Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 30

I was sitting in my office when the call came.Flavian was across from me trying to help me stay calm as i tried to contact the family lawyer. We had just barely finished talking when my phone rang again.The school.My stomach dropped instantly.“Hello?”“Ms. Carlisle…” The secretary’s voice sounded wrong this time. “We need you to come to the school immediately.”Ice slid down my spine.“What happened?” I asked, already standing.A pause.Then the words that stopped my heart.“We can’t locate Flavian.”The room went silent.I don’t remember getting up.All I remember is the sound of my pulse roaring in my ears and the way my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.“I’m coming,” I said, my voice barely holding together.When I looked up, Flavian was already on his feet.“I’m driving,” he said.It wasn’t a question.The drive felt endless.Every red light felt personal.Neither of us spoke.We didn’t need to.The air between us was thick with the same fear.The school parking lot was chaos.Teac

Flavian’s POVThe moment I saw the text on Fiona’s phone, my jaw tightened. Sean. Again. Threatening .Fiona’s hand was trembling as she clutched the device. I stepped closer, letting my presence anchor her. She wasn’t weak , never had been but fear was a mother’s instinct, and right now, it was a shield she couldn’t lower.I slid her phone from her grip and locked it. “Let me handle this,” I said quietly, firmly. Her eyes flicked to mine, a mixture of relief and trust, and I felt it like a punch to the chest.Sean had crossed a line and i don't forgive easily.I pulled out my phone. First call: private investigators I’d used before, meticulous, and brutal when necessary.“Find him,” I said. “Every move, every contact. I want a full profile. Now.”Second call: a few business associates with connections I’d earned over the years, men who knew how to ask questions without leaving traces, men who could make things very inconvenient for Sean Fisher.By the third call, a map of potential

Everything after the yard felt unreal.Police lights. Statements. Questions I could barely process.Hands touching my shoulder. Voices telling me it was over.But the only thing that mattered was the small weight asleep against me.Flavian hadn’t let go of me the entire time.Not once.Even now, as we stood outside the police station hours later, the night stretched thin and quiet around us, he was still there. Like if he stepped away, everything would collapse again.“They’re increasing patrols around your area,” one of the officers said. “And we’ll push the restraining order first thing in the morning.”I nodded, but my body felt hollow.Like I was operating on something thinner than strength.Flavian thanked them calmly.He always sounded like that around people.Untouchable.But when the officer walked away, he turned to me and the steel in his eyes softened instantly.“You can't go home tonight,” he said quietly.It wasn’t controlling or harsh.“I can’t just—” My voice cracked.

The city glittered beneath them like a living constellation.Fiona stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of the penthouse suite, her arms wrapped loosely around herself as she stared at New York unfolding through glass. Behind her, she felt him before she heard him.“You’re thinking too loudly,” he said softly.She smiled without turning. “Is that even a thing?”“It is with you.”His voice was closer now. Lower than usual. She turned slowly.He had taken off his tie. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, the sleeves rolled up carelessly, like a man who had finally stopped pretending to be invincible.And for a moment, she forgot how to breathe.This wasn’t the man who commanded boardrooms or silenced rooms with a glance.This was just… him.Looking at her like she was the only real thing in the world.“You’ve been quiet since dinner,” he said.Fiona hesitated. “It just… feels like a dream.”He didn’t laugh.Didn’t brush it off.Instead, he stepped closer.“If it is,” he murmured,

The next morning came too quickly.Like I was moving through someone else’s life.I smiled when I needed to. Nodded at the right moments. Flavian didn’t say anything.Maybe he didn’t notice or maybe he noticed everything and chose not to push.He kissed my forehead before leaving, his hand lingering at my cheek for a second longer than usual.“Call me if you need anything,” he murmured.My throat tightened.“I will.”I didn’t.The house felt wrong after he left.Too full of thoughts I couldn’t escape.Two lines.I pressed my palms into my eyes.I can’t stay here.The decision came suddenly. Instinctive. Like something deep inside me had already made it before my brain caught up.Before I could talk myself out of it, I was moving.A small bag.Clothes for my son.My charger.And the test.Still hidden in the bottom drawer.I wrapped it in a scarf before slipping it into my bag, like it was something fragile. Like handling it too roughly might make it more real.I didn’t tell Flavian.