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Chapter 356
Down the corridor, Wilfreda skidded to a stop. Janelle, a few paces ahead, turned back, her eyes wide with panic. "Wilfreda, come on!"But Wilfreda had heard it. The sickening thud of blows landing, the choked cry of pain that was unmistakably Harry's. It sliced through her focus like a shard of glass. Her feet felt rooted to the spot. Helsin was ahead, in terrible danger. But Harry was behind them, and that gun... she’d seen it in Christopher's hand."We can't leave him," she whispered, the words tearing from her throat. "Janelle, he'll kill him."Janelle ran back, grabbing Wilfreda's arm. Her grip was surprisingly strong. "Wilfreda, listen to me! He told us to run. He's buying us time. If we go back, we all get caught and Harry's sacrifice is for nothing."Tears streamed down Wilfreda's face, a torrent of anguish and guilt. She was being torn in two. The memory of Harry's arms around her, his vow—"Where you go, I go"—warred with the image of her mother, alone and at Robert's mercy.
Chapter 355
“Christopher,” Harry said, his voice carefully level. He subtly shifted, placing himself more squarely between the threat and Wilfreda and Janelle. “This doesn’t have to get worse. Just walk away. Things are bad enough as it is.”Christopher’s lazy smile widened into something cruel and knowing. He took a slow, deliberate step forward, his polished shoes clicking on the stone. “Walk away? While you play the hero with our fathers' property?” He let out a low, mocking chuckle. “You always were a slow learner, Harry. But maybe you’re confused about the fundamentals.”His cold eyes flicked to Wilfreda, then back to Harry. “Let me remind you, in case your dear old Dad never spelled it out. That O’Connor name you’re so recklessly defending? The blood you think you’re betraying?” He paused for maximum effect. “It’s not in your veins. It’s not in mine. We’re both just… well-cared-for cuckoos in the nest. Any attempt to protect a true O’Connor bloodline…” he gestured dismissively at Wilfreda,
Chapter 354
Harry watched the standoff, his own plan crumbling. He had envisioned a clean, if dangerous, extraction: two hostages out, one tragic loss. A brutal calculus he could maybe live with. But this stubborn, interconnected refusal to abandon one of their own was something else entirely. It was the antithesis of the cold, transactional world he'd lived in since he returned to start living with Richard.He saw the resolve in Wilfreda's eyes, a mirror of the fierce defiance he remembered from the café. He saw the terrified courage in Janelle's, a loyalty that transcended self-preservation. They were a unit, and in that moment, it felt as though breaking them, even for their own good, was just another kind of violation.A heavy sigh, born of exhaustion and a sudden, shocking admiration, escaped him. The keys felt like lead in his hand.The path of least resistance, the coward's path, he now saw, was to insist, to force Janelle out. But looking at these two women, one his cousin, one a strang
Chapter 353
Time lost all meaning in the windowless cell. It could have been minutes or hours since Helsin was taken. The silence was a living thing, pressing in on them, broken only by Janelle’s occasional, shuddering breaths and the distant, indeterminate hum of the building’s machinery.Wilfreda held Janelle, her own mind a tempest of dread and furious, impotent planning. Every footstep in the corridor outside sent a fresh jolt of terror through them, each one a potential herald of their own doom.Having watched Helsin being dragged away earlier had really done something to them psychologically, and even if they didn't really want to admit it, both of them were already afraid that something bad might have happened to them, and that one of them would be next in line.Then, a new sound. Not the usual heavy, synchronized tread of the guards. This was lighter, quicker. A single set of footsteps, approaching with a strange urgency. They stopped right outside their cell.A key scraped in the lock.J
Chapter 352
Philip didn’t bother to answer with words, and that was because words had caused enough trouble tonight. Instead, he cupped her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks, and leaned in.This kiss was different from the one before. That had been a promise, a seal on a vow. This one was an answer. It was deep, claiming, and breathtaking in its intensity. It held fifteen years of shared history, the terror of nearly losing her, the fierce joy of being chosen, and the absolute certainty of his own devotion. It was a silent, powerful rebuttal to every one of his foolish fears and a playful retaliation to her tease.When they finally parted, both were breathless. Julia’s eyes were shining, all traces of anger and sadness replaced by a luminous warmth. Philip rested his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling.“I think,” he murmured, his voice husky with emotion, “that should answer your question.”“It does,” Julia whispered, her smile soft and sure. “And just for the record, it answers y
Chapter 351
Philip held Julia's gaze, the depth of his love warring with a vulnerability he rarely showed. Her hands on his face were an anchor, but the question burning in his chest felt like a tide trying to pull him out to sea. He took a shaky breath."Julia," he began, his voice barely above a whisper, the words feeling both foreign and essential. "Do you love me?"The question landed in the quiet room with the force of a physical blow. Julia's hands stilled on his cheeks. Her eyes, so full of concern a moment before, widened in pure, uncomprehending shock. She pulled back slightly, creating a space between them that felt suddenly vast."Why are you asking such a question?" Her voice was low, edged with a hurt that was sharper than anger. "Philip, we've been married for over fifteen years. Our life, our family, everything we've built... do you honestly believe any of that could exist without love?"The raw confusion in her eyes was more painful than any accusation. Philip instantly regretted
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