there anymore?" Her voice cracked. "What do you mean he's not there?"I stood up and grabbed her other hand."What's happening?" I said.She held up one finger. Still listening."Moved where?" she said. "Why would you move him without telling me?"Another pause.Her face went white."Thank you," she said quietly. She hung up."Nickie," I said."They said a woman came this morning," she said slowly. "She had paperwork. She said she was his emergency contact. She had my father moved to a private facility.""What woman?" I said."They didn't have a name," she said. "Just papers. Official looking papers."My stomach dropped."Victoria," I said."But how?" Nickie said. "How would sh