LOGINDominic learned about Isabelle’s visit to Althea with her fiancé even before the clinic doors had fully closed its operation.
The information reached him the way everything did now, filtered, precise, stripped of sentiment.
Enzo didn’t ease into it.
“She went inside the Devereaux’s complex. Security sought clearance first and was approved,” he said over the secure line. “Althea’s clinic. She’s still inside as of now.&
The estate felt quieter, though not safer, after Dominic and the others left.Just emptier.The sound of boots and movement that had filled Blackstone earlier had faded into distant echoes, leaving behind a strange stillness that somehow felt heavier than noise.Althea stood near one of the tall windows overlooking the inner courtyard, arms folded tightly as she watched the gates close behind the departing vehicles.For several long seconds, she remained there, watching, thinking and praying for their safe return.“You’re staring like you can still stop him.”August’s voice came from behind her, calm but observant.Althea turned slightly.He stood near the doorway now, one hand tucked into his pocket, the other still lightly bandaged from the previous night’s fight.He looked tired.Older today somehow.But his eyes remained sharp.Althea exhaled quietly and looked back toward the window.“You heard everything.” She stated.August stepped farther into the room.“Hard not to.” He respo
The estate shifted into motion the moment Dominic gave the order as boots echoed through the halls, weapons being checked several times and orders being relayed.Down at the basement, vehicles are being prepared quietly, making sure every part is at its top performance.The men moved with practiced precision, their expressions grim and focused as the reality of what awaited them settled deeper into Blackstone.Althea stood near the entrance of the war room, arms crossed tightly as she watched Dominic speak one last time with Sebastian and Vincent over the maps.Even from a distance, she could see the change in him.The softness he only allowed around her and Nicholas had disappeared again beneath cold focus and strategy.The heir.The war commander.The son Alessandro had prepared whether Dominic wanted it or not.Her chest tightened briefly.Then Dominic finally turned away from the table.“Move.”The room immediately shifted.Sebastian left first together with Antonio.Enzo followed
The war room became alive again within minutes.Everything inside Blackstone moved with the kind of discipline born from surviving violence for decades.Men entered quietly.Weapons checked.Routes reviewed.Names rewritten.At the center of it all, Dominic stood unmoving beside the table, one hand braced against the maps spread beneath the dim lights.The reports Sebastian and Enzo brought sat open beside Alessandro’s network files, the markings now more complicated than before.Because Luca had started moving openly and purposefully.“He accelerated after last night.” Sebastian said as he traced several points along the map. “Three peripheral contacts shifted positions before dawn.”Antonio leaned closer.“Toward the convergence lines?” He questioned.Sebastian nodded.“Yes.”“F8ck.” Antonio muttered. He looked at Dominic. “We should have moved as well.”Dominic’s gaze remained fixed on the routes.“He felt the shift.” He commented. “But, I’m f8cking sure he still won’t reach it. We
Morning arrived too quietly for the kind of fear Althea and Dominic had carried into the night.The curtains shifted gently from the soft wind slipping through the slightly opened balcony doors, pale sunlight stretching slowly across the room from the gaps on the boarded windows. It touched the tangled sheets, the discarded clothes on the floor, the crumpled paper still resting on the bedside table beside Dominic’s gun.Nicholas’ drawing.Althea woke first.Her eyes opened slowly as awareness settled back into her body, and the first thing she felt was Dominic’s arm around her waist.His arm was heavy and protective.Possessive even in sleep.She remained still for a moment, listening quietly to the steady rhythm of his breathing against the back of her neck.But the moment her gaze shifted toward the bedside table toward the folded paper Dominic had stared at half the night, the tightness returned to her chest immediately.Nicholas.The drawings.The patterns.The terrifying brillian
The room had long fallen quiet by the time Althea finally stopped trying to outrun her own thoughts.Outside, Blackstone remained awake.Guards moved through the estate.The war room still carried light beneath its doors.Somewhere in the medical wing, Helena was likely still operating.But inside their room, Time had slowed into something heavy and intimate.The sheets were tangled around them again, the air warm, carrying the lingering scent of skin, soap, and exhaustion.Dominic lay against the headboard now, one arm wrapped securely around Althea as she rested against his chest, her breathing finally beginning to steady after everything she had poured into him.Or maybe, into herself.For a while, neither of them spoke.Dominic’s fingers moved lazily along her bare shoulder, grounding more than teasing now.Althea’s hand is on his chest, her fingers drumming lightly.He had stopped teasing her after the second time she kissed him like she was afraid of losing him.Because he under
Althea kissed him again before Dominic could ask another question.Harder this time and with a bit of need.She kissed him like that because she wants to silence every thought inside her head through the warmth of his mouth against hers.Dominic caught her immediately, his hands settling firmly at her waist as she pressed herself against him. He could feel the tension in her body beneath the urgency, the way she clung to him not out of desperation, but out of needing something real.Something solid.Something alive.“Thea…” He murmured softly against her lips, trying once more to search her face.But Althea only shook her head and kissed him deeper.“No talking, Dom.” She whispered breathlessly. “Not yet. It could wait.”That finally made Dominic stop asking.A faint exhale escaped him, almost amused, almost helpless.“You’ve become bold, amore.” He muttered lightly as his hands slid slowly along her back. He unfastened the hook of her bra and watched it fall on the floor since it has
The Valtieri estate at first hesitated but did not deny entry.The gates opened with the slow inevitability of something that understood consequence. There were no men escorting nor weapons raised.That was Luca’s style.If violence came, it would not be clumsy.Michael Devereaux stepped out of the
Seraphina Valtieri stood alone in the east corridor of the estate that evening, the marble floor beneath her heels cold and unyielding. The air around her is carrying the distant echo of voices gathering where she already knew she would be expected.The elders were assembling upon Luca’s invitation
“You’re thinking again.” Althea said softly.Dominic exhaled faintly, a ghost of a smile touching his lips.The two of them are lying on the couch inside his office, had their clothes back on with half of Althea on top of him. She was looking at him gently while he was caressing her back lightly.“
“Nico, your tutor is here.” Althea informed softly when one of the Blackstone’s staff let them know that Michael has arrived. “We can continue your talk about dinosaurs over lunch.”Nicholas had been reluctant to leave the breakfast table, still clutching a small plastic stegosaurus in one hand whi







