Library
Search
Home / Romance / THE BODYGUARD’S HIDDEN TRUTH / Chapter 43: Nine Days

Share

Chapter 43: Nine Days

Author: O.O
last update publish date: 2026-07-10 16:50:36

The war room, as Reyes started calling it, took shape in the mansion’s east study by midmorning — the ledger copies, the financial spreadsheets, the surveillance photographs all spread across the long table where my father used to conduct business he’d never once explained to me. Victor himself sat at the head of it now, uncharacteristically quiet, studying the shell company documents like a man finally seeing the shape of his own downfall laid out in black and white.

“Nine days,” he said final
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Previous Chapter Next Chapter
Locked Chapter

Latest chapter

  • THE BODYGUARD’S HIDDEN TRUTH    Chapter 167: What the Paintings Meant

    The gallery show’s success extended considerably beyond what I’d initially anticipated, word spreading gradually through careful, genuine appreciation rather than manufactured hype — collectors returning for second and third viewings, several pieces purchased by institutions interested in the work’s broader significance beyond mere aesthetic appeal.“I received an interesting inquiry today,” the gallery representative told me, several weeks into the show’s run. “A trauma recovery organization, actually. They’re interested in featuring several pieces in a permanent installation, specifically for survivors navigating similar journeys toward accountability and healing.”I felt something profound settle in my chest at this unexpected development. “That feels considerably more meaningful than simple commercial success,” I admitted. “I think that’s exactly why the work resonates so completely,” she said. “You’re not simply depicting suffering. You’re depicting the genuine, difficult path to

  • THE BODYGUARD’S HIDDEN TRUTH    Chapter 166: The Question of Painting Again

    Life continued its gentle rhythm through the following months, though something quietly significant stirred within me during Eleanor Sarah’s tenth year — a restlessness I hadn’t quite anticipated, given how completely I’d believed myself settled into motherhood and this remarkable family’s steady contentment.“You’ve been quiet lately,” Ethan observed one evening, finding me standing before my old easel, unused for nearly two years now, tucked into the corner of what had become more storage space than active studio. “I’ve been thinking about painting again,” I admitted, surprised by how nervous the confession made me feel. “Properly, I mean. Not just occasional pieces, but genuine, sustained work.”“What’s stopping you,” Ethan asked gently. “I don’t know,” I said slowly, working through the feeling as I spoke it aloud. “Guilt, maybe. Like choosing something purely for myself feels selfish, given everything else this family requires.” “That’s not selfish,” Ethan said firmly. “That’s ex

  • THE BODYGUARD’S HIDDEN TRUTH    Chapter 165: Ten Years

    Time moved gently after that significant conversation, the family settling into a rhythm defined less by crisis and more by the ordinary, precious accumulation of years — birthdays, school milestones, small triumphs and small heartbreaks, the particular texture of a life genuinely, completely lived rather than merely survived.Eleanor Sarah’s tenth birthday arrived on a bright autumn afternoon, and the celebration, while still gathering the same beloved extended family, carried the different energy of a milestone approaching adolescence rather than early childhood — fewer dragon games, considerably more careful curation of exactly which friends from school deserved an invitation.“She’s growing up so fast,” I said softly to Ethan, watching her navigate the party’s social dynamics with a poise that still occasionally caught me off guard. “I remember when she could barely walk.” “I remember when she was born three weeks early, and I thought my heart might actually stop,” Ethan said, smi

  • THE BODYGUARD’S HIDDEN TRUTH    Chapter 164: What Remained to Tell

    Peace settled back over the household in the weeks following Devereux’s final sentencing, though something had shifted subtly in how Eleanor Sarah, now nearly six and increasingly perceptive, seemed to sense the household’s brief return to careful vigilance, even without fully understanding its cause.“Were you scared about something,” she asked me one evening, with the particular directness that continued to catch me off guard. “Grown-ups were worried for a little while,” I said carefully. “About someone from a long time ago, who used to be dangerous. But everything’s safe now, sweetheart. Completely safe.” “Was it connected to Auntie Sarah, and Auntie Cole’s bad choices,” Eleanor Sarah asked, drawing connections with unsettling accuracy for a child her age.Ethan and I exchanged a glance, understanding this moment likely required more complete honesty than we’d previously offered. “Yes,” I said gently. “It was connected. The people who hurt Auntie Sarah, a long time ago, were part o

  • THE BODYGUARD’S HIDDEN TRUTH    Chapter 163: What He Wanted

    The federal team requested Colette’s presence at Devereux’s initial interrogation the following morning, understanding her unique insight into his psychology might prove invaluable in determining exactly what he’d intended, and whether any further threat remained active beyond his own capture.“I don’t want to see him,” Colette admitted to me before leaving, something old and unsettled resurfacing beneath her otherwise steady composure. “I don’t think I’ve faced him directly since I was young enough to still believe his approval mattered.” “You don’t have to do this,” I said gently. “They have other resources, other ways to gather information.” “I know,” she said. “But I think I need to. Not simply for the investigation. For myself, honestly. To prove, once and for all, that he no longer holds any power over me.”I understood the significance of what she was choosing, and drove her to the federal facility myself, waiting anxiously through the hours that followed.She emerged nearly th

  • THE BODYGUARD’S HIDDEN TRUTH    Chapter 162: The Search Begins

    By morning, the household had transformed once more into something resembling the careful command center of years past — Reyes coordinating with federal contacts, Marcus reviewing security protocols with renewed intensity, Colette poring over old files and fragments of memory, searching for anything that might illuminate where Devereux could have gone.“He’ll avoid anywhere obvious,” Colette said, spreading a map across the war room table that had sat mostly unused for years, gathering dust in a room now more often used for family gatherings than crisis planning. “Everywhere connected to his previous operations has already been compromised, watched, dismantled. He’ll need somewhere new, or somewhere old enough that it’s fallen off everyone’s radar.”“Old enough,” Reyes repeated slowly, something sharpening in her expression. “Cross’s original architecture. Places connected to the very beginning, before any of the more recent operations that got mapped and monitored.” “The first office

More Chapters

You may also like

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status