جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 140

I waited until the second SUV disappeared beyond the gate.Then I counted to three.That was enough obedience for one morning.I went back inside, locked the door, then walked through the kitchen without touching the cleaning cloth I’d left behind. The house felt strange without Max and Issa. Too large. Too clean. No small footsteps racing around upstairs. No Issa accusing someone of insulting her fashion. No Max asking whether his school bag could carry a sword.Just the low hum of the dishwasher and light rain against the windows.Zach had told me to stay home.He never said I couldn’t work from home.I went into my office, closed the door, then pulled my laptop from the docking station. The screen lit up before I had fully sat down.Fingerprint.Password.Hardware key from the drawer.My company’s internal VPN.The connection spun longer than usual.Three seconds.Five.Then a red banner appeared across the top of the screen.UNRECOGNIZED NETWORK INSPECTION DETECTEDI stared at it.

I was still standing in front of the monitor when the doorbell rang for the third time.Ding.A man wearing my twin brother’s face stood on the porch, his shoulders slightly hunched against the rain. Theo’s navy jacket was soaked across the top. His hair fell over his forehead in a way I knew. Even the habit of keeping one hand in his pocket while leaving the other visible looked right.So right.Too right.My phone was still pressed to my ear.“Bella,” Zach said quietly on the other end. “Step away from the door.”“I’m already far away.”“You’re looking at the monitor in your office.”I stared at the small camera in the corner of the ceiling. “I hate smart houses.”“Get into a room you can lock.”“I’m already in my office.”“Lock it.”“I’m thinking.”“Don’t think near the door.”“I’m not near the door.”“Fourteen steps.”I looked back at the screen. “Are you counting steps inside my house?”“Bella.”That tone.Cold. Not loud, but stripped of every possible opening for a joke.I locke

Crack.Then a small explosion sent shards of glass across the foyer floor like bad rain.I dropped sideways, my elbow slamming into the hardwood. Pain shot up my arm, bright enough to flash at the edges of my vision, but I didn’t stay down.I had plenty of flaws.Freezing while someone wore my twin brother’s face and tried to break into my house wasn’t one of them.“Bella!” Zach’s voice was still in my ear.“I’m alive,” I hissed.“Get away from the door.”I went still.The man’s hand came through the hole in the glass. Wrist first, then fingers reaching for the manual deadbolt from the inside. The movement was fast, practiced, calm. He knew exactly where the lock was. Knew the height of the panel. Knew the gap. Knew that once the electronic system welcomed him as Theodore Gómez, the manual bolt was the only thing left.What he didn’t know was that I kept a metal umbrella stand in the corner of the foyer because Max had once used it as a “sword for rain.”I grabbed the metal pole and s

Zach didn’t give me time to answer.Maybe he knew I had one. I always had an answer. Some were good. Most were sharp enough to make Theo cry quietly in a parking lot.He pressed the earpiece in his ear. “Bring the second vehicle in through the south access. Use garage three. Don’t go past the front yard.”I crossed my arms, then immediately regretted it when the pressure caught my injured palm. Pain shot all the way to my wrist.“I’m not finished talking.”“I know.”“And that doesn’t bother you?”“Usually, it’s entertaining.”My eyes narrowed.There was a small twitch at the corner of his mouth. Apparently, he still had the nerve to smile when someone had just tried to get into my house wearing Theo’s face.Very pretty. Very brave. Very close to death.Zach turned to the two men coming in through the side door. “Identification documents, work devices, the children’s medication, clothes for three days. Everything else stays where it is until forensics is finished.”I stepped in front o

The foyer was spacious without feeling like a hotel. Dark gray stone flooring gave way to wide oak planks. A grand staircase curved up to the second floor with a simple black railing. To the left, an open family room overlooked the lake. A fire burned in a stone fireplace that rose almost two stories high.To the right, a wide arched doorway revealed a two-story library. Dark wood shelves reached the ceiling, complete with a rolling ladder, a small balcony on the upper level, leather sofas, reading tables, and low lighting.Farther in, there was an indoor garden beneath a skylight. A small tree, stones, green plants, and water moving slowly down one wall.I hadn’t even finished processing all of it when Max ran three steps into the middle of the foyer, spun around, and threw his arms open.“Is the backyard big enough for an Arsenal stadium?”“Depends on the size of the stadium.” Zach closed the door behind us.“A big one.”“Of course.”“Can the roof open?”“We don’t have a stadium yet