chapter 13

SIERRA’S POV

I woke up in his arms.

For a second, I didn’t remember. The room was dark. The bed was soft. A strong arm was draped over my waist, holding me close against a warm, solid chest.

Then it all rushed back.

The note. The photo. The confession.

Louis knowing. Louis holding me while I cried myself to sleep.

My breath caught. I didn’t move. I just lay there, listening to the steady beat of his heart against my back. He was still asleep. His breathing was deep and even.

Last night, after I said the words, after I told him about Katie, he didn’t let go. He just held me tighter. He asked me questions in a low, gentle voice. How old was she? What was she like? Was she healthy? Happy?

I told him everything. About her first steps. Her love for strawberries. The way she drew pictures of the two of us, with a tall, faceless man she called “the maybe daddy.”

He listened. He didn’t interrupt. When I was done, he kissed my forehead.

“I want to meet her,” he said. “Whenever you’re ready. However, you want.”

Then he just… stayed. He lay down on top of the covers. I was under them. He pulled me into his chest and held me. He didn’t try anything else. He just held me until my eyes grew heavy.

Now, in the grey morning light, panic started to creep in.

What had I done?

I had handed him the biggest piece of my heart. I had given him the power to break me and Katie in ways I couldn’t even imagine. The money, the lawyers, the power… it was all on his side.

But then I remembered the look in his eyes last night. It wasn’t cold. It wasn’t calculating. It was full of wonder. And anger, yes, but not at me. At Victor. In the situation.

It was the look of a man who had found something he didn’t know he was missing.

I carefully lifted his arm and slid out of bed. He made a soft sound but didn’t wake. I stood there for a moment, just looking at him. Louis Trevane, asleep in my small bed. His face was relaxed, the hard lines softened. He looked younger. He looked… peaceful.

My heart did a funny twist.

I tiptoed out of the room and into the kitchen. I needed coffee. I needed to think.

I was pouring water into the coffee maker when I heard a sound behind me. I turned.

Louis stood in the doorway. He was shirtless, wearing just his suit trousers from last night. His hair was messy. He looked rumpled and real and so handsome it hurt.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice rough with sleep.

“Morning.” I turned back to the coffee maker, my cheeks warm. “Coffee’s almost ready.”

He walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter next to me. He was close. I could feel the heat from his skin.

“Did you sleep okay?” he asked.

“Yes. You?”

“Better than I have in years.” He was quiet for a moment. “I meant what I said last night, Sierra. I want to be in her life. But I will follow your lead. You’re her mother. You set the rules.”

I looked at him, searching his face for any sign of a lie. I saw only sincerity. It terrified me.

“What does that look like?” I asked softly. “You’re… you. You live in this world.” I gestured to the mansion around us. “We live in a small apartment over a bakery.”

“Then I will come to your world,” he said simply. “I will sit on your small couch. I will eat at your small table. I just want to be there.”

Tears pricked my eyes. I blinked them away. “It’s not that easy. There’s… Victor. He has that photo. He’s watching her.”

Louis’s expression hardened. “He won’t be for long. I have people on it. He won’t get near her again.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I can. And I do.” He reached out and took my hand. His fingers were warm, his grip firm. “I have spent my life building an empire so I would never be powerless. So I could protect what is mine. You are mine. Katie is mine. And I will burn his world to the ground before I let him touch either of you.”

The intensity in his voice was both scary and comforting. It was a promise carved in stone.

The coffee maker beeped. I pulled my hand away to get two mugs. “What about… us?” I asked, not looking at him. “What happens now with… this?”

“What do you want to happen?”

I poured the coffee, stalling. “I don’t know. This is a lot. You were my boss yesterday. Today you’re… my daughter’s father.”

“And what am I to you?” he asked quietly.

I handed him a mug. Our fingers brushed. A spark, familiar and electric, jumped between us. I met his eyes.

“I don’t know that either,” I whispered.

He smiled, a small, sad smile. “That’s okay. We have time. We don’t have to figure it all out today.”

We drank our coffee in silence. It was a comfortable silence, not like the tense ones before. The sun was rising, painting the sky in streaks of orange and pink.

“I have to go see her today,” I said finally. “I need to make sure she’s okay. I need to see her with my own eyes.”

“I’ll take you,” he said immediately.

“No. Not yet. I need to talk to her first. To prepare her. She’s a smart kid, but this is huge.”

He nodded, though I could see the disappointment in his eyes. He wanted to meet her now. “Okay. Just… take security with you. Please. For my peace of mind.”

I wanted to argue. I hated the idea of being followed. But the memory of that photograph stopped me. He was right.

“Okay,” I agreed.

My phone buzzed on the counter. It was Jasmine.

My heart leapt into my throat. I snatched it up. “Jas? Is everything okay?”

“She’s fine, she’s fine,” Jasmine said quickly, hearing the panic in my voice. “Katie’s watching cartoons. But… something weird happened. A black car has been parked down the street since last night. It hasn’t moved. I just… I have a bad feeling.”

I looked at Louis, my eyes wide with fear. He was already moving, pulling out his own phone.

“Stay inside,” I told Jasmine, my voice trembling. “Do not go out. Lock the doors. We’re coming.”

Louis was speaking into his phone, his voice low and urgent. “The car on Oak Street. Move in now. Detain and identify. Do not let them see you coming.”

He hung up and looked at me. “Get dressed. We’re leaving now.”

“But you said—”

“The plan changed. If Victor is having her watched, then her location is compromised. She’s not safe there. She needs to be here. With us.”

The thought of bringing Katie into this mansion, into this world of threats and luxury, terrified me. But the thought of leaving her where Victor could reach her terrified me more.

I ran to my room and threw on the first clothes I found. When I came out, Louis was waiting by the front door, holding a set of car keys. He had put on a t-shirt.

“My driver is too noticeable,” he said. “We’ll take my personal car. It’s fast.”

We didn’t speak on the drive. Louis drove with a focused intensity, weaving through the LA traffic. One hand was on the wheel, the other rested on my knee, a steady, reassuring pressure.

We pulled onto Jasmine’s street. I saw the black car immediately, parked three houses down. As we approached, two unmarked SUVs suddenly blocked it in front and back. Men in dark clothes got out.

Louis didn’t stop. He pulled into Jasmine’s driveway.

“Go get her,” he said. “I’ll watch here.”

I ran to the door. Jasmine opened it before I could knock, pulling me inside. Katie came running.

“Mommy!”

I scooped her up, holding her so tight she squeaked. “Oh, baby. Mommy missed you.”

“I missed you too! Auntie Jas let me have ice cream for breakfast!”

I shot a look at Jasmine, who shrugged. “Desperate times.”

“We have to go, sweetie,” I said, setting Katie down. “We’re going on a little adventure.”

“Where?”

“To a… big house. With a friend of Mommy’s.”

Jasmine pulled me aside while Katie put her shoes on. “What the hell is going on, Sierra? Who were those men? And why is Louis Trevane sitting in a car out front?”

“It’s a long story. Victor threatened Katie. He sent a photo. Louis is… helping.”

Jasmine’s eyes went wide. “Helping? Sierra, does he… know?”

I nodded, tears filling my eyes again. “He knows. And he wants to be in her life.”

“Holy shit.” Jasmine hugged me tight. “Be careful, okay? That’s a lot of power. A lot of emotion.”

“I know.”

We packed Katie’s favourite stuffed bunny and a few things into a bag. I led her out to the car. Louis had gotten out and was leaning against the hood.

Katie stopped, staring up at him. She looked at his face, then at me, then back at him. Her little head tilted.

Louis knelt down slowly, so he was at her eye level. His expression was soft, open. A little scared.

“Hi, Katie,” he said, his voice gentle. “I’m Louis. I’m a friend of your mom’s.”

Katie looked at him for a long time. Then she took a small step forward.

“You’re tall,” she said.

Louis smiled, a real, genuine smile that lit up his whole face. “I guess I am.”

“Do you like strawberries?” she asked.

“They’re my favourite,” he said, and I knew he was telling the truth for her.

Katie nodded, satisfied. She reached out and took his hand. “Okay. Let’s go to the big house.”

Louis looked up at me, his eyes shining with an emotion so raw it took my breath away. He stood up, holding our daughter’s small hand in his big one.

In that moment, I saw it. Not a billionaire. Not a stranger from my past.

A father.

And my carefully built walls, the ones meant to keep us safe, finally crumbled to dust.