2026-01-28 03:26:56“Lomb has been my friend for years,” his father replied, confused. “What are you talking about? We just lost contact for a while. You would’ve seen us at dinners together. Vacations. Everything.”
“Dad, please tell me this is a joke. Stop it. He doesn’t know anything about Ivy League schools. I swear he doesn’t.” A pause. “Finn, can you call me back later?” his father said distractedly. “Something needs my attention right now.” The call ended. Finn stared at his phone. His chest tightened. Tonight was already spiraling out of control. Goodbye to the University of Pennsylvania. Maybe goodbye to every school he’d ever planned on impressing. He might have to start looking elsewhere. He glanced toward the sitting room. Lombard was still there. And somehow, that made Finn feel like crying. Forty minutes later, they arrived at the venue. Finn had already given strict instructions to the driver: park at the back. Far from the main entrance. No one was supposed to see Lombard before they made their way to their seats. He had even gone so far as to announce—loudly, embarrassingly—to the entire high school: “Guess who’s coming with me? The breath and life of Ivy league!!” “Just pass this place,” Finn whispered to Lombard, nodding toward a side entrance. “It’s like a secret route. Don’t worry. We’ll catch up with the others and still sit in the space allocated for us.” So far, the plan was foolproof. Until it wasn’t. “Hey, Finn!” Finn froze. The voice was painfully familiar. “Is that the man who’s got connections in the Ivy League?” A girl came running toward them, eyes wide with excitement. “Were you trying to hide him from us? Don’t bother—my parents can’t wait to meet him. They’re at the front of the hall right now.” Finn’s stomach dropped. Lombard had no idea why Finn was acting so… odd. He didn’t bother to ask. For real, he had planned to make the night enjoyable. But the moment he realized the boy was just… one of those high school kids—obsessed with Ivy League dreams and thinking they knew better than everyone else—Lombard lost interest immediately. “Please, Finn,” the girl who had run up to them said brightly. “Lead the way,” Lombard said. He had no intention of standing here all night, and he couldn’t understand the shock on Finn’s face anyway. “Please… can we talk?” Finn asked quickly, trying to pull Lombard aside. Lombard raised a brow. “Please, can we just not pass the front door?” Finn begged. “Why?” Lombard asked sharply. “Because… I have a phobia. And it… it’s worse,” Finn stammered. Lombard could tell he was lying. Of course he could. But he didn’t care enough to extract the truth. If Finn wanted to lie, that was on him. “You know what? I’m not a fan of back doors,” Lombard said, shrugging. Then he turned and walked toward the girl without waiting for another word from Finn. Finn ran a hand through his hair, muttering under his breath, “Fuck you, Dad.” Too focused on the fear that Lombard might embarrass him, Finn didn’t notice the conversation happening right in front of him. The conversation between Lombard and the girl.
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Chapter 71
He answered the call immediately.Not the best thing—having a high school kid as some kind of companion—but… it wasn’t the worst idea either.“Good evening, Lombard,” Finn’s voice came from the other end.“Yeah… how are you feeling? Taken your medicine yet?” Lombard asked, leaning his head back.Funny.He was actually about to enjoy a conversation with a high school kid.“I tried to take it… but I puked,” Finn said, then quickly added, “But I’ll be fine.”He said the last part fast—like Lombard was some kind of nanny who would start nagging him if he didn’t.Lombard let out a small breath.“You didn’t call me just to tell me that, did you?”“Of course not,” Finn said quickly. “I mean… I told you the other time. The prom…”He sounded careful now, like he wasn’t sure what kind of mood Lombard was in—or whether he might snap at him for bringing it up again.“What am I? A fish with a two-second memory?” Lombard replied dryly.Finn laughed at the other end.And that…That was new.Making a
Chapter 70
“Stop already!” Rowan cried out from the other end.The nurse had come to check on him, pressing around the injured areas. Whatever she was doing, it felt to Rowan like she was deliberately trying to punish him.“We’ve already given you anesthesia!” the nurse said, clearly frustrated.“Then give him more!” Mireya’s mother snapped. “Can’t you see the pain he’s in?!”“Who’s on the call with you?” Cassian asked, walking in after speaking with the doctor.“My dad,” Rowan said, ending the call. “He says he’s friends with LD.”“Friends with LD?” Cassian repeated, trying—and failing—to hide his shock. “How?”“My father is an influential man,” Rowan said, still managing to sound proud despite his condition. “He has connections everywhere.”Cassian paused, then nodded slightly, already thinking ahead.“Well… I think I’ll have dinner at your father’s tonight,” he said. “I should know the person my sister is getting married into.”“Have either of you heard from Mireya?” Cassian added, turning to
Chapter 69
He slowed slightly, then continued forward.He reached the floor area and saw one of his men lying there.He frowned.That didn’t make sense.Unless the man had fallen? Maybe he was drunk?He took a few more steps.Another man.Then another.His frown deepened.By the time he stepped fully into the open yard, his eyes widened.All of them.On the ground.His men.Every single one.His gaze slowly lifted.At the center of it all—Lombard stood there.Perfectly still.Holding one of his men by the wrist like he was holding a trophy.And the man he was holding was crying and yelling like a child.Lombard, on the other hand, didn’t look moved in the slightest.“What…” he stopped.He looked around again.Then back at Lombard.Something shifted inside him.Fear.But not the kind he felt earlier at the hotel.This one was different.Deeper.Like something had gone very, very wrong.He should have trusted his instinct earlier—that quiet warning in the back of his mind. Rowan would have called
Chapter 68
Meanwhile, the car Lombard was in had already started moving.Rowan’s father truly believed he had been the one to intimidate Lombard with his men. If Lombard hadn’t been stopped earlier, he felt he would have continued to think the man was someone worth worrying about.But then again… no one is above mistakes.And he had made one by talking too much and then thinking Lombard was more than this useless piece that he apparently was. That was how he ended up drawing the wrong conclusion.Of course, that wouldn’t happen again.He instructed the men to pull over at one of his warehouses.A place meant for handling people like this.Somewhere far from the eyes of the government… or anyone he needed to appear respectable to.The car slowed, then came to a stop.“Make sure you tie his hands,” he ordered as they pulled over.He wasn’t even in the same car as Lombard. Staying in close space with someone like him? That was beneath him.Meanwhile, Inside the other car, Lombard sat quietly amon
Chapter 67
“Who is this?” Jake asked, not even bothering to lower his voice. “I thought people only acted like this in old movies.”Lombard didn’t answer.He was tired.Jake, on the other hand, was clearly not built for silence.“I’m going to give you one chance to walk out of here on your own,” Rowan’s father said, completely ignoring Jake. “If you choose otherwise, my men will carry you out like the animal that you are.”Jake tilted his head slightly. “And when they take him… where exactly are you taking him to?”Rowan’s father’s gaze snapped to him.“Who is this senseless companion you brought with you?” he asked Lombard, his tone laced with disdain.Lombard exhaled slowly. “He’s got a point,” he said. “I don’t know who you are, and you show up with a squad like this when I’m not even armed…”His eyes flicked over the men surrounding them. “…doesn’t that feel a bit excessive?”Rowan’s father’s expression darkened.“Never thought I’d have to introduce myself like this,” he said coldly. “Rowan.
Chapter 66
“New York’s nice though,” Jake said, a little too quickly. “Different from LA and—”He stopped.It was getting awkward.He could feel it.And the more he talked about all the good things in his life, the worse it seemed to make it.A brief silence stretched between them.Then—“You know, man…” Jake started, more carefully this time. “I don’t know how things have been with you these past two years.” He exhaled. “I tried reaching you. Sent people too. But you were basically… invisible.”A small pause.“The only thing that kept me from thinking the worst was Vivienne. I could still hear from her. And there’s no way something happens to you that she wouldn’t know.”He gave a faint smile.“At least… that family bond is still there, right?”Lombard let out a short chuckle. “Yeah. I mean… I cut ties with everyone around me. I was being an asshole.”Jake didn’t laugh.That was the problem.“This isn’t like before,” Jake said quietly. “Back then, I could look at you and know what was going on
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