All Chapters of Craving Their Touch : Chapter 121 - Chapter 128

Leo came to me on a Thursday evening, carrying a small metal box in his trembling hands. I was in the library, surrounded by Julian's latest findings on the Kronos Group, when Harold announced him. Leo had been living in the east wing for weeks now, cooperating with Julian's investigation, providing testimony for the district attorney, slowly rebuilding himself from the wreckage of his own mistakes. He had gained weight. The hollow look in his eyes had softened. But tonight, his face was pale and his hands were shaking, and he clutched the metal box like it contained something that might destroy him. "I should have given this to you weeks ago," he said. "I was afraid. I have been afraid my whole life. Afraid of not being enough. Afraid of being forgotten. Afraid of Alexander." He set the box on the desk. "I am done being afraid." I opened the box. Inside was a small digital recorder and a thick stack of documents. Financ

The trial of Alexander Vane lasted three weeks. It should have taken longer. The charges were extensive: conspiracy to commit murder, accessory to the murder of David Miller, wire fraud, money laundering, racketeering, and connection to the Kronos Group's criminal enterprises. But the evidence was overwhelming, and Alexander's defense team knew it. They fought every motion, cross-examined every witness, and objected to every piece of evidence. But they could not change the facts. And the facts were damning. Leo testified on the third day. He walked to the stand in a dark suit, his hands steady, his voice clear. The prosecutor asked him about the recordings. The financial records. The conversations with Alexander about the Kronos Group. Leo answered every question without hesitation. "Mr. Sterling," the prosecutor said, "you recorded your own conversations with Alexander Vane. Why?" Leo looked at the jury. "Because I knew

Six months after Alexander Vane was sentenced to life in prison, Sterling Estate finally felt like home. It was not the same estate I had first visited as a stranger clutching a DNA report. It was not the estate where Leo had shattered a whiskey glass at the gala, or where Sophia had barricaded herself in the cottage while the media tore her apart, or where Marcus and I had spent countless nights planning our next move against an invisible enemy. The war had aged these walls. But it had also made them sacred. Every room held the memory of a battle survived. Spring had given way to summer. The gardens were in full bloom, the roses Arthur had planted decades ago climbing the stone walls in cascades of red and white. The fountain ran constantly now, its soft murmur a backdrop to the quiet rhythms of our new life. The cottage where Sophia and Kate lived was bright with the sound of Kate's laughter and the smell of fresh paint. She had taken up w

The wedding was held at Sterling Estate on a golden autumn evening when the gardens were alive with lantern light and the last roses of the season. It was small. That was how I wanted it. No journalists. No board members. No politicians angling for favor. Just the people who had fought beside me through the darkest years of my life. Just the people I loved. Arthur walked me down the aisle. The same path we had walked together the night of the gala, when he first named me his heir. The same path where I had confronted Maria about her true identity. The same path where I had stood with Marcus during the long nights of the war, planning and hoping and refusing to surrender. It felt right. It felt like closing a circle that had been broken for a very long time. My father's arm was steady beneath my hand. He was older now, the lines on his face deeper than they had been when I first met him. But his eyes were bright, and his