Bound in Silver and Scars의 모든 챕터: 챕터 21 - 챕터 30

Kaelen's POV The moment I opened the doors fitted with brass in the family library in Toorak, I was hit by the smell of dry mahogany, old paper and costly French lavender.It was a room designed to show off absolute power, consisting of double-height shelves filled with bound leather books, oil paintings of the long-dead Vance patriarch, and thick curtains which kept out the rain in Melbourne.With her back straight and seated in the high-backed armchair in the middle of the room, my mother did not appear to be a woman who had built her empire on a mountain of lies. She was sitting perfectly upright in her dark plum wool suit, a single strand of South Sea pearls shining around her neck as she wrote carefully in a thick leather ledger with a gold fountain pen.She did not look up when my boots made heavy steps across the Persian rug."I told Arthur you wouldn't be attending the morning briefing," Victoria said, her voice smooth and well-polished showing no warmth at all. The nib of h

Kaelen’s POVThree yards down the unpaved track of Old Lighthouse Road, the rain turned into a thick, sticky drizzle inside the black SUV.I didn't switch off the engine until the vehicle rolled to a silent halt under the sagging branches of a coastal tea tree. The forest surrounding me was a dark, gloomy wall, filled with the odour of damp soil, salt spray, and the slight, pungent smell of burnt pine carried on the onshore wind.I sat in the quiet cabin for a long time, holding on to the leather steering wheel with such a grip that the skin on my knuckles turned white.The encrypted phone in my breast pocket was silent. I had instructed Devlin to lock off all incoming transmissions, to cut the audio link with the mobile command centre, and to keep my security detail at the highway junction. If I moved my armed guards up this narrow dirt track, or if the glare of the tactical lights pierced through the cypress trees, the delicate strand which was holding my world together would break

Valkyrie’s POVThe sound of the gunshot heard outside barely died down in the howling coastal wind when the front door burst open.A cold blast of wet air rushed into the entrance, snuffing out the weak yellow glow of the oil lamp and throwing the cottage into a faint, moonlit half-shade. The odours of ozone, damp wool, and raw salt filled the little room, instantly replacing the usual smells of lavender and antiseptic which had always kept my panic under control.My heart beat hard against my ribs, like a bird was trapped in it. All my instincts were shouting at me to push Lachlan into the small corner behind the linen press and reach for my small folding knife. I took two steps backwards, my shoulder hitting the edge of the kitchen table and my body covering my son as he sat frozen on the rug, holding onto his wooden chess piece.The shadow stepped across the broken threshold.My throat constricted fully, and the knife slipped out of my trembling fingers, dropping silently on the ol

Kaelen’s POVThe world inside the wooden cottage narrowed down to one overwhelming point of light.A sharp, irritating odour of tear gas spread out in white clouds over the broken floorboards, scorching the back of my throat and tearing at my lungs. Outside, rain hit the roof in a wild, loud manner, with intermittent bursts of high-pitched wails from further alarms down the road.I didn't take my weapon, and I didn't go towards the door at which Victoria's lead operative was standing, his gloved fingers tightening around the stock of his weapon.The bedroom door creaked open in the middle of the drifting white smoke.A small figure in the shadows stepped out onto the old rug, rubbing his left eye with a small fist that had been curled up. Lachlan wore his large navy pajamas and had messy dark hair, one side standing up from sleep. In his right hand, he held his small, faded blue blanket, and his feet made no sound on the cold wood."Mommy?" he called, his voice small, sweet, and in no

Valkyrie's POV The high-pitched, relentless screech of Chloe's heart monitor sliced directly into my nerve endings like a shard of broken glass.I gently pushed Lachlan behind the thick leg of the kitchen table, placing his small hands on his knees. "Stay where you are, my love. Don't move."I got up slowly, stepping right off the rug beside where my knife was lying. At the moment I extended my right hand, all the blood in my veins turned into liquid ice. Dr. Hamish Croft's arm trembled, his face pale with fatigue. When I slipped my fingers around the cold, textured handle of his sidearm, he didn't resist. He allowed me to take the heavy steel pistol directly from his hand.I turned back to face the broken doorway.Kaelen remained where he was. He stood out clearly against the dark, his tall figure stretching over the threshold. His tailored wool coat was stained with coastal mud, and his eyes were wide, vivid, and filled with an intolerable surge of pain as he stared at me, then dow