Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

Leonard’s stare could’ve melted steel.He didn’t blink, didn’t move. Just pinned Mason with that quiet, terrifying calm, like a lion deciding if the hyena was even worth the bite. The kitchen went dead silent except for the toast still popping in the background, forgotten and smoking. Mason’s smirk flickered. For the first time since I’d known him, he looked small.“Where did you get that?” Leonard asked, voice low enough to rattle the glasses on the counter.Mason shrugged, lazy, but his knuckles were white around the crumpled paper. “Hall floor. Kids drop stuff. Thought I’d be helpful.”Angel’s tiny hand squeezed mine so hard it hurt. She made that soft whimper again, barely air, but it sliced me open. I crouched fast, blocking her view of him. “Hey, baby, look at me.” She did, eyes glassy. I signed quickly, clumsy but clear: Safe. I got you.Leonard stepped forward, one step, but the room shrank. “Give it to me.”Mason’s grin tried to come back, but failed. He flicked the drawi

The mansion felt different when we got back, like the walls had ears now, and they were all whispering the same thing: They know.Leonard killed the engine in the garage, hands still white on the wheel. Angel was asleep in her booster, head lolling, that broken bird clutched to her chest like a teddy. Her little mouth was open, soft breaths puffing out. Peaceful. After saying "Daddy" and "Veronica" like it was nothing.I unbuckled quietly, heart still racing from the session high... and the comment low. That red-bold threat under the pap pics."You okay?" Leonard asked, his voice rough. He hadn't let go of the wheel yet.I glanced at Angel, out cold, then back to him. "Define okay. My kid just talked for the first time in years because of puppet therapy, and five minutes later the internet's threatening to shut her up forever. So... peachy with a side of terror?"His jaw ticked. Then he finally let go, turning to face me full. The garage light was dim, shadows cutting his face sharp.

I shot up in bed like someone had shocked me.The phone was still in Leonard's hand, that creepy photo of Angel sleeping staring back at us. Someone had been in her room. Tonight. While we were right down the hall.Leonard was already moving. He jumped out of bed, pulled on jeans fast, shirt half-buttoned. "Stay here. Lock the door after me.""No way." I was out too, heart banging like crazy. I grabbed the baseball bat from the umbrella stand thing by the door. "That's my kid in there. I'm coming."He looked like he wanted to fight me on it, but my face must've said try me. He just nodded once, hard.We ran quietly down the hall like ghosts. Him in front, me right behind with the bat up like I knew what I was doing. Every little creak sounded like footsteps. My skin crawled. Someone could be watching us right now.We got to Angel's door. It was open, just a crack. Leonard held up a hand to signal stop. He pushed the door slowly with two fingers.Nothing moved.The room was dark exce

"This is necessary." He reached out, his hand grasping the back of my neck, thumb stroking the soft skin right behind my ear. It was a grounding touch, but it also felt like a claim. "The threat is inside my own family. If I play by the rules, we all lose."He pulled me closer until our chests almost touched, forcing me to look up into his fierce eyes. "I will not let my daughter be terrorized again. And I will not let them win this time."His gaze dropped to my lips, and the unspoken tension from earlier flared, hot and sudden. He was still a storm, but now I was standing in the eye of it."I called my head of security," he murmured, his breath warm on my face. "He'll be here in twenty minutes. The asset will be gone. The clean-up crew will follow. No police report. No leak. Nothing."I felt the adrenaline wearing off, replaced by a deep, shaky terror. My legs felt weak, and my whole body started to tremble uncontrollably, a delayed reaction to the violence I'd just witnessed through

But before our mouths could meet, a sharp, insistent ringing sliced through the air. Not Leonard’s phone. The landline in the master study, loud and jarring. It was the sound of the outside war, crashing back in.Leonard pulled back instantly, his attention snapping from me to the outside world, the powerful mask dropping back into place."Stay here," he ordered, his hand leaving my cheek to grip my shoulder hard. "I have to take that call in the study. Elias will be on his way up to check on Angel. Don't leave this room. Do not open the door."He stood, moved to the drawer, and pulled out the small black gun again, tucking it into the back of his jeans without a second look. The sight of the weapon in his hands made my stomach clench.He stopped at the door, his eyes a cold warning. "If anyone touches that door, you scream. If the phone rings in here, you don't answer. You only open this door for Elias. No one else. Understand?""Who is it?" I asked, my voice still shaky."The line is