All Chapters of THE COST OF SAVING HIM : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Nadia's POVNobody spoke. Lev stood near the doorway, and the man behind him looked terrified. Kane remained inside the study, his eyes staying on me for several seconds — not surprised, not annoyed, just like he had expected this outcome from the moment he walked out of my room."I wasn't trying to listen," I said quietly.Nobody reacted. Wonderful.Lev glanced at Kane, and Kane looked at me. "Come inside."That was unexpected. I walked in slowly, and the room felt colder than before. The man standing beside Lev was visibly nervous, his eyes moving toward me once before darting immediately away. Kane noticed, of course he noticed."Look at her," he said quietly.The man froze, then slowly looked up."Do you know her?"He shook his head immediately. "No.""Have you seen her before.""No."Silence settled, and then Kane asked, "Then why did somebody ask about her?"The man's face lost color and he looked down. Nobody moved. "I don't know," he said quietly.Kane looked at Lev, who reach

I didn't sleep. I tried, and I supposed that counted for something, but I lay there closing my eyes and opening them and closing them again until I stopped trying altogether and just stared at the ceiling while the room slowly got brighter around me.Morning. Normal, quiet, offensive morning. Because how was the sun allowed to rise on a day people had planned to pretend I died?I sat up slowly and for a few seconds I forgot, the way you do in those first moments before everything catches up, and then I remembered, and my stomach tightened immediately. Wonderful.A knock came, soft, and I looked at the door. "Come in."House staff entered with breakfast and tea, smiling politely, asking if I'd slept well. I almost laughed. I said yes. She left and I didn't touch the tray, just sat there staring at it and then at the clock, my hands folded too tightly in my lap.Ten minutes later, another knock. Lev this time, standing outside with his expression exactly as normal as it always was, whic

NADIA'S POVThe first thing I noticed was the smell — clean, too clean, that sharp hospital smell that made your body uncomfortable before your brain had even caught up with where you were.For several seconds I didn't open my eyes. I stayed still, heavy and warm, my arm hurting in a dull and distant way, my thoughts moving slowly through something thick. Then everything came back at once — warehouse, chair, camera, Kane, gun — and my eyes opened immediately.White ceiling.I stared at it and my breathing stopped, and then I looked around and there were white walls and machines and curtains and a small table beside me, and my chest tightened so fast it almost hurt.I moved to sit up and pain shot through my arm immediately, sharp enough to make me suck in a breath and freeze. I looked down. A bandage, wrapped clean with no blood showing through, and I stared at it for a moment before slowly sitting up the rest of the way, my heart going faster than I wanted it to.Two days. Two days.

Nadia's POVI didn't move for several minutes after he left, still not fully believing any of it — not the warehouse, not the video, not even the fact that Mara was safe. For some reason the thing my mind kept returning to was his face, not while he shot, not after, but before, that calm expression like he'd already decided, like my fear wasn't part of the equation at all. I looked away from nothing in particular. Wonderful.I stood slowly and this time nobody stopped me, though my arm protested immediately and I ignored it and walked to the window. Outside there were trees and private buildings, too clean and too expensive, and I stared for a second before looking away. Still a hospital. Still.A knock came and the nurse entered smiling politely, then stopped halfway when she saw I wasn't in bed. Her eyes moved to my arm, then to me. "You're standing."I nodded.She looked relieved, which was interesting, and walked in carrying folded clothes — my clothes — placing them carefully nea

Kane's POVThe hospital doors opened automatically and cold air met him immediately. Kane adjusted his sleeve once and kept walking — no rush, no delay — and the black SUV was already waiting outside with the driver standing beside it and the engine running. Lev stood near the car, looked at Kane once, and opened the back door. Kane got in, the door closed, and the car pulled away.Nobody spoke. Several minutes passed before Lev looked up from his phone. "Your father called."Kane looked outside. No reaction."He wants to see you."Silence."When," Kane said, still looking forward."Now," Lev answered immediately.Of course. Kane looked outside again and said nothing, and Lev returned to his phone, and the drive continued.Forty minutes later the gates opened onto a large property — old money, security, distance — and the car stopped. Kane stepped out and nobody greeted him, nobody needed to. Inside it was the same house, same silence, same atmosphere that had never changed in thirty