All Chapters of The Phoenix Heiress: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Koda hadn’t let go of me since the convoy. Kid was glued to my chest like I was the last safe thing in a world full of monsters. I didn’t blame him. After what he’d been through, I’d have done the same.Luca drove. Didn’t say much. Just kept his eyes on the road while I kept mine on the boy in my arms. Koda was asleep now, breath soft, fingers tangled in my shirt like he was afraid I’d vanish.We rolled into the warehouse slow. No sirens. No chaos. Just the low hum of tires and the weight of everything we’d dragged out of the dark.At the intake station, Mama Red was already waiting—clipboard in hand, eyes sharp. GreenLee stood beside her, calm and steady like always.They saw us and moved in.“Let’s get him checked out,” Mama Red said gently, reaching for Koda.He woke instantly.And panicked.No scream. Just raw terror in his eyes and a grip like iron. He clung to me, breath hitching, body shaking. I felt it all—every tremor, every ounce of fear.“No,” I said, voice low. “He stays w

I was halfway through my plate when the door opened again.Mama—Kat’s mom—stepped in first, her energy like a warm breeze that still carried thunder. Behind her came three men I didn’t know. One looked like he belonged in a courtroom. One looked like he belonged on a battlefield. And the third—Luca—had the kind of presence that made people straighten up without knowing why.Kat stood when they entered. Wolf didn’t move, just gave a nod.I kept eating. Quiet. Watching.Mama leaned down and kissed Kat’s cheek, then turned to me. “This is Rob,” she said, motioning to the man in the suit. “He’s my brother. Lawyer. And this is Luca, my husband and Kat’s dad. And Fenrir is Wolf’s dad and Mama Red's husband.”I nodded, unsure what to say. They all looked at me like I was holding something important. Maybe I was.“I already told them,” I said, voice steady. “Me, Koda, and two others. We were in a group home in New Mexico. They sold us to Boris.”Rob’s jaw tightened. Luca didn’t speak, just pu

Kat had just disappeared down the hall, Koda balanced on her hip, syrup-sticky and giggling like the world hadn’t ever tried to break him. I watched them go, the sound of his laughter echoing off the walls like a promise I wasn’t sure I deserved.I leaned back into the couch, arms stretched across the worn leather, letting the silence settle. It wasn’t heavy—not yet. Just thick enough to make me think.She was trying. Hell, we all were. But watching her with Koda, seeing the way she softened around him, the way she steadied when Jace was near... it made something shift in me. Something I hadn’t let myself name.I wanted this. Not just the chaos, not just the club. I wanted her. I wanted them.Koda, with his sticky fingers and wild curls, had already carved out a space in my chest I didn’t know was empty. And Jace—he wasn’t mine, not really. But the way he looked at me sometimes, like he was waiting for me to tell him it was okay to stay... that hit different. Like a little brother I n

I swear, if Koda calls Wolf “Dada” one more time with that squeaky little voice, I might melt into the floor. Not because I’m mad. Not even a little. Just... jealous. The good kind. The kind that makes your chest ache and your heart flutter all at once.He’s never called me Mama. Not yet. And I get it—he’s still figuring it all out. But every time he says it to Wolf, it’s like a little bell rings in my chest. A reminder. A hope.Dinner was chaos in the best way. Garlic and laughter and Koda babbling about “pillow bread” like it was a national treasure. I barely tasted my food, too busy watching him shovel pasta into his mouth like it was a race. Wolf sat beside him, calm and steady, like he’d been born for this. Like he’d always known how to be someone’s safe place.And then Mama walked in with dessert.Chocolate cake.I didn’t even have to see it. I smelled it first—rich and warm and so familiar it made my eyes sting. Mama’s chocolate cake was my childhood. My birthdays. My heartbrea

This wasn’t about Liam.It never was.Marquez made that clear the moment he handed me the file. Kansas City. That was the prize. The Ricci-Bruno stronghold. Old money. Old blood. Old rules. And Kat—sweet, dangerous Kat—was the key to cracking it open.Liam was just the excuse.I watched him now, sprawled across the motel bed, unconscious from the sedative I’d jammed into his neck an hour ago. He twitched in his sleep. Mumbled. Something about knives and laughter and Mama.Batshit.I lit a cigarette and leaned against the window, eyes scanning the parking lot. Javi and the others were still out there, circling the warehouse like vultures. They wouldn’t find a way in. I already knew that. The Riccis weren’t sloppy. They were paranoid. Smart. And Kat? She was protected.But she came outside.She played in the grass with a little boy who called her Mama.That changed everything.Marquez wanted intel. Weakness. Leverage. He wanted Kat, but not for Liam. Not for love. For control. For press