Blood Ties And Silk Chains의 모든 챕터: 챕터 41 - 챕터 50

“You filed.”Varian didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to.The study door clicked shut behind him, sealing them in. His words were low, dangerous, vibrating in the floorboards.Liora’s heart stopped cold. “Who told you?”“Not the point.” He came closer, controlled steps, like stalking prey. “Tell me it isn’t true.”She straightened in the armchair, clutching the armrests. “I can’t.”Silence snapped taut.His jaw flexed once, twice. “Sole custody. That's what you want?”“I want safety,” she said firmly.“You think you’ll get it from a court?” His laugh was a jagged blade. “Judges are bought. Lawyers bleed favors. You’d drag her into that circus?”“Better that than bullets, Varian!” Her voice cracked, echoing. “Better that than waking up wondering if tonight’s the night your enemies get through your walls.”He leaned over her, hands gripping the chair back, his shadow swallowing hers. “Don’t pretend this is about the Marcellis. This is about me.”Her throat tightened. “Yes. It’s abo

The penthouse clinic lights hummed, sterile and steady. Wren sat cross-legged on the exam table, sketching in the corner of her paper with a green crayon. Liora hovered, arms crossed, nerves tightly wound.Varian stood at the window, speaking low into his phone. Bram paced the hall just outside.Then—CRACK.The world detonated. Glass burst inward, shards spinning like razors. The overhead lights flickered, alarms shrieked.“Down!” Varian’s roar split the chaos.Bram was already moving, slamming into Liora’s side and dragging her behind an overturned gurney.“Wren!” Liora screamed.Varian was faster. He lunged, sweeping Wren off the table and under the heavy steel bedframe. Another shot punched the wall above his head, splintering tile.“Stay down!” Varian pressed her small body against his chest, his arm a wall around her.Wren whimpered, clutching his jacket. “Mama—”“She’s safe,” he rasped, breath hot against her hair. “I’ve got you.”Smoke grenades hissed in the corridor. The alar

The penthouse walls still hummed with unease. Three staff locked down, cameras rewired, the perimeter doubled – yet it wasn’t enough. Not for Liora.She found Varian in the war room, screens bleeding data across the walls. His fingers traced maps like he was rearranging chess pieces.“Talk to me,” she said.He didn’t look up. “Busy.”“No, Varian.” She stepped closer. “This isn’t a request. Talk to me.”His eyes flicked to her, sharp, impatient. “If this is about Leth, I already—”“It’s about survival,” she cut in. “Ours. Wren’s. Yours. If you won’t cooperate with someone outside these walls, I’ll take her and walk.”The words cracked the air like a whip.Varian stilled. Slowly, he set down the stylus. “You’d what?”“You heard me.” Her hands were trembling, but her voice didn’t waver. “I won’t let Wren grow up with bulletproof glass as her sunlight. You can hate me for it, but I’ll choose her freedom over your fortress.”He rose from the chair, slow and predatory. “Say it again.”Her b

The penthouse, usually humming with ordered precision, felt brittle that night. Guards were rotated twice as often, cameras blinked like restless eyes, and every elevator ride carried suspicion.Ines stood in the kitchen with a tablet clutched to her chest, scanning staff logs. “Three people had the clearance to access the garage feed during the convoy,” she said.Varian leaned against the counter, shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, tension cutting the sharp line of his jaw. “Names.”“Marco. Deyna. Tomas.”Liora folded her arms, voice sharp. “You trust them?”Ines hesitated. “I’ve worked with all three for years. They bleed for this house.”“Someone bled us tonight,” Varian cut in, his tone steel. “And I don’t believe in coincidence.”Later, when Wren tugged at Liora’s sleeve and whispered, “Mama, story?” Varian’s gaze flicked over.“Go,” he said quietly. “I’ll handle this.”“No,” Liora replied, jaw tight. “You’re not turning staff into suspects without proof.”He studied her. “Proof

The clinic’s waiting area hummed with its usual low rhythm: the shuffle of papers, the muted ring of phones, and the sigh of patients sitting with their worries. Wren had been coloring quietly at the little children’s table, her head bent, her hand gripping a crayon as if the world depended on filling in every corner.Then the alarm shrieked.Red lights strobed across the ceiling. A siren wailed, jagged and relentless.“Attention. Fire alarm activated. Please evacuate the building immediately,” the intercom blared.Smoke began to curl from the vents—thin, artificial, chemical-scented.Liora jumped to her feet, clutching Wren’s small backpack, eyes wide. “What—”Bram was already moving. “This isn’t a standard drill.” He scanned the exits, his hand drifting near the concealed weapon at his side.Varian didn’t move at all. His gaze flicked once to the smoke, then to the panicked staff lingfunnelling people toward the main exit. His face emptied, the mask snapping down—calm, unreadable, t