FAZER LOGINKennedy walked toward the wall of monitors built into the study. Dozens of security feeds lit up the screens.The front gates, the gardens, the eastern wall, the garages, the rooftops, every angle, every entrance, every exit.He watched black clad men move with terrifying precision through the estate. No hesitation, no confusion. They weren't wandering. They knew exactly where they were going.Kennedy's eyes narrowed. "They planned this."One of his men swallowed nervously. "There are too many of them."Kennedy remained silent. His gaze continued moving from one screen to another.The western wall had already fallen, the eastern checkpoint had gone quiet, two of his security teams were pinned behind cover. Another camera suddenly filled with static, then another, then another."They're taking out the surveillance."Kennedy quietly rested both hands on the desk. His face remained calm, far calmer than everyone else's but inside he already knew.They were outnumbered. Not by a little, b
The moment the line disconnected, the warmth that had briefly returned to Sean's face vanished. His expression became unreadable again.Victor immediately looked over. "Boss?"Sean tucked the phone into his pocket before looking at the live tracker on the tablet. "She's headed for the airport."Victor nodded.One of the men frowned slightly. "So... we proceed with the original plan?"Sean didn't answer immediately instead, he watched Shannon's location continue moving farther and farther away from the Miles estate.Only when he was certain she was safely outside reach did he finally speak. "Get everyone into position."Immediately the atmosphere inside the vehicle changed. Every man straightened, weapons were checked, communication earpieces went in and final instructions began passing through the convoy.Sean turned toward Victor. "You'll take half the men to the eastern wall."Victor nodded once. "The remaining team?""With me."A dangerous smile appeared on one of the men's faces.
Morning arrived far more peacefully than anyone inside the Miles estate expected.The sun stretched across the gardens, warming the dew covered flowers while birds sang somewhere beyond the trees. Looking at the estate now, nobody would believe it had been carrying decades of hatred within its walls.Meanwhile Shannon had just finished breakfast with Kennedy. Unlike the emotionally exhausting dinner the previous night, breakfast had been surprisingly normal.They talked about coffee, about how terrible the estate cook apparently was at making pancakes according to Kennedy, and about how Shannon had inherited her mother's habit of adding too much sugar.For almost thirty minutes, they weren't strangers, they weren't father and daughter reunited after twenty seven years, they were simply two people trying to figure out what family looked like.Eventually the plates were cleared away.Kennedy reached into the inside pocket of his jacket before placing a sleek black bank card on the table
Sean's voice changed instantly. Gone was the cold edge, gone was the calculated control, now he just sounded terrified. "Shannon, where are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did he touch you? Are you bleeding? Are you alone? Tell me where you are right now."The questions came so fast Shannon barely had time to breathe. Beside her, Kennedy's jaw tightened visibly. He hated hearing Sean's voice in his room, hated hearing the panic in it even more because panic like that sounded real.Shannon held the phone tighter. "Sean, breathe.""No." Sean's voice came back harsher this time, full of stress and fury and relief all at once. "You don't tell me to breathe, Shannon. You've been gone for two days. Two. Days. Tell me where you are.""I'm okay.""You're not okay if you're still there."Shannon winced slightly because yes, the phone was on speaker and yes, her father was hearing all of this. "Sean, I'm fine."On the other end, Sean ran a hand through his hair so roughly it hurt. "Don't trust
Kennedy had a phone brought to Shannon less than ten minutes later. It was brand new, plain, and untraceable if needed. Exactly the kind of phone a man like Kennedy Miles would hand his newly found daughter after admitting he'd spent half his life preparing for war.Shannon sat on the edge of the guest bed staring at it in her hand then blinked, then groaned because of course.Of course life would do this. She had a phone now, a whole phone and absolutely no idea what Sean's number was.Her own phone was gone, her contacts were gone and despite everything that had happened between them, she had never once memorized Sean's number because why would she?Shannon stared at the phone for another three seconds before sighing and getting up from the bed. There was only one person in the estate who definitely had Sean Vale's number and unfortunately for both of them, that person was her father.A few minutes later, Shannon found herself outside Kennedy's room. She knocked once, then again."C
Shannon drew in another breath. "I'm not asking you to forgive anyone. I'm not even asking you to change your mind right now. But I am asking for time. Real time. Not revenge disguised as patience. Time for me to figure out whether Sean knows anything about what happened between our families. Time for me to look him in the eyes and decide for myself if the man I know is innocent or if I've been blind."Kennedy looked at her for a long moment.Shannon could almost see the conflict moving behind his eyes. The father in him wanted to give her everything, the man in him still wanted revenge and the two parts of him clearly hated sharing the same body.Finally he exhaled, long and slow. "I told you already, I'm not forcing you to judge him tonight."Shannon remained still.Kennedy continued, his voice rougher now. "You asked me to stand down and I said I would. I meant it but don't mistake standing down for surrender."Kennedy looked down at his plate for a second before meeting her eyes a
Rowan’s chest tightened faintly.“After graduation, you proposed,” Her fingers curled slightly at her sides. “But your family didn’t approve of me. They wanted someone else for you but you didn’t care.”She exhaled softly. “To be with me you turned your back on everything they built for you. You st
The conference room doors opened smoothly the moment Rowan approached, and the group of representatives waiting inside immediately rose to their feet.“Mr. Whitmore.”“Good morning, Mr. Whitmore.”Their greetings came respectfully, but almost instantly their attention shifted toward Shannon standin
Shannon’s hands moved over him gently, desperately, tracing familiar lines across his shoulders and chest while Rowan held her tighter against him.Because nothing had felt right since he woke up.Nothing.Until this.And he wanted more of it.More of her.Enough that within minutes he was already
For a second, Evelyn thought she had misheard him. Her expression tightened immediately.What the hell?She had come here for him.To stay with him.To make sure she was the one beside him in his space, in his world and he was sending her away?“Rowan, I can stay,” she said quickly, forcing her ton







