Semua Bab Belonging to Lockhart: Bab 161 - Bab 170

AMARIS POV When Theron told me Lazaro had secured the evidence we’d been hoping for, a wave of relief nearly knocked me off my feet. I was close to tears. It felt like we had finally found the critical piece of the puzzle. The next day, Lazaro reached out to his contacts in the FBI, and just like that, the wheels began turning. Soon. That word kept echoing through my mind. It should’ve felt reassuring, like the promise of justice, but instead, it only stoked the anxious storm already brewing inside me. Doubt clawed at the corners of my thoughts. After everything Theron and I had endured, it seemed far too easy to have gotten that recording from the informant. Maybe I was being paranoid. Maybe I’d just become too jaded to trust good fortune. Still, I couldn’t shake the unease. I needed answers. I needed to be ready for anything Chun Kit might throw at us. I hadn’t slept in three days. My time was consumed building Panora. Using Manny’s expertise and his web of contacts, I mana

AMARIS POV “Chun Kit was arrested.” It took more than a full minute for Theron’s words to truly register. Then, like the sudden snapping of a taut string, something uncoiled inside me. The tension I’d been carrying for weeks broke loose, replaced by a swelling wave of disbelief and overwhelming relief. It flooded through me warm, wild, and unstoppable. I laughed. For the first time in what felt like forever, I laughed without restraint. Tears followed swiftly, trailing down my cheeks, and then my entire body began to tremble as if every fragment of restlessness was finally finding its way out. “I... I don’t even know what to say,” I managed, voice airy with disbelief. “You promised it would be over soon… and it’s really happening, isn’t it?” Another breathless laugh escaped me. But Theron didn’t laugh with me. “Well… it’s not over. Not yet,” he said quietly, a grim note lacing his voice. That joy stalled, tightening into something harder in my chest. “You think he’

THERON POV I heard Ami weeping through the phone after I told her Chun Kit would remain behind bars the sound of pure, unfiltered relief. Naturally, she denied it, swearing she hadn’t shed a single tear. I didn’t call her out. I let her keep the lie, pretended I believed her. Her emotions had simply spilled over. She was exhausted. We all were. And deep down, we both understood that Chun Kit’s imprisonment wasn’t some magical fix to the hell we’d been navigating. It was a beginning. A monumental one. But just the first step on a road still riddled with landmines. “If he’s really locked up... does that mean my exile’s over?” she asked, a nervous laugh hitching in her throat. “Well... his loyal dogs might still be sniffing around,” I said. “But if you stick to Lazaro’s instructions, I think you’ll be safe enough to come to New York. You can stay at the penthouse.” “Ooh,” she purred, teasing. “Are you inviting me to your apartment, Mr. Lockhart?” A grin slid onto my face

AMARIS POV Something was wrong. I couldn’t explain the exact reason, but I could feel it danger, thick and sour, hanging in the air with every breath I took. I was supposed to have met Ellison Halberg yesterday, at a café he’d chosen himself, promising it was safe. I waited over an hour, calling and texting him multiple times, but nothing. And now, halfway to New York, still no reply. Not a single word. Hollis pressed down on the gas, the tension inside the car mirroring the storm brewing in my chest. My nerves were fraying by the second. Talking to Hollis wouldn’t help, so I reached for my laptop, hoping distraction might. “Calm down, Ami,” I whispered to myself, placing the computer on my lap. I logged into our system Panora. Every day, it connected to more networks, scanning activity across more than ten states. We sent alerts to Lazaro regularly, flagging anything suspicious tied to Chun Kit’s syndicate. But Panora still had gaps too many blind spots. It was like trying

I was pregnant. Theron’s child was growing inside me. My entire body trembled as the realization settled in deep and consuming. All the fears I’d managed to keep buried clawed their way to the surface. My hands instinctively drifted to my abdomen, resting over the fragile life nestled within me. Something small, something new. Something I needed to protect with everything I had. But how was I supposed to protect it when I didn’t even know how to protect myself? The doctor exited quietly, leaving a silence that felt heavier than any words. Twila and Romilly sat on either side of my hospital bed, both staring at me like I’d just morphed into someone unrecognizable. “You’re carrying my grandchild,” Twila whispered. I turned to her. She looked different softer, somehow. There was no trace of the proud, polished woman I’d met months ago. Her face was awash in emotion, her eyes glistening with tears. A tender, trembling smile touched her lips. Mine quivered to match. “I gues