Semua Bab Legally Bound : Bab 41 - Bab 50

Alex and Lily walked into the restaurant side by side, the subtle warmth of their earlier embrace still woven into the space between them. Gillian and Wilson were already seated at a round corner table, menus half-opened, mid-conversation. When they spotted Alex and Lily approaching, their expressions shifted. Gillian bit back a knowing smile, while Wilson straightened like he’d just remembered manners.Alex pulled out a chair for Lily before taking his own seat.“You both didn’t order without us, right?”Wilson scoffed. “Relax. We waited. Not happily, but we waited.”Gillian elbowed him.The waiter arrived, took their orders, and soon enough they were settled into the easy rhythm of laughter and conversation.Wilson leaned back smugly.“So. Alex Cromwell delivering Emily Hart’s downfall with precision and receipts? Cinema.”Alex shot him a flat look. “Wilson.”“What? I’m simply honoring excellence.”Gillian broke into laughter, mimicking Alex’s earlier calm deadpan as she reenacted p

The morning sunlight spilled gently into the penthouse, soft and warm, kissing the marble floors with a calmness that felt almost suspicious after the chaos of the past days.Lily stepped out of her room quietly, her robe tied loosely around her waist. Her hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, and for a second, the penthouse felt too silent, too still. She wondered if Alex was asleep, he surely needed it after everything he had done yesterday.But no.He was awake.She heard the soft clink of cups from the kitchen and turned the corner to see Alex standing by the counter, shirt slightly wrinkled, hair messy in the most attractive way, pouring coffee as though he’d done it a million times.He looked… peaceful.And devastatingly handsome.He looked up just as she stepped in.A slow, warm smile pulled at his lips.“You’re up,” he said softly.“And you’re… awake already?” she asked, surprised. “You barely slept.”“I’ll sleep when everything is handled,” he shrugged, offering her a m

Lily re-read the anonymous text Alex had just received:“You’re too late, Alex. You can’t protect her forever.”Her hands trembled so badly she nearly dropped the phone.Alex immediately took it from her gently, but firmly and looked her straight in the eyes.“You’re safe,” he said quietly. “They can’t touch you.”His tone was controlled, calm… but Lily saw it.The fury underneath.The kind that didn’t shout, didn’t shakethe kind that promised destruction.Gillian pulled Lily into a side hug, holding her tightly as Lily exhaled in a shaky breath.Across the room, Wilson stepped aside and immediately pulled out his phone, whispering fiercely as he texted someone from Alex’s building security to come up and increase surveillance.He disappeared into Alex’s home office for a moment and came back out with wide eyes.“Approved,” Wilson said, looking at his own email. “I just got a message, my company approved a full month of annual leave… paid. I get to stay in Chicago longer.”Only Wilso

Lily’s breath caught.“Disappeared? As in?”“Vanished,” Alex completed. “No movement on his phone. No activity on his card. Car is gone.”For a moment, he just stood there, expression unreadable as pieces assembled rapidly in his mind. Then something clicked. His posture straightened. His eyes sharpened.He knew exactly what to do.Without a word, he grabbed his phone and dialed the detective.“Cromwell,” the detective answered groggily.“He’s fleeing,” Alex said. “He’ll be heading out of Chicago. Most likely the airport.”The detective exhaled sharply. “You think he’s running?”“I know he is.”Before the detective could ask how, Alex was already dialing the police. Lily watched him with wide, anxious eyes. He placed a hand on her shoulder briefly, a silent reassurance then turned away as the call connected.“This is Alex Cromwell. I need immediate deployment to O’Hare.”A short pause.“Yes. Temporarily restrain any male matching the defendant’s ID descriptions. Do not let him board a

The message was still fresh on Alex’s phone when he stepped aside, jaw clenched, fingers tightening around the device.Another threat.Another anonymous number.Lily watched him, her breath shallow, but she didn’t speak.She could see it, the shift in him.The dark calculation behind his eyes that had dark circles from lack of sleep for days.Without hesitating, Alex called the detective.“It happened again,” he said, voice low and steady.The detective didn’t even sound surprised.“Good timing. I was about to call you.”Alex straightened.“What did you find?”“The new threat? It came from someone connected to the defendant’s criminal network. I looped in your IT guy, he just traced the number.”That made Alex pause.“And?”“We got a location. Sending it to the police now.”Alex didn’t waste time, he merged the detective into a group call with the police commissioner.“Put your team on the move,” Alex said sharply. “We’re ending this today.”Within an hour, the updates flew in:“The l