Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

Scarlett's POVI woke up to the smell of coffee and something sweet. Pancakes, maybe. Or French toast.For a disoriented moment, I forgot where I was. Forgot everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours. The hospital. The pregnancy test. The confession that had torn itself from my throat like shrapnel.I was raped.Then it all came rushing back, and I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to sink back into unconsciousness where none of it was real."You're awake."Cade's voice came from the doorway, low and warm. I opened my eyes to find him leaning against the frame, wearing grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt that clung to his shoulders in ways that should be illegal. His hair was damp, like he'd already showered, and he was holding a tray laden with enough food to feed a small army."What time is it?" My voice came out hoarse and scratchy from crying."Almost noon." He crossed the room and set the tray on the bed beside me. "You needed the sleep."I looked down at the

Scarlett's POVThe Uber dropped us at a private hangar on the outskirts of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, far from the commercial terminals with their crowds and security lines and crying babies. I'd been here before, years ago, when a wealthy client had flown me to Santa Fe for a consultation. But that had been different. That had been someone else's luxury.This felt surreal.Cade paid the driver, grabbed both our bags like they weighed nothing, and guided me through a sleek glass door with one hand at the small of my back. The touch was possessive, grounding, and I leaned into it without thinking.Inside, the hangar was all polished concrete and modern lighting. And there, gleaming under the fluorescents like something out of a dream, sat a private jet.Not just any jet. A Gulfstream G650, if I had to guess, from the documentaries I'd watched about the lifestyles of the obscenely wealthy. Sleek white body with silver accents, stairs deployed like a red carpet invitation.I

Scarlett's POVThe Tuscan countryside unfurled before us as a Renaissance painting come to life. Rolling hills covered in olive groves and vineyards, cypress trees standing like dark sentinels against the golden afternoon light, terracotta-roofed farmhouses scattered across the landscape like dropped coins.It was beautiful. Achingly so.It also felt like driving into enemy territory.Luca, our driver, navigated narrow roads with the easy confidence of someone who'd driven them a thousand times. The SUV climbed higher into the hills, leaving the main highway behind, taking turns that wouldn't appear on any GPS.Cade sat beside me, one hand resting possessively on my thigh, the other scrolling through his phone. He'd been reading messages in Italian for the past twenty minutes, occasionally typing rapid responses, his expression growing darker with each exchange."Everything okay?" I asked quietly."Yeah. Just coordinating." He pocketed his phone and squeezed my leg. "We're almost ther

Scarlett's POVWe pressed ourselves against the wall of the jewellery shop, hidden in shadows, barely breathing as James and Rachel studied the restaurant menu not thirty feet away.My heart hammered so hard I was certain they'd hear it. Cade's hand was still over my mouth, his body a solid wall of tension against mine.Rachel laughed at something James said, the sound carrying across the piazza in the evening air. She looked happy. Relaxed. Completely oblivious to the fact that her daughter and stepson were hiding like criminals just meters away."Wait here," Cade breathed against my ear, so quiet I almost didn't hear it. "Don't move until I signal."He pulled back slightly, watching our parents through the shop window with the focus of a predator tracking prey. James took Rachel's hand, and they turned, walking away from the jewellery shop, heading deeper into the village toward the restaurants lining the far side of the piazza.Cade counted under his breath. "Ten, nine, eight..."M

Scarlett's POVThe silence in the operating room was suffocating.I stared at Cade's profile, at the hard line of his jaw, and at the way his hands gripped the table's edge like he was holding himself back from something violent."She'll do it."The words kept echoing in my head. Flat. Final. Like my trauma was just another variable in his equation."Cade." Russo's voice cut through the ringing in my ears. "Are you certain about this? Because once we put her in play, there's no pulling back. Silvio will …""I said she'll do it." Cade's voice was ice. "Now, brief us on the timeline. How long do we have to prepare?"Prepare. Like I was a weapon he was sharpening.Something broke inside me."No." The word came out small at first, barely a whisper. Then louder. "No. Absolutely fucking not."Both men turned to look at me, Russo with surprise, Cade with an expression I couldn't read."Scarlett!" Cade started."Don't." I took a step back, my hand flying to the necklace at my throat. Forty-ei