Alle Kapitel von Bound By His Protection : Kapitel 51 – Kapitel 60

I waited until Kaelen left my room before I searched for the man in the photograph. It was a petty decision, perhaps, but I had spent too many years allowing other people to decide which truths I was permitted to know. The image remained open on my phone, its eleven-year-old timestamp sitting beneath Kaelen's younger face. He looked different then, though not enough to make him unrecognizable. His hair was shorter, his shoulders just as broad, and his expression carried the same cold attention I had come to associate with danger. The man beside him had been deliberately obscured, but the building behind them was unmistakable now that I knew what I was looking at. Saint Oran's Medical Centre. I enlarged the image until the details broke apart, searching for a badge, a sign, anything that might explain why Kaelen had been there years before he supposedly entered my life. My phone vibrated before I found anything. **Ask him what happened in Ward Seven.** I stared at the message, then typ

I read the sentence three times before I could make myself look away. **ASK HIM WHY HE HIRED KAELEN THORNE TWICE.** The signature beneath it was unmistakable. Arthur Valerius had authorized the transfer of the Nightglass files, and someone wanted me to believe my father had brought Kaelen into my life for a reason that went beyond protection. I looked at the man beside me. His face had become unreadable, but I saw his fingers curl against his palm before he forced them to relax. "Twice," I said. "What does that mean?" Kaelen did not answer immediately. Elena watched him from the other side of the table, the contract still open between us. I could feel my pulse beating in my throat. "You told me Arthur hired you to protect me," I continued. "Was that your first assignment for him?" "No." The word came quietly, without excuse. I gripped the back of a chair. "Then tell me about the first one."Kaelen glanced at Elena. She understood the look and moved toward the door, but I stopped her.

The sound came from the corridor again.I stood beside Kaelen, staring at the darkness beyond my bedroom door. My phone was still ringing somewhere outside, its faint vibration occasionally scraping against the floor. Kaelen had one hand raised, silently ordering me to stay behind him. His other hand rested near the weapon concealed beneath his jacket.“Don’t move,” he whispered.I swallowed. “Someone is inside the house.”“I know.”His voice was quiet, but something in it had changed. The man standing beside me was no longer the bodyguard who followed me through family dinners and charity events. His shoulders had squared, his breathing had slowed, and his attention had narrowed to every sound beyond the door.He moved towards it without making a sound. I followed despite his warning, keeping close enough to see his hand close around the handle.Kaelen opened the door.A figure in black rushed at him.The impact sent them both against the opposite wall. I stepped back as Kaelen caugh

Arthur summoned us to his study before breakfast.I knew something was wrong when I found two security officers waiting outside the door. Neither greeted me. They simply stepped aside when Kaelen approached behind me, their eyes lingering on the bandage beneath his shirt.My father stood beside his desk, holding a printed copy of the security report.“Close the door,” he ordered.I did. Kaelen remained near the entrance, his injured side slightly turned away from Arthur. He had changed into a dark suit, but the stiffness in his movements betrayed the pain he was trying to conceal.Arthur placed the report on the desk.“Two armed men entered my son’s private corridor. One disabled the security cameras, and the other managed to reach the bedroom entrance. Yet I am expected to accept that this was an ordinary security breach.”“No one has suggested that,” Kaelen replied.“Then explain how they got inside.”“We are investigating the access route.”“You were responsible for his protection.

I read the message until the words stopped looking like words.He has already delayed his answer once.I placed my phone on the bedside table, but my attention remained fixed on it. The sender knew about the meeting in the library. They knew Kaelen had been given a choice, and they knew he had refused to make it.Someone had been watching us.I crossed the room and checked the curtains. The gardens beyond the glass were dark, with only a few security lights illuminating the paths. I couldn't see anyone, but that did nothing to ease the pressure in my chest.My phone vibrated again.This time, it was Kaelen.**Stay in your room. Lock the door. Do not let anyone in until I arrive.**I called him immediately.He answered after the first ring. “What's wrong?”“Someone knows about our meeting.”Silence.“What did they send you?”I read the message aloud. His breathing changed, and I heard movement on his end.“Did you respond?”“No.”“Good. Lock your door.”“You already told me that. What