Semua Bab The Alpha Heir Who Put a Baby in His Enemy: Bab 31 - Bab 40

Ronan did not speak.He kept staring at the photograph.The boy standing beside Lucian looked enough like him to erase any possibility of coincidence. Same eyes. Same jaw. Same hard expression, though younger and less guarded.But the message beneath the image was worse than the resemblance.A-04 WAS NEVER RONAN ASHCROFT.HE WAS THE REPLACEMENT TOO.For the first time since I had known him, Ronan looked as though the ground beneath him had disappeared.Cassian stepped closer.“You knew about an older brother?”Ronan’s voice was flat.“No.”My father remained on the screen.He said nothing.That silence made everything worse.I looked at Theodore.“You said the boy was Ronan’s older brother.”“Yes.”“What was his name?”My father hesitated.Ronan finally looked up.“What was his name?”Theodore’s face tightened.“Damian.”Ronan’s expression changed almost imperceptibly.“Damian Ashcroft.”“Yes.”Cassian swore quietly.I looked between them.“You know that name.”Cassian nodded.“Family

The final instruction stayed on the screen.ALL OTHER SURVIVORS ARE EXPENDABLE.Nobody moved for several seconds.Then Damian pulled the drive from the terminal.“Copy completed?”Cassian checked the device in his hand.“Seventy-two percent.”Damian swore.Ronan looked toward the service elevator.“How long before they get here?”“Not long.”I stared at the dark screen.Expendable.Lucian.Damian.Ronan.Cassian.Everyone except me.I hated the distinction.“Then we stop giving them easy targets.”Ronan turned toward me.“That is not a plan.”“It is the beginning of one.”“You are still the reason they are coming.”“I am aware.”“And they explicitly said not to damage you.”“I read the message.”“Which means they will take risks with everyone else.”His voice had sharpened.I looked at him.“Then stop talking as though I am the only person worth protecting.”Something changed in his expression.He did not answer.Damian glanced between us.“There is another exit through the ventilatio

Cassian’s hand closed around my throat before I understood he had moved.Not hard enough to crush.Hard enough to control.His eyes were empty.No anger.No recognition.Nothing.“The heir must survive.”Ronan reacted instantly.He drove his shoulder into Cassian and tore him away from me.The car rocked violently.Lucian grabbed my arm and pulled me across the seat while Damian slammed the transmission into park.Cassian struck Ronan again.Hard.Ronan’s head snapped sideways.Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.Something inside me turned cold.“Cassian!”He did not even look at me.The man who had been speaking to us moments earlier had vanished behind whatever Cradle had buried inside his mind.Ronan caught Cassian’s wrist before another blow landed.“Wake up.”No response.Cassian twisted free and reached for me again.Ronan hit him.Once.Twice.The second punch sent Cassian against the door.Damian turned around from the driver’s seat.“Do not knock him unconscious.”Rona

The message on my phone did not feel like a threat at first.It felt like bait.COME ALONE, OR HELENA VALE DIES FOR REAL THIS TIME.I read it twice, then locked the screen.Ronan watched my face.“You are not going alone.”“I know.”His expression changed slightly, as though he had expected an argument.“That was easier than expected.”“Do not get used to it.”Damian stood near the steel cabinet, still surrounded by records that had turned half my family history into fiction. Lucian leaned against the table, arms folded tightly across his chest. Cassian sat several feet away, pale but alert, still recovering from whatever Cradle had buried inside his mind.I looked at all of them.“Whoever sent that message expects me to panic.”Ronan nodded.“Yes.”“So we do the opposite.”Cassian raised an eyebrow.“You intend to negotiate with the person threatening to kill your aunt?”“I intend to find out what they want before I walk into a cemetery because someone sent me a photograph.”Damian’s

The message on my phone should have embarrassed me.Instead, it made me furious.YOU ARE MAKING THIS EASIER THAN WE EXPECTED.I stared at the screen until the words blurred.Ronan stood beside me beneath the loading bay roof while rain fell beyond us in silver sheets. The kiss had ended less than a minute ago, and Cradle had already turned it into data.Voluntary contact confirmed.Bonding phase advanced.They had taken something I chose and tried to make it theirs.I hated them for that.I hated Ronan slightly for being there.Mostly, I hated myself for allowing the message to ruin the one moment tonight that had actually belonged to me.Ronan took the phone from my hand.“Do not let them do this.”I looked at him.“Do what?”“Make you regret something because they were watching.”I laughed once.“You say that as though the regret started with the message.”His expression sharpened.“You regret kissing me?”“Yes.”The answer came too quickly.Ronan noticed.Of course he did.His mout