Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 30

Leila's POVI ignored my instincts.Before I could talk myself out of it...I started walking.Every step felt louder than the last, even though the thick carpet swallowed the sound beneath my feet.The west wing was unusually quiet.Not empty.Quiet.The kind of silence that only existed when people were trying very hard not to make noise.I slowed as I reached the corner.Two bodyguards I'd never seen before stood at the entrance to the private reception corridor.Yesterday, they hadn't been there.Neither had the metal security barrier stretched across the hallway.One of the housekeepers approached with a laundry cart."Sorry," one of the guards said politely."This wing is restricted."She apologized immediately and turned around.Restricted?I frowned.That had never happened before.Whatever was going on...It was important.A familiar voice drifted from farther down the corridor."Everything is ready."Jonas.I leaned slightly around the corner.He was walking toward the recep

"What the fuck?"The words left Leila's mouth before she could stop them.Jonas didn't flinch.He just stood there, hands folded in front of him, waiting for her reaction to pass."That's the message," he said. "Word for word."Leila stared at him like he'd grown a second head."And he expects me to just... go?""He didn't ask," Jonas said."He instructed."She exhaled hard through her nose.There wasn't a version of this where she refused.Not really.Not if she wanted to keep whatever fragile footing she had in this house."Fine," she muttered."Fine. I'll go."Jonas gave a small nod and turned to leave, already done with the conversation.Leila stood there a moment longer, forcing her pulse to settle."I'll go," she said again, more to herself this time."But I'm not going in there. I'll stand outside his door if I have to. I'm not stepping one foot into that room."It felt like a small rebellion.A line she could still draw for herself.She straightened her clothes, took a deep br

CHAPTER 25Scene OneThe bedroom door clicked shut behind Leila.Silence settled over the room.For several long seconds, neither man moved.Carlos stood where he was, still trying to process everything that had just happened. Across the room, Zane remained beside the desk, one hand resting against its polished surface. His face was unreadable, but the tightness in his jaw betrayed the storm beneath it."You shouldn't have done that," Carlos said quietly.Zane didn't look at him."I told you to stay away from her."His voice was calm.Too calm."I told you from the beginning that she was here for one reason."Carlos frowned."The mission?""Exactly.""And because I talked to her, suddenly the mission is ruined?""You did more than talk to her."Carlos held his gaze."So that's what this is about?""What else would it be?"Carlos let out a humorless laugh before folding his arms."I don't know.""You tell me."For the first time since entering the room, Zane looked directly at him.His

Morning arrived quietly over the Rogers Estate. Sunlight filtered through the tall windows of Leila's bedroom, casting pale streaks of gold across the polished floor. It should have felt like any other morning. It didn't. Leila had barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she found herself back in Zane's private suite, standing barefoot beneath his cold, unreadable gaze while he held out the cheque that had ended everything. "Our agreement ends today." The words had followed her into her dreams. She sat on the edge of the bed for a long moment before forcing herself to stand. There was nothing left to do except leave. The room looked almost exactly as it had the day she arrived. Her suitcase sat open on the bed, waiting to be packed. She owned so little that the task took only a few minutes—a handful of clothes, a few personal belongings, and her laptop. Her hand paused over the small inner pocket of her handbag. The metallic object Carlos had slipped into her hand wa

"She's gone." The words landed in Zane Rogers' study like a stone dropped into still water. Jonas closed the file in his hands. "So is our plan." Silence answered him. Outside, Chicago glittered beneath the evening sky. Inside the study, the only sound came from the ticking grandfather clock against the far wall. Zane stood with both hands resting on the edge of his desk. The charity gala was forty-eight hours away. seventy-two hours until Thomas Veil walked willingly into the trap they had spent weeks building. A trap designed around one person. Leila. Now she was gone. Zane's eyes settled on the operation board covering an entire wall. Photographs. Floor plans. Security routes. Thomas's schedule. Every line eventually led back to a single photograph. Leila. Without warning, he pulled the photograph from the board. The pushpin clattered onto the floor. The space she left behind seemed larger than it should have. "This changes nothing," he said. Jonas looked at