INICIAR SESIÓNAria stormed toward them with both hands planted dramatically on her hips. She looked between the two of them before pointing an accusing finger. "I leave the house for two days and you both disappear!"Sean calmly handed his jacket to one of the staff. "We didn't disappear.""You absolutely disappeared!"Aria walked straight up to Shannon before dramatically grabbing both her shoulders. "You abandoned me."Shannon laughed. "We did not.""You did!" She turned toward Sean. "And you!"Sean raised a brow. "What?""You are the worst brother on this planet."Sean looked completely unbothered. "I've been called worse."Aria gasped dramatically. "You planned this."Sean looked at her blankly.She pointed between Sean and Shannon. "You insisted I stay a few days with Mom and Dad. You said..." she deepened her voice in a poor imitation of him, "'Spend more time with them.'"Shannon immediately burst into laughter.Aria pointed triumphantly. "See, you only wanted an alone time with Shannon."Se
Kennedy's fingers stopped. After several long seconds, he slowly lowered his hand. "No."The single word was almost a whisper.Sean would live, not because Kennedy's hatred had faded but because his daughter had asked him for time. He would honor that for now.Kennedy opened his eyes again. The flames reflected in them, brighter than ever. His estate was gone, his men had fallen, his home had become smoke and as he stared across the burning grounds, the grief that had lived inside him for twenty seven years twisted into something even darker.He turned away from the window. "Prepare a new base."His men immediately straightened."We've lost a house." His voice was calm again. "But we haven't lost the war."Without another glance back, Kennedy walked deeper into the building. Behind him, black smoke continued rising into the afternoon sky, a silent monument to a rivalry that had just crossed a line from which neither man could ever truly return.Meanwhile, Sean stood outside the burnin
Kennedy 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
The question came out before she could stop it because honestly this was Sean Vale. The man could probably have ten restaurants deliver food within fifteen minutes. So why was he cooking?Sean didn't even hesitate because to him the answer was simple. "I wanted to."Shannon blinked. "What?"Sean gl
By the time Sean finished reading, his jaw had tightened noticeably.The grip around the phone hardened. Not enough to damage it just enough to reveal how angry he was because right now Shannon was finally asleep. After spending the entire afternoon breaking apart in his arms, and some coward hidin
A few minutes later her secretary looked surprised when Shannon stepped out carrying her bag."Director Shannon?""I'm taking the rest of the afternoon off."The secretary immediately nodded. "Of course."No questions asked because honestly one look at Shannon's eyes made it obvious she wasn't okay
Rowan walked toward the elevator, the elevator doors opened as soon as he pressed the button.He stepped inside his reflection stared back at him from the mirrored walls. Bruised jaw, red eyes, exhaustion.He looked terrible. And honestly he deserved worse.The second the elevator reached the groun







