Lahat ng Kabanata ng Under His Watchful Eyes : Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

The ride back from the facility was as silent as the ride out, but the air in the cabin had changed. It felt static, charged with a current that made Sarah keep a safe distance from me in the front seat. She didn't look at my hand. She knew better.I didn't need the ring. My own body was vibrating with a new, cold frequency. I wasn't the prey. I wasn't the trophy. When we pulled into the Vane Tower garage, the internal clock on the dashboard read 3:45 PM. My orientation briefing with the Montgomery compliance team was scheduled for four. I had precisely fifteen minutes to erase the visual evidence of the woman who had just wept over her father and build the woman who would execute Julian Vane.I went straight to the penthouse bathroom. I didn't turn on the overhead lights; the low-voltage mirror LEDs were enough. I looked at the stranger in the glass. The black suit was still sharp, but my eyes were bloodshot, and the skin beneath them looked like gray ash.I turned the faucet, le

The morning of the wedding rehearsal arrived with a glare that made the Vegas Strip look like a mirror.I was standing in the ballroom at the Vane Oasis Resort. The room was filled with orchids and the soft sound of string musicians getting ready. This place was like a show meant to celebrate the union of two rich families while hiding the problems beneath the surface.Vivienne was yelling at an assistant near the altar. She was angry about the color of the silk drapery. "I said ivory, not alabaster " she shouted. Her diamonds sparkled under the chandeliers. "If the Montgomery crest does not look under the spotlights you will be fired before the cocktail hour."I stood still a feet away wearing a pale gold silk dress that Julian had sent to my room. It felt like a uniform. I hid my ring finger in the folds of the fabric. Twenty pairs of eyes were watching me.In my hand I had a leather portfolio with some notes. Inside it I had Arthurs manila folder. The code 77_OMEGA_BYPASS_402 seeme

The leather inside the Maybach was really hot as Sarah slammed the back door shut. My father was lying across the seat. He looked really sick. His face was pale. He was breathing really hard."Elena, look at the dashboard " Sarah said. She was really scared. She got into the drivers seat.I got into the passenger seat. My dress got caught on the part of the car. The map on the screen was gone. Now it was a red timer counting down.00:29:58.00:29:57."He was telling the truth " I said. My jaw was really tight. "We have thirty minutes before the car stops working. Where does this road go if we do not go back to the Strip?"Sarahs hands were shaking. She could barely hold the steering wheel. She put the car in drive. We drove away from the facility. "It goes nowhere. It connects to Route 95 twenty miles from here.. Julians men are already at the checkpoint. If we go that way we will drive into their hands.""Then we will not go to the highway " I said. I leaned over. Turned up the air c

The neon sign of the Desert Sands Motel flickered a dying rhythm against the California border sky. It smelled of sagebrush, asphalt and a storm.We had been driving for three hours on roads avoiding major highways until the Maybachs fuel gauge was almost empty."Get his legs " I said, my voice cutting through the dark cabin.Sarah grabbed my fathers ankles while I held his body pulling him out of the seat. He groaned, a sound, his eyes rolling back. We dragged him across the walkway past the rusted ice machine and into Room 114 of the motel.The room was small, smelled of tobacco. I kicked the door shut and laid my father on the bed."Sarah look at me " I said, grabbing her by the shoulders. She was shaking, staring at the blood on my dress. "I need you to go to the pharmacy. Buy oxygen canisters, medical tape and a saline wash. If my dads lungs fill with fluid we won't make it.""Elena, the FBI..." she whispered, her eyes wide with fear. "Julians text said the warrant is live by mid

The grandfather clock in the corner of the study made a ticking sound that was like a lot of bones breaking.Julian did not move he just stood behind the desk with his hands on the wood his chest going up and down slowly.The silence between us was really heavy it felt like the air was being pushed out of the room.Then the muscle in his jaw moved a little."You did not just move the files " he said in a low voice like a soft growl.He leaned over the desk his face was close to mine his blue eyes were wide and staring at me."You connected the servers you made my system attack itself.""I told you " I said, my voice was barely loud enough to hear."I found the problems in the system."Julian made a breathing sound it was like a laugh but it was not funny.He reached across the desk. Took my wrist his fingers were long and strong.He did not squeeze hard. I could not move my hand.He felt my heart beating fast. My hand did not move."Look at you " he whispered, he was looking at my fac