Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 121 - Chapitre 126

MELANIE: The tires screech as Carlos slams the accelerator, the car launching forward so fast my shoulder hits the seat. My children’s screams still echo in my skull.“Faster, Carlos—please—please!” My voice cracks.“I’m trying!” His grip on the wheel is white-knuckled. “Hold on.”My heart is slamming against my ribs so violently I can barely breathe. The other car darts through a narrow street, swerving recklessly. I spot Killian’s small face pressed against the back window, crying, banging his fists against the glass.“Cherry! Killian!” I scream uselessly, my chest tearing apart.Carlos swerves, nearly missing a lamppost. “They’re slowing down!”Ahead, the kidnappers try turning sharply into an alley but Carlos cuts them off, ramming our car into theirs from the side. Metal screeches. Their car spins, the tires dragging across the road before slamming into a stacked pile of crates.I jump out before the engine even dies.“Mommy!” Cherry cries, face red, eyes wet. The driver from th

SOFIA:I sit on Carlos’s couch with my arms locked around the kids, holding them so close it feels like I’m trying to melt them into my skin. Killian’s cheek is smashed against my chest, his little body trembling. Cherry curls into my other side, silent but wide-eyed. My heartbeat hasn’t slowed since the gunshot outside Liam’s house. Every sound in this apartment, every creak, every footstep hits my nerves like lightning.The front door clicks softly. The softness of it keeps me from freaking out because if it were those hunters then the urgency would have given it away.Carlos steps inside, chest rising and falling sharply. His hands… God. His hands are covered in blood.My breath catches. “Carlos…”He lifts them immediately like he is surrendering. “Not mine,” he says quickly. “It’s not mine, Sofia. Relax. They ran off.”I glance down at the kids, ensuring their faces are tucked in my arms so they don't see the stains on him. My stomach twists at the sight, dark red smeared across h

SOFIA:A soft sound pulls me out of sleep.It’s faint, almost nothing like a door closing too carefully. For a moment I lie still, listening, my body already alert. The room is dark, lit only by the thin wash of moonlight through the curtains.I turn toward the kids.Killian is sprawled on his stomach, one arm flung over his pillow. Cherry is curled on her side, her small breaths even. I brush a hand over their hair, making sure they’re warm and deep asleep. They don’t stir.I slip out of bed quietly and step into the hallway, my bare feet silent against the floor. The noise comes again. It’s coming from the room across the hall.I pause outside the door, heart thudding once, then I push it open.The light is on.Carlos stands inside, jacket draped over the chair, clothes lying around on the corner of the bed while he is completely changed into a simple white t-shirt and sweats. He looks up instantly when he sees me.“Oh—” he says softly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”Relief loosens s