Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 101 - Chapitre 110

Lyra's POVThe hospital room smelled like disinfectant and flowers. Too many flowers. People kept sending them, neighbors, coworkers, family friends who'd heard about our "accident." That's what the FBI was calling it. A chemical accident at an old warehouse. No mention of Elena or poison gas or anything that might scare people.I stared at the ceiling, counting the tiny holes in the tiles. Anything to avoid thinking about what had happened. What was still happening."Mommy?"I turned my head to see Finn sitting in the chair beside my bed. Real Finn this time, not Jake the FBI kid. He'd been asking questions all morning that I didn't know how to answer."Yes, baby?""Why is everyone so sad?""What do you mean?""Daddy was here earlier and he looked like he was gonna cry. And Chris looks sad too. And you look sad."Out of the mouths of babes. How do you explain to a five-year-old that his mother's entire world had been turned upside down? That she didn't know who to trust or what to fe

Rhys's POV The parking garage under the downtown library was exactly as empty as I'd hoped. Midnight on a Tuesday, nobody around for blocks. Perfect for the kind of conversation that could get my family killed if anyone found out. I checked my watch. 12:03 AM. She was late. My phone buzzed with a text: Level B2. Blue sedan. Come alone. I took the stairs down one more level, my footsteps echoing in the concrete space. The blue sedan was parked in the far corner, engine running. As I approached, the passenger door opened. "Get in," said a woman's voice. I slid into the seat and found myself face-to-face with someone who looked like a librarian. Middle-aged, glasses, cardigan sweater. Nothing threatening about her except the gun resting casually in her lap. "You're late," I said. "Traffic. You have what we discussed?" I pulled out a manila envelope. "Copies of everything. Bank account numbers, vault location, access codes. Everything Elena wanted." "And the originals?" "Safe.

Lyra's POV The voice inside the room was giving them an ultimatum. Someone was forcing Chris and Rhys to choose which one of them would live. I couldn't let that happen. Ciara and I crept closer to the door. Through a crack in the wood, I could see into the room. Chris and Rhys were tied to chairs facing each other. Between them stood a woman I'd never seen before, but her voice matched the one from the phone calls. "You have sixty seconds to decide," she was saying. "The husband or the boyfriend. One of you gets to walk out of here. The other doesn't." "Go to hell," Chris said. "Lyra doesn't need to choose between us," Rhys added. "And neither do we." The woman laughed. "How noble. But you're missing the point. This isn't about what you want. It's about what she wants. And deep down, she's already chosen, hasn't she?" I felt sick. Even now, even with their lives on the line, someone was trying to force me to pick between them. "She loves us both," Rhys said quietly. "Does s

Chris's POVI woke up on the uncomfortable hospital couch with a crick in my neck and the weight of everything that had happened settling on my chest. Lyra had reached for me first last night. In that moment of pure instinct, she had chosen me.But sitting there in the morning light, watching her sleep in the chair next to Finn's bed while Rhys stood by the window looking lost, I realized something important.Her choice didn't change anything.Not yet, anyway.Lyra was still married. Still confused. Still dealing with the aftermath of betrayal and lies and a world that had been turned upside down multiple times. The last thing she needed was me pressuring her about what her instincts might mean.And Rhys was still Finn's father. Still a good man who'd made bad choices but was trying to do better. Still someone who deserved respect, not just from Lyra but from me.If I really loved this family, all of them, I had to be patient. I had to let things develop naturally instead of trying to

Lyra's POVElena pulled a knife from her belt, the blade catching the moonlight as she smiled at me with genuine pleasure."You know," she said, "this is actually better than what I had planned. More personal."I could hear Chris and Rhys behind me, both of them trying to talk me out of this. But I'd made my decision. For months, I'd been letting other people fight my battles, make my choices, determine my fate. Not anymore."What are the rules?" I asked."Rules?" Elena laughed. "The only rule is that one of us doesn't walk away from this."She lunged forward without warning, the knife aimed at my chest. I dove to the side, my months of fear and running finally transforming into something useful. Adrenaline sharpened my focus, and suddenly everything seemed to slow down.Elena was skilled, that much was obvious. But she was also angry, and anger made people sloppy."You think you're some kind of hero?" she taunted, circling me like a predator. "You think love makes you strong?""I thi