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Chapter 22: What He Doesn't Tell Her
Tanggal publikasi:
2026-08-15 03:51:37
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Fight like a mother Chapter 28: The Decision
The operating room doors were the same shade of pale green they'd been the first time, and Daggy sat in the same uncomfortable chair in the same waiting area, though this time nobody had offered her coffee and she hadn't asked.They'd allowed her a few minutes with her mother before they wheeled her back, Mitchell groggy and frightened despite trying to hide it, her hand gripping Daggy's with more strength than her weakened body should have been able to manage."You'll be right here?" Mitchell had asked, her voice thin."I'm not going anywhere," Daggy promised, and it was the one promise in weeks she'd been absolutely certain she could keep.Now she sat alone, the guard positioned a respectful distance away near the hallway entrance, and the minutes crawled by with a slowness that made the clock on the wall feel almost cruel.She thought about calling someone, but there was no one left to call. Lincoln was gone, vanished after that night, and the only other person who might have sat w
Fight like a mother Chapter 27: Building the Case
Foster arrived at the study just past eleven, still dressed in his day clothes though the hour suggested he'd been pulled from something closer to sleep than work, his usual composure slightly frayed at the edges."You said this couldn't wait until morning," Foster said, taking the seat Dynan gestured toward, his eyes already moving toward the folder sitting closed on the desk between them."It couldn't." Dynan slid the report across, watching Foster's expression as he opened it, waiting for the same slow dawning horror that had settled over him hours earlier.Foster read in silence for several long minutes, occasionally flipping back a page to cross-reference something, his jaw tightening incrementally with each new revelation."This is thorough," he finally said, setting the report down and removing his glasses to rub at his eyes. "Where did this come from?""I authorized an internal audit two weeks ago. Quietly." Dynan's voice was flat, controlled in the way that usually meant he w
Fight like a mother Chapter 26: The Weight of Confirmation
The setback came without warning, the way these things often did, a nurse's hurried footsteps down the hallway pulling Daggy from a half-sleep she'd fallen into in the small waiting area outside her mother's room."What's happening?" Daggy was on her feet before she'd fully processed the movement, watching two more nurses rush past with equipment she didn't recognize, her heart already hammering with the particular dread that had become familiar over these past weeks."Your mother's oxygen levels dropped suddenly," one of the nurses said, not stopping as she moved toward the room. "Dr. Wells is on his way."Daggy tried to follow but a hand caught her arm gently, one of the guards who'd been assigned to escort her, his grip firm but not unkind. "You need to wait here, ma'am. Let them work.""That's my mother," Daggy said, her voice cracking with a desperation that had become almost constant lately, worn thin from weeks of watching everything she loved hang in uncertain balance."I know
Fight like a mother Chapter 25: What Nina Noticed
Nina had gotten used to Mary's phone ringing during their lunches, a small habit that had never bothered her before because Mary was the alpha's wife and alphas' wives had responsibilities that didn't pause for lunch dates.But lately the calls had changed. Mary used to just glance at the screen and let it go to voicemail with an apologetic smile, promising to call back later. Now she excused herself entirely, walking outside or into the restroom, her voice dropping low the moment she thought she was out of earshot.Nina noticed because Nina had spent years learning to notice things about Mary, the small tells that gave away more than her friend probably realized, and today's lunch was no different."Sorry about that," Mary said, sliding back into her seat with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Palace business. Never ends.""Must be important," Nina said carefully, watching her friend reach for her wine glass with a hand that wasn't quite as steady as usual. "You've been step
Fight like a mother Chapter 24: Contingencies
Rita didn't sleep that night, lying stiff and awake in her narrow servant's quarters bed, replaying the conversation with Peter over and over until the words had worn grooves into her memory.She kept thinking about his face, the way he hadn't accused her outright but hadn't needed to, the quiet certainty in his eyes that told her he already knew more than he was letting on.By morning she'd made up her mind, or thought she had, dressing carefully and rehearsing what she wanted to say the entire walk down to the administrative wing where Foster kept his office.The door was open when she arrived, Foster hunched over paperwork with his reading glasses perched low on his nose, and Rita stood frozen in the doorway for a long moment before he finally noticed her."Can I help you?" he asked, not unkindly, setting his pen down and giving her his full attention in a way that somehow made this harder rather than easier."I need to talk to you," Rita said, her voice smaller than she wanted it
Fight like a mother Chapter 23: The Groundskeeper's Slip
Curtis Boyle had worked the palace grounds for almost six years, mostly keeping to the hedges and flower beds along the eastern wall, the kind of job that let a man stay invisible if he wanted to, and Curtis had always preferred it that way.Peter found him kneeling in the dirt near the rose garden, gloves caked with soil, a small radio playing static-heavy music beside him that he switched off the moment he noticed someone approaching."Mr. Boyle." Peter kept his tone light, unhurried, the way he'd learned worked best when you didn't want someone bolting before you'd gotten anything useful out of them. "Got a minute?""Depends what for." Curtis didn't look up right away, brushing dirt from a trowel with more attention than the task really required."Just following up on some vehicle registrations. Routine stuff." Peter crouched down near the edge of the flower bed, keeping himself at eye level rather than looming. "You drive a blue sedan, right? Older model."Curtis's hands stilled f
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