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Chapter 28: Under Pressure

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last update Veröffentlichungsdatum: 17.03.2026 19:28:40

The briefing ended, but the room did not immediately empty.

Thomas remained at the table for a while longer, organizing the files and closing several of the digital screens one by one. The maps disappeared, replaced by blank reflections of the room in the dark glass.

Silas stepped away to take a call near the far side of the room, his voice low and controlled as he spoke into the phone. I could not hear most of the conversation, only fragments of instructions and confirmations.

Routes. Timing.
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  • FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY   Chapter 38: The Question

    Vincent took me to a bookstore.Not just any bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, he called it. A tiny place crammed with books stacked floor to ceiling, narrow staircases leading to hidden reading nooks, and the smell of old paper that hit me the second we walked in."This is incredible," I breathed, running my fingers along the spines."It's been here since the twenties. Hemingway used to come here. Fitzgerald. All the famous writers." Vincent gestured toward a corner where cushions were piled on the floor. "People can sleep here if they need to. The owner believes books should be accessible to everyone."I wandered through the aisles slowly, pulling random books off shelves, reading first lines, getting lost in the chaos of it all. Vincent followed at a distance, letting me explore.In a section marked "Poetry," I found a slim volume with a worn cover. I opened it randomly and read: "We are all broken. That's how the light gets in."Something about those words hit me harder than the

  • FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY   Chapter 37: Letting Go

    "You're staring at it like it might bite you," Vincent said from across the café table.I looked up from my phone, which I'd been holding for the past five minutes without actually turning it on. We'd just finished lunch near the Luxembourg Gardens, and I'd made the mistake of pulling it out of my bag."I'm debating whether to check my messages," I admitted."And?""And I'm scared of what I'll find."Vincent took a sip of his espresso. "You don't have to check them then. You could just leave it off for the entire month.""That feels cowardly.""Or self-preserving, there's a difference." He set down his cup. "What are you hoping to find? Or afraid of finding?"I turned the phone over in my hands. "I don't know. Maybe that Julian's okay. That Silas has moved on. That I didn't completely destroy everything by leaving.""Elena, look at me."I did.Vincent's expression was serious. "You didn't destroy anything. You made a choice for yourself. That's not destruction, that's self-preservatio

  • FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY   Chapter 36: The Louvre

    Morning in Paris sounded different than morning anywhere else.I woke to church bells ringing somewhere in the distance, the soft murmur of French voices drifting up from the street below, and the smell of coffee so good it actually pulled me out of bed.I found Vincent in the kitchen, standing at the counter with an espresso cup in one hand and a newspaper in the other. He was wearing dark jeans and a simple white shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows. Casual. Comfortable. Nothing like the suit he'd worn at the Rosewood.He looked up when I walked in. "Good morning. Coffee?""Please."He poured me a cup and slid it across the counter. "There's a bakery down the street. I picked up croissants earlier. They're still warm."I grabbed one from the bag on the counter and took a bite. Oh my God. Buttery, flaky, perfect. I actually made a sound.Vincent smiled. "Good?""This is insane. How is bread this good?""Because the French take it seriously." He folded his newspaper. "So. The Louvre to

  • FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY   Chapter 35: First Night

    I woke up disoriented.The light coming through the windows was softer than I was used to. The sounds outside were different. Voices speaking French. The distant hum of traffic that somehow sounded more musical than the harsh noise I'd grown up with.Then I remembered.Paris. Vincent. The choice I'd made.I grabbed my phone from the nightstand before remembering Vincent had turned it off. I powered it back on and immediately regretted it. Sixty-three new messages. I turned it off again without reading any of them.Nope. Not today.I dragged myself out of bed and found my bag. Pulled out clothes and headed for the bathroom. The shower was one of those gorgeous walk-in types with a rainfall showerhead and about six different settings. I stood under the hot water for way too long, letting it wash away the plane exhaustion and the guilt that kept trying to creep in.When I finally emerged, I found clean towels that were probably more expensive than my entire wardrobe and a robe hanging on

  • FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY   Chapter 34: Paris

    The plane touched down at Charles de Gaulle just after 9 AM Paris time.I'd barely slept on the flight. Too much adrenaline. Too many thoughts spinning through my head about what I'd just done. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Julian's face. Heard Silas's voice saying "You don't come back."But I was here now. Actually here.Vincent had been nothing but polite on the flight. He'd given me the window seat, ordered champagne I barely touched, and spent most of the time reading while I stared out at the darkness below. When I finally did doze off somewhere over the Atlantic, I woke to find a blanket draped over me that I definitely hadn't put there myself.Now, walking through the arrivals terminal, everything felt surreal. The French voices over the intercom. The signs I could barely read. The cool morning air as we stepped outside where a car was already waiting."Welcome to Paris," Vincent said, holding the door open for me.I slid into the back seat. He followed, giving the driver a

  • FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY   Chapter 33: The Choice

    Jess studied me for a moment across the café table. "Okay, different question. If you could wave a magic wand and make your life anything you wanted, what would it look like?"I stared down at my coffee cup. What would it look like?"I don't know," I said finally. "A few months ago I would have said normal. College, boring job, maybe a nice boyfriend who took me to movies and didn't own a criminal empire.""And now?""Now I don't think I can go back to normal even if I wanted to." I looked up at her. "I've changed too much. Seen too much. Become too much."Jess reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "Then maybe the question isn't whether you go to Paris or stay with Silas and Julian. Maybe the question is who do you want to become? And which option gets you closer to that person?"Hmmm. That was actually a good question. Who did I want to become? The girl who adapted to Silas's world and learned to survive through strategy and control? Or the girl who took risks and chose unce

  • FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY   Chapter 16: Claimed

    Silas's bedroom door closed behind us with a soft click.For a moment, we all just stood there. The three of us. The weight of what was about to happen settling over the room.Then Silas moved.He walked to me, his hand coming to the back of my neck, pulling me in for another kiss. This one slower.

    last updateZuletzt aktualisiert : 2026-03-17

  • FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY   Chapter 10: The Lesson

    Silas's hands were methodical as he undressed me. Not rushed. Not rough. Every movement deliberate, controlled, like he was unwrapping something he owned.My shirt hit the floor. Then my bra. He traced the marks on my skin from last night's punishment, his fingers cool against the heat."Still tende

    last updateZuletzt aktualisiert : 2026-03-17

  • FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY   Chapter 22: Wait, What?

    Uhhhhh.I woke up sore everywhere. Good sore, though. The kind that reminded me exactly what I'd done. Who I'd done it with.Silas was already gone, his side of the bed cold. Typical. The man probably woke up at 5am looking perfect while I was here feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. A really goo

    last updateZuletzt aktualisiert : 2026-03-17

  • FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY   Chapter 24: The Aftermath

    I didn't leave my room for the rest of the day.Couldn't. Every time I thought about going downstairs, about facing what I'd done, my chest got tight and my hands started shaking.I'd just exiled my own mother.Fuck.What kind of person does that?Around six PM, someone knocked. Soft. Hesitant."El

    last updateZuletzt aktualisiert : 2026-03-17
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