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Chapter 10: Chloe’s Fragile Sanctuary

Author: V.TORIA
last update Petsa ng paglalathala: 2026-09-26 17:22:06

Valkyrie's POV

The rain had ceased, but the fog drifting from the ocean was so dense.

I stood at the kitchen window with a steaming mug of black coffee, my eyes on the driveway.

All my instincts were urging me to get Lachlan and Chloe into the Ford Falcon and disappear further along the coast.

The email warning the live GPS indicating that a vehicle was approaching Port Campbell was still burning behind my eyelids like a brand.

"Val?"

The silence in the cabin was broken by a soft, raspy voice.

I turned instantly, getting rid of the panic from my face.

My sister was standing on the archway of the sunroom. Chloe looked delicate and pale, as if the morning light seemed to pass through her. Though she was in her early twenties, she looked older than a teenager.

"You're up early, sweetheart," I said, setting down my coffee and hurrying over to her side. I slipped my arm around her waist, supporting her before her knees gave way.

“I couldn't sleep,” she said, her breath coming in short, difficult puffs.

She leaned towards me and placed the cool side of her cheek against my shoulder.

"My legs feel as if they're made of lead today, Val. It's just like... my body has forgotten how to support itself." I felt a sharp, familiar pain twisting in my chest.

After I had left Melbourne, Chloe had been stuck under the control of Victoria Vance at St. Jude’s, serving as invisible collateral to keep me quiet.

It took two years of careful offshore trading through Aegis, production of new medical guardianship documents, and bribery of a senior administrator to secretly get her out of that institution and bring her back to Port Campbell.

Finally, she was with me and had escaped Victoria's control. However, the neurological damage caused by the poor and prolonged care she received at St. Jude's was still a permanent drawback.

“It's just the wet weather,” I murmured, pushing a soft strand of hair from her face as I helped her get into the padded armchair by the window.

“The air over the sea is cold today, but you'll feel better after drinking your tea.”

"I hate being a burden to you," Chloe managed to get out, her eyes shining with tears she wasn't shedding as she looked up at me.

"You risked everything to get me out of the hospital, Val. You work all night on that computer, look after Lachlan and I and all I do is sit here watching you exhaust yourself."

"You're not a burden, Chloe," I said, lowering my voice to a strong and firm tone. I grasped both of her hands, holding them firmly.

"You are my sister, and bringing you home was the best thing I have ever done. Never say that again."

She managed a thin smile, but there was no denying the exhaustion affecting her eyelids, so she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cushion.

A quiet knock on the front of the door made me jump, and my blood turned cold.

I reached out to the pocket of my cardigan instinctively as my fingers closed around the handle of my small folding knife. I stood up slowly, moving step by step between the doorway and Chloe’s chair.

"Valerie? It's Hamish."

Although the tension in my shoulders lessened a bit, the knot in my stomach still stayed tight as I released the latch on the door to open it.

Dr. Hamish Croft was standing on the porch with his rain jacket wet from the mist and his old leather medical bag in his hand.

He gave me a gentle and comforting smile, even though he was looking at my face with the usual medical care and attention.

"Good morning, Val. Is it Aegis that's keeping you awake again?"

"I had a restless night," I said in a smooth voice, and locked the door after him. "Chloe is having a difficult morning today because she's feeling very tired."

Hamish's face changed to one of professional concentration. "Shall we have a look at her?"

He went over to the armchair and knelt down beside Chloe in a tender manner, examined her pulse, listened to her lungs, and looked at her nerve responses.

"Her nerve pathways are inflamed again," Hamish said, opening his medical bag and pulling out a small vial made of glass which contained a clear and thick liquid. "I'm going to give her the neuro-stabilizing compound."

I watched him carefully as he drew the liquid into a sterile syringe. Ever since I brought Chloe back to Port Campbell years ago, Hamish has personally delivered and administered this special compound, which is the only reason why her nervous system hasn't collapsed.

“This dose should relieve the heaviness in her legs by noon,” Hamish said, gently rubbing Chloe's upper arm before sliding the fine needle under her skin.

Chloe winced a bit and then gave a long sigh as he pushed the plunger, and said quietly, "Thank you, Hamish," her voice already coming out heavier and more drowsy.

He stood up, capped the needle, and dropped the empty vial back in his bag. He then turned to me and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. "Just a moment, Val?"

I went in after him and asked, "Is she getting worse?" My voice sounded tight.

"Stable, Val, though this compound is delicate," Hamish remarked as he leaned on the counter. "I had to get a higher concentration of the base peptide from my dealer in Melbourne last night."

My heart gave a strange and sudden leap.

"Melbourne?"

"Yes," Hamish said softly, reaching out to my forearm, touching it gently, "I'll do anything it takes to keep her safe, Val. You know that. I would go to the ends of the earth for you and your family."

His gaze was fixed on mine, marked by a quiet and protective devotion. Yet my mind was already working hard, with paranoia gripping my throat.

Melbourne. A special distribution line.

Before answering, my phone gave a single, brief vibration in my pocket.

I brought it out, keeping the screen angled away from Hamish. It was a system update sent by my attic firewall to analyse the incoming GPS vehicle data mentioned in the previous email alert.

The vehicle has just entered the outskirts of Port Campbell.

My breath hitched as I opened the secondary satellite log, my eyes going over the technical analysis of the incoming signal source.

SOURCE SIGNAL: MOBILE PHARMACEUTICAL TRACKER

REGISTERED SINK UNIT: CROFT MEDICAL CLINIC.

The tracking signal that had broken into my security, the live GPS radar depicting a car moving towards our sanctuary, did not originate from Kaelen Vance's corporate security team.

The signal was coming through the medical transponder that was housed in Hamish Croft's leather bag.

I raised my head slowly, looking at the man who had delivered my son, the man who had looked after my sister for two years.

I was the one being watched by Hamish; the gentle warmth that had been in his eyes was now entirely gone and had been replaced by a cold, flat, and completely unreadable stillness.

He didn't move or blink; instead, he reached into the pocket of his coat, retrieved a small encrypted satellite phone, and placed it quietly down on the kitchen counter between us.

“Valkyrie,” Hamish whispered, his voice showing no emotion at all, “he is outside waiting at the gate, Kaelen.”

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