《Too Late To Beg》全部章節：第 71 章 - 第 80 章

JAMES The lights went out while I was still in Tamsin's room, the darkness descending so completely and suddenly that I knew immediately something was wrong. My villa had been constructed with multiple backup systems specifically to prevent power outages. The fact that we were now sitting in complete darkness meant only one thing. Someone had deliberately tampered with the electrical system. "We have an intruder," I said to Tamsin, though she did not respond. She simply lay there in the darkness, as silent and still as she had been since I brought her home from the hospital. I felt along the bedside table until my fingers found her phone, activating the flashlight to create a small circle of illumination. "I will be back," I told her. "I need to find out what happened." Before leaving her room, I made two quick calls. The first was to my security team stationed at the villa entrance, informing them of the breach and ordering them to seal off all exits immediately.

TAMSIN The morning sun filtered through the dining room windows, painting everything in soft gold. Poppy sat across from me, buttering her toast with theatrical concentration, while Hannah picked at a bowl of fresh fruit beside me. "He brought me flowers," Poppy was saying, her eyes bright with the particular glow of a woman in the early stages of falling in love. "To my desk. At work. My horrible manager actually smiled. The world is ending, clearly." Hannah laughed, leaning forward. "What does he do?" "Real estate. He is doing remarkably well too. Smart, handsome, kind." She paused, lowering her voice as though sharing a great secret. "I keep waiting for the catch. Some terrible flaw I have not yet discovered." "Do not jinx it," I said, and meant it. "You deserve someone wonderful, Poppy. After everything." For a few minutes, the conversation flowed easily, the way it used to before my life became complicated. Hannah's laughter had grown stronger over the past few days

LEO Consciousness returned to me the way it always did after one of these episodes, slowly and reluctantly, as though my body resented being summoned back from the dark. I opened my eyes to white walls, white sheets, and the steady rhythm of a heart monitor that I belatedly realized was tracking my own pulse. A hospital. I sat up carefully, wincing at the dull throb behind my temples, and stared at the IV line taped to the back of my hand. The last thing I remembered was leaving the hospital with Colby after Whitney had been admitted. He had been beside himself with rage, swearing he would find whoever had attacked his sister, no matter the cost. We had parted ways in the parking lot, and I had driven home alone. The migraine had hit me the moment I walked through my front door. I remembered the sudden vise grip behind my eyes. The way the room had tilted. The blessed clarity that had allowed me to call my doctor before everything went black. I had not suffered an atta

WHITNEYTwo days in the hospital felt like a small lifetime.I had not needed to fully recover from the attack, but the doctors had insisted on observation, and Colby had insisted on agreeing with them. He visited constantly, his face drawn with a quiet, simmering fury that frightened even me."I will find them," he kept saying. "Whoever did this to you. I will not rest until I know."He had tried. I knew he had tried. He had used every connection at his disposal, every favor he could call in. But the trail had gone cold the moment those men left me on the side of the road.I was relieved.I did not want him to find them. I did not want anyone to find them before I had carried out my own revenge. Tamsin Whitmore was mine. The reckoning belonged to me alone.When I was finally discharged and brought home, I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled out my phone with a hand that shook only slightly.No missed calls from Ryan.No text messages.Two days I had been in the hospital, and my so c

TAMSIN After walking away from Leo in the garden, I forced myself back into the party hall, though every fibre of my being wanted to flee. I was finished with the night. Finished with the smiling faces, the whispered comments, the watchful eyes that had witnessed my public humiliation at the hands of my mother-in-law. When James eventually found me near the edge of the room, his expression carefully composed, he asked if I was alright. "I am exhausted," I said quietly. "I would like to go home now." He did not argue. He apologised once again for what his mother had done, then thanked me, in that smooth voice of his, for showing up at his side when he had needed me most. I did not respond. The drive home was silent. James kept glancing at me, but I kept my gaze fixed on the window, watching the city lights blur past in streaks of gold and red. The moment we arrived at the villa, I went straight to my room and shut the door behind me, turning the lock with deliberate final