All Chapters of FAMILY SECRET: CLAIMING MY FATHER'S TOY: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The interior bedroom was smaller, windowless, tucked into the center of the mansion like a vault. Silas had Thomas and two other security men sweep it twice before letting me inside."Stay here," Silas said. "Don't open the door for anyone except me or Julian. Not the staff. Not your mother. No one.""My mother? Silas, where is she?""Still at the office. I'm sending a car to bring her home now. With security." He pulled out his phone, started typing. "Dante knowing about the collar means he's been watching for hours. Maybe days. Which means he knows your mother's schedule, your routine, everything.""So we're prisoners now?""You're protected. There's a difference." He finished the message, looked at me. "I need to meet with Thomas. Go through the security footage. Figure out how Dante's people got close enough to take that photo. I'll be back in an hour.""What am I supposed to do until then?""Stay alive. Stay hidden. And take that collar off before your mother gets home." He left,

Julian sat up slowly, keeping himself between me and his father."Dad--""Don't." Silas's voice was ice. "Don't say a word. Get dressed and get out of this room. Now.""I'm not leaving her alone with you when you're like this.""Like what? Angry that my son deliberately defied direct orders? In a room I put her in for her own protection?" Silas set the coffee cups down with careful precision. "You have ten seconds to get dressed and leave before I do something we'll both regret."Julian's jaw clenched. "Elena, do you want me to go?"I looked between them. Father and son. Both claiming ownership. Both ready to destroy each other over me."Go," I said quietly. "I'll be fine.""Elena--""Please. Just go."Julian stared at me for a long moment, then grabbed his clothes. He dressed quickly, his movements sharp with anger.At the door, he stopped. "If you hurt her, I don't care that you're my father. I'll make you pay for it.""Empty threats from a boy playing at being dangerous." Silas didn

I woke up disoriented, unsure what time it was without windows.The suite was comfortable. Plush bed, soft lighting, expensive everything. But it was still a cage.I'd spent the previous night exploring every inch of it. Looking for exits that didn't exist. Testing the door that wouldn't budge. Finally collapsing into bed around what I guessed was midnight.Now, lying there in the artificial morning light, I heard the lock click.Silas walked in carrying a breakfast tray."Good morning." He set it on the small table. "I hope you slept well."I sat up, pulling the sheet around me. "How long are you planning to keep me here?""That depends on you." He poured coffee, added cream the way I liked it. "Although, I've been thinking about our arrangement. About what happened at dinner last night.""You mean when you threatened to lock me away indefinitely?""I mean when I realized I was approaching this wrong." He handed me the coffee. "You're not the type who responds well to being caged. Are

I woke up to sunlight and the feeling of being watched.My eyes opened to find Silas propped up on one elbow, looking down at me. Behind me, Julian's arm was still draped over my waist, his breathing deep and even in sleep."Morning," Silas said quietly."Morning." My voice was rough with sleep. "How long have you been awake?""An hour. Maybe more. I was watching you sleep.""That's not creepy at all."He smiled. "You look different when you sleep. Younger. More innocent. It's easy to forget you're nineteen when you're awake. When you look at me with those eyes that have already seen too much.""Whose fault is that?""Mine. Julian's. Your own, for being curious enough to walk into my office that first night." His hand traced my jawline. "But I'm not apologizing. Because this, right here, is worth whatever darkness we had to walk through to get it."Behind me, Julian stirred. "Are you two having deep conversations without me?""Just admiring our girl," Silas said."Our girl." Julian's a

I made it through my afternoon class on autopilot, my mind racing the entire time.Tomorrow. I had to meet Dante tomorrow. Alone.The smart thing would be to tell Silas. To let him handle it. To trust that he'd protect me.But Dante had cameras everywhere. If Silas's security team started tearing the house apart looking for them, Dante would know. Would release everything before we could stop him.No. I needed a different approach.After class, Marcus drove me back to the mansion. Julian's car was in the driveway, along with several others I didn't recognize."Mr. Kingston is in a meeting," Thomas said when I walked in. "He asked that you wait for him in your room.""Both of them?""Both of them."I went upstairs, but instead of going to my room, I detoured to Silas's bedroom. The scene of Sunday night's threesome. Where Dante claimed to have cameras.I walked in slowly, scanning the room. The smoke detector in the corner, like the one in the library. I pulled out my phone, turned on t