All Chapters of Her Savior: His Obsession : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

RaquelThe roads leading up to Van Straus’ winter home are serpentine, narrow, and dangerous. The terrain makes it difficult to make pinpoint turns, and the closer you get to the edge of the property, the thicker the forest becomes. It’s snowing today, grey clouds overhead blocking whatever sunlight the local meteorologist mistakenly promised. As far as Mondays go, this one’s a bleak one.We use the lack of visibility to our advantage.The black SUV comes to a screeching halt, skidding across the icy road for a couple of feet. The driver behind the wheel honks their horn, but we don’t budge, forcing him to get out of the car and approach.I flag him down, distracting him with a sweet smile and an overall ditzy air. “Oh my God, hi! Thank goodness, I thought for sure I’d freeze to death out here.”The man doesn’t speak a lick of English, but he gets his point across perfectly clear. He gestures at the vehicle I’ve deliberately parked perpen

Raquel November 25th. We officially have thirty days and counting until Van Straus’ Christmas masquerade. Leave it to Lucius to remind me the clock is always ticking. He sends me a text every morning with a new picture of Dad. I can’t discern much about his surroundings. The lighting’s too poor, the angle too shitty, and the camera quality is laughable at best. Lucius always makes sure to hold up the day’s newspaper just below Dad’s face to prove he’s still alive —for now. Gabriel and I meet up with Anders and Klaus at a tiny café on the outer edge of Bern. There’s next to no foot traffic here. By the looks of it, this place doesn’t get a whole lot of customers, so we have the privacy we need to discuss things out in the open whilst also in a public place. Gabriel insisted we didn’t tell them where we’re currently staying. What if they ambush us in our sleep? I catch them up to speed, but I leave a couple details out. I don’t tell them about the Vase of Aphrodite or the encoded p

RaquelPractice makes perfect, Dad always told me.With the memory of the vault’s schematics burned into the front of my brain, I order myself a miniature replica of the door to work on. Dad knows a guy in England who knows a guy from Italy who knows a guy from China who makes practice locks and the like for training locksmiths and —in my case— would-be thieves.It’s merely a matter of drawing exactly what I want, sending off my request using a secure IP address to access the dark web, and voila! My special package arrives on December 5th, addressed not to the hotel, but a PO Box several blocks away via expedited shipping. The whole process is completely anonymous. Just the way I like it.It’s not as exact a copy as I’d like it to be, and it’s clearly 1:25 scale, but at least it’s something tangible I can put my hands on to keep from being overly restless. It’s basically just a door on a hinge, but that’s all I need to hone my vault cracking skills. Th

RaquelDecember 24th, Christmas Eve. T-minus one day before our heist is a go.When I wake up that morning, my stomach is a gurgling mess. It’s probably because of nerves. How else can I explain this terrible nausea, my pounding headache, and the constant need to hurl? My whole body is sensitive, burning. Even the faint silver light of morning through the crack in the curtain is enough to agitate me. I decide to get out of bed and grab myself a glass of water.I make a mad dash to the bathroom and dry heave into the toilet instead.“Raquel?” Gabriel calls out to me. He knocks on the bathroom door. Thank the merciful gods above I had enough sense to lock it. I really don’t want him to see me like this.“I’m fine!” I mumble weakly over my shoulder.“Are you sure?”I lick my lips, try to swallow. What the hell did I eat last night? I pray I haven’t accidentally caught food poisoning before one of the most nerve-wracking, importa

RaquelIn another life, I could have been an award-winning actress. It’s incredibly liberating, getting to dress up and play a part. I arrive at the castle dressed in the catering uniform Klaus and Anders managed to snag for me. It fits like a glove. When I pull up to the security booth just in front of the massive iron gates, the guards on duty don’t even bat an eye. They wave me through without hesitation.So far, so good.I follow the line of cars to the back entrance, noticing how other serving staff appear to be gathering just outside. I park and step out of the vehicle without much fuss, blending in with the others. Now that I’m in uniform, I’m practically indistinguishable from the others. Even still, my heart races. Success is so close I can almost taste it on my tongue.Don’t let it go to your head, Rocky,I can practically hear Dad say. The job’s not done yet.A woman steps forward to address the employees. I recognize her frosty blue