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Chapter 30: The Ghost & The Mountain

Author: jhumz
last update Huling Na-update: 2025-08-05 01:19:46

The rain had eased to a cold, persistent drizzle by the time they reached **Grid Echo-Seven**. It wasn't a grid reference so much as a scar on the landscape: a collapsed mining adit half-hidden by scree and skeletal pines, deep in the lee of the mountains overshadowing Dominic’s Aerie. The air hung heavy with the scent of wet rock, pine sap, and decay. It felt less like a rendezvous and more like a tomb.

Harlan signaled a halt twenty yards out. Mack, his ribs tightly bound but face set in grim lines, covered their six with his rifle. Reynolds, pale and sweating despite the cold, slumped against a moss-covered boulder, his cracked glasses reflecting the weak grey light. His fingers trembled on a portable scanner linked to the tracker – the green dot pulsed steadily, impossibly high on the distant peak.

Leo scanned the entrance to the adit. Nothing. Silence. Only the drip of water and the distant cry of a hawk. Yet the air prickled with unseen tension. Harlan hadn’t called out. He simpl
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  • the bodyguard's secret   Chapter 66: The Sabotage

    Just when Leo thought the storm had passed, a new and more insidious threat emerged. It began with small things—a negative review of The Anchor Workshop on a local blog, a series of anonymous complaints to the county zoning board, a sudden and unexplained drop in online donations. At first, Leo and Silas dismissed them as isolated incidents, the inevitable annoyances that came with a higher public profile. But the incidents escalated. A shipment of expensive wood for Silas's workshop was mysteriously rerouted and delayed for weeks. A visiting artist who was scheduled to lead a workshop at The Anchor received a series of threatening emails and canceled his visit. A local newspaper published an editorial questioning the financial practices of their non-profit, citing anonymous sources who claimed that the MacArthur grant was being used for personal enrichment. "This isn't random," Silas said one evening as they reviewed a spreadsheet of the recent incidents. "This is a coordinated

  • the bodyguard's secret   Chapter 65: The Betrayal

    The article appeared in a national art magazine, a glossy, high-profile publication that had been clamoring for an in-depth feature on Leo since the Whitney Biennial. The piece was supposed to be a celebration of his work, a deep dive into his artistic process and the success of The Anchor Workshop. But when Leo opened the magazine and saw the headline, his blood ran cold. "The Tragic Muse: How Leo Moretti Transformed a Life of Abuse into Art." Leo scanned the first few paragraphs, his horror growing with each word. The article wasn't about his art—it was about his past. It detailed his marriage to Dominic, the emotional and physical abuse he had suffered, his dramatic escape, even hints about the mysterious circumstances of Dominic's death. It was a sensationalized, exploitative account that stripped away his privacy and reduced his entire life and career to the trauma he had fought so hard to overcome. "How did they get this?" Leo whispered, his hands shaking as he held

  • the bodyguard's secret   Chapter 64: A Voice from the Past

    Two years after Leo received the MacArthur Fellowship, The Anchor Workshop had become a nationally recognized center for art-based community healing. The research study with the National Institute of Mental Health was yielding groundbreaking data, and Leo and Silas were in high demand as speakers and consultants. They had found a rhythm that allowed them to expand their impact without sacrificing their own well-being, balancing national travel with quiet time at home.But their peaceful, purposeful life was about to be disrupted by a voice from a past they thought was long buried.Leo was in his studio, working on a new series of paintings for an upcoming solo exhibition, when Silas appeared in the doorway with a strange expression on his face."You have a visitor," Silas said, his voice carefully neutral in a way that immediately put Leo on high alert."A visitor?" Leo asked, setting down his brush. "Who is it?""Someone who claims to be your cousin," Silas said. "From your mother's

  • the bodyguard's secret   Chapter 63: Home Improvements

    The blueprints were spread across their kitchen table like a map of their future, detailed drawings that showed how their modest house could be expanded to accommodate Leo's growing success and their evolving needs. Leo traced the lines with his finger, envisioning the new studio space that would be large enough for major installations, the expanded workshop where Silas could take on bigger projects, the guest suite where visiting artists or workshop participants could stay. "It's a lot," Silas said, studying the plans with his practical eye. "Are you sure we want to change this much? This house has been our sanctuary for so long." Leo understood his husband's hesitation. Their home had been their refuge, the place where they'd learned to heal and love and simply exist without fear. The idea of major construction, of disrupting the peace they'd worked so hard to create, was daunting. "I don't want to change what we have," Leo said carefully. "I want to expand it. The core of t

  • the bodyguard's secret   Chapter 62: The Gallery Opening

    The invitation arrived on elegant cream paper, embossed with gold lettering that caught the light as Leo turned it over in his hands. "The Meridian Foundation cordially invites you to the opening reception for 'Journey to Light: An Installation by Leo Moretti.'" Below the formal text was a photograph of his completed installation—four connected rooms that told the story of transformation from trauma to healing, from darkness to light. "It's really happening," Leo said, his voice a mixture of excitement and terror. "Three months of work, and now people are actually going to see it." Silas looked up from the woodworking magazine he'd been reading, immediately picking up on the anxiety in Leo's voice. "How are you feeling about it?" "Terrified," Leo admitted, sinking into the chair beside Silas. "What if people don't understand it? What if they think it's too personal, too raw? What if the critics hate it?" The installation had been the most challenging project of Leo's career,

  • the bodyguard's secret   Chapter 64: New Traditions

    The first Thanksgiving at their expanded home was a revelation in controlled chaos. Leo stood in their new, larger kitchen, watching Silas carve the turkey while Harlan regaled their guests with stories from his latest woodworking projects. The dining room table—one of Silas's masterpieces, crafted specifically for occasions like this—was set for twelve people, more than they'd ever hosted before. "I can't believe we're doing this," Leo murmured to Silas as he checked on the sweet potatoes. "A year ago, we could barely handle having three people over for dinner." "And now look at us," Silas replied, his voice warm with satisfaction. "Hosting Thanksgiving for our entire chosen family." The guest list was a testament to how much their world had expanded. Harlan, of course, who had become like a father to both of them. Petrova, who had flown in from her latest assignment with Doctors Without Borders. Reynolds, who had driven down from Seattle with his new boyfriend, a software en

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