Chapter 14: Uninvited

Chapter 14: Uninvited

Glenmorrin moved toward the house with the careful, silent precision of someone who'd done this before, gun drawn but low, his body angled to shield the doorway from Jhonatan's view in the car.

Jhonatan's heart pounded as he watched him disappear inside, every second stretching unbearably long. He counted his own breaths to keep from bolting out of the car after him, remembering the promise he'd made to trust Glenmorrin's judgment in moments like this.

When Glenmorrin finally reappeared in the doorway, his gun was lowered, but his expression was grim.

He waved Jhonatan over.

Jhonatan climbed out of the car on unsteady legs, hurrying toward the house.

"What happened?" Jhonatan asked, stepping inside behind him.

The living room looked undisturbed at first glance—nothing broken, nothing obviously missing. But something felt wrong, a subtle wrongness Jhonatan couldn't quite name.

"Nothing's been taken," Glenmorrin said, his eyes scanning the room methodically. "But someone was definitely here."

"How can you tell?" Jhonatan asked.

Glenmorrin walked to the small table by the window, picking up a folded piece of paper that hadn't been there that morning.

"Because they left this," he said, his jaw tight.

He unfolded it, and Jhonatan watched his expression harden further as he read.

"What does it say?" Jhonatan asked, dread pooling in his stomach.

Glenmorrin handed him the paper without a word.

The handwriting was neat, deliberate, almost elegant in a way that felt more unsettling than if it had been scrawled in anger.

*I know where you sleep. I know what you're hiding. Return what belongs to me before I lose my patience.*

*— A.C.*

Jhonatan's hands went cold. "Castellan."

"He knows about the house," Glenmorrin said, taking the note back, his voice dangerously controlled. "Which means he's known for a while. This wasn't a lucky guess."

"How?" Jhonatan asked, panic creeping into his voice. "You said no one knew about this place."

"No one should have," Glenmorrin said, his eyes narrowing as he began pacing the length of the room, thinking aloud. "Which means either someone on my team talked, or Castellan has resources I underestimated."

"What does he mean, 'what belongs to him'?" Jhonatan asked quietly, though a sick feeling in his stomach already suspected the answer.

Glenmorrin stopped pacing, looking at him directly. "He means you. He's operating under the assumption that your father's debt was already settled in his favor before I ever got involved."

"But I'm not his," Jhonatan said, anger flaring hot beneath the fear. "I never agreed to any of this."

"I know that," Glenmorrin said. "Castellan doesn't care. In his world, people are assets to be claimed, not individuals with a say in their own lives."

Jhonatan wrapped his arms around himself, the weight of everything—the pregnancy, the note, the growing danger—pressing down all at once.

"We can't stay here," Jhonatan said. "Not anymore. If he knows about this place—"

"You're right," Glenmorrin said, already moving toward the bedroom, pulling out bags, tossing essentials inside with brisk efficiency. "We need somewhere he doesn't know about. Somewhere no one connected to me knows about."

"Do you have somewhere like that?" Jhonatan asked, following him, helping gather what little they'd need.

Glenmorrin paused, considering. "There's one place. A property under a name that has nothing to do with mine. I bought it years ago, in case exactly this kind of situation ever happened."

"Why didn't we go there in the first place?" Jhonatan asked.

"Because I hoped I'd never need it," Glenmorrin admitted. "Using it means burning a resource I can't easily replace. Once Castellan or anyone else learns about that location, it's gone as a safe option forever."

"But we don't have a choice now," Jhonatan said.

"No," Glenmorrin agreed grimly. "We don't."

They packed quickly, tension thick in the air between them, every sound outside the house sending Jhonatan's pulse spiking. By the time they were ready to leave, dusk had settled fully, shadows stretching long across the yard.

"Stay close to me," Glenmorrin said, checking the perimeter through the window one final time before opening the door. "If anything feels wrong, you run for the car and you lock yourself inside. Don't wait for me."

"I'm not leaving you again," Jhonatan said firmly.

"You're carrying something more important than either of us right now," Glenmorrin said, his voice softer but no less serious. "If it comes down to a choice between staying together and keeping you both safe, you choose safety. Every time."

Jhonatan's throat tightened, the reality of everything settling heavier with each word. "Okay," he whispered. "Okay."

They moved quickly to the car, Glenmorrin scanning the tree line with sharp, practiced eyes the entire way. Nothing stirred except the wind through the branches, but the quiet felt less like safety and more like held breath.

They were halfway down the driveway when Jhonatan noticed it—a glint of light reflecting off something in the trees to their left, gone almost as quickly as it appeared.

"Glenmorrin," Jhonatan said sharply. "There's someone in the trees."

Glenmorrin's eyes flicked toward the spot Jhonatan indicated, his body tensing instantly. "Get down."

Jhonatan ducked low in his seat just as the car's rear window shattered, the sharp crack of a gunshot splitting the evening quiet a fraction of a second later.

"Stay down!" Glenmorrin shouted, slamming his foot on the accelerator, the car lurching forward as another shot rang out, this one striking the side mirror.

"Are they Castellan's men?" Jhonatan gasped, pressed low against the seat, glass scattered across his lap.

"Doesn't matter whose they are right now," Glenmorrin said, gripping the wheel hard as he took a sharp turn onto the main road, tires screeching against asphalt. "We just need to lose them."

Jhonatan risked a glance behind them, catching sight of headlights swerving out from the treeline, gaining speed on the road behind them.

"They're following!" Jhonatan shouted.

Glenmorrin's jaw set, his foot pressing harder on the gas, the car surging forward into the darkening evening.

"Hold on," he said, voice tight with focus. "This is about to get worse before it gets better."

Jhonatan gripped the edge of his seat, one hand instinctively moving to rest protectively over his stomach, his heart hammering as the headlights behind them closed the distance with terrifying speed.