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Chapter 37
Tanggal publikasi:
2026-09-19 16:39:22
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BOUND IN IRON AND INK Chapter 40
THE PERIMETERJaxson Lawson pov:The lights went out.For one second, the entire estate disappeared into darkness.Then Kirrily gasped.“Toby.”I was already moving.I grabbed the flashlight from the drawer beneath my desk and switched it on.“Kirrily, stay here.”“No.”Her answer came immediately.I turned toward her.“Toby is outside.”“I know.”“Then I'm coming with you.”“No.”Her eyes flashed.“You don't get to tell me to stay behind anymore.”I understood the fear in her voice because I felt it too.But mine was colder.More controlled.I had spent years learning how to keep panic from taking over when everything around me collapsed.Tonight, that control was slipping.Toby was four years old.He had no idea what kind of people were circling this estate.He trusted us to keep him safe.That responsibility settled heavily on my shoulders.I reached for the radio attached to my belt.“Security, status.”Static.Nothing else.I tried again.“Security, respond.”Still nothing.Kirrily looked at me.“They cut the
BOUND IN IRON AND INK Chapter 39
THE TRUTH I WASN'T READY FOR Kirrily”Rindy”Cross pov:I couldn't look away from the photograph.My father's name was written beneath it.Four words.That's all it took to tear apart everything I thought I knew.Meeting with Kirrily's father.My fingers tightened around the photograph until the paper bent.“No.”The word barely left my mouth.Jaxson stood across from me, completely still.I looked at him.“Tell me that's not real.”He didn't answer.“Jaxson.”His eyes met mine.“It was taken four days before Evie died.”My chest tightened.“That doesn't mean anything.”“It means something.”“No.”I shook my head.“My father wasn't involved in this.”“You don't know that.”“I knew my father.”The words came out sharper than I intended.Jaxson didn't argue.That somehow hurt more.I looked back at the photograph.My sister was standing beside someone I didn't recognize.And somewhere beyond that picture was a conversation that had happened without me.A conversation my sister had never told me about.I suddenly f
BOUND IN IRON AND INK Chapter 38
THE NAME IN HIS EMPIRE Kirrily”Rindy”Cross pov:I stared at the name on the document and forgot how to breathe.EVIE CROSS.My sister's name.Not written on an old photograph.Not hidden inside some forgotten letter.It was printed across a corporate document bearing Jaxson Lawson's name.His company.His empire.His secrets.I looked up at him.“Why is my sister's name on your corporate holdings?”Jaxson didn't answer.That frightened me more than anything else.I stepped closer, snatched the document from his hand and looked at it again.Maybe I had read it wrong.Maybe grief had finally made me see things that weren't there.But the name remained.Evie Cross.My sister.Dead for four years.And somehow connected to the Lawson empire.“How long?” I asked.Jaxson's expression remained hard, but I could see something behind his eyes.Regret.“How long has her name been there?”“Kirrily”“Don't.”My voice shook.I hated that it did.I wanted to be angry.Anger was easier.Anger didn't make my chest hurt.Anger d
BOUND IN IRON AND INK Chapter 37
THE TRUTH BETWEEN USJaxson Lawson pov:I knew she was angry before I opened the door.The silence told me.Kirrily was never quiet when she was afraid. She argued. She questioned everything. She pushed until she found an answer she could live with.Silence meant she was thinking.And that worried me more than her shouting ever could.I stepped into my study and closed the door behind me.She stood beside the heavy mahogany desk, her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her eyes met mine immediately.There was no hesitation in them.Only anger.“You lied to me.”I stopped.The accusation hit harder than it should have.“I didn't.”Her laugh was short and bitter.“You expect me to believe that?”“I expect you to let me explain.”“You've had plenty of chances to explain.”She stepped toward me.I stayed where I was.“You followed me,” she said. “You had people watching me. You knew things about my life that I never told you.”My jaw tightened.“I was trying to keep you alive.”“That doesn't give you the
BOUND IN IRON AND INK Chapter 36
THE LOOK IN HIS EYESKirrily”Rindy”CrossThe lights went out.For one heartbeat, I couldn't see anything.Then I heard the door slam.I gasped.Someone grabbed my wrist.I almost screamed."Kirrily."Jaxson.His voice was low, close enough to send a shiver through me."It's me."I pulled my hand away."Don't touch me."He released me immediately.For a few seconds, we stood in complete darkness.The only light came from the faint glow of the city beyond the windows.My heart was beating so hard it hurt."What happened?" I whispered,"Power cut.""Convenient."His silence told me he didn't appreciate the accusation.I heard him move.A drawer opened.Something metallic clicked.A small emergency lamp flickered on.The weak light illuminated his face.He looked different.Harder.More dangerous.His gray eyes moved past me.Straight to the desk.To the documents.To the open safe.Then back to me.I knew that look.I had seen it before when he was angry.But this wasn't anger.Not exactly.There was pain underneath it.So
BOUND IN IRON AND INK Chapter 35
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE NAMEKirrily”Rindy”CrossI stared at Jaxson.His question kept echoing inside my head."Who told you she was dead?"For a moment, I couldn't move.Couldn't breathe.Couldn't even blink.Because there was only one answer to that question.Everyone.Everyone who had known Evie was gone had told me the same thing.The police.The doctors.The people who had come to my door with lowered voices and careful expressions.And me.I had watched my sister's life disappear piece by piece until there was nothing left except memories I couldn't bear to touch.I had mourned her.I had cried for her.I had spent four years trying to survive the guilt of being alive when she wasn't.And now Jaxson Lawson was standing in front of me, looking at me like I'd just asked him a question that could destroy both of us."Answer me," I whispered.His eyes didn't leave mine."Evie wasn't what you thought she was."The words struck harder than a slap.I shook my head."Don't.""Kirrily""Don't you dare."My voice b
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