Chapter 7 - The Journey Back
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The ride back to Harrow Point was enveloped in a heavy, exhausted silence. The heater in the SUV hummed quietly, attempting to chase the chill from their bones.
Hannah sat curled in the leather seat, drowning in the massive folds of Victor’s overcoat. She clutched the lapels tightly, her mind racing to process the trauma of the last three hours. She had been framed, kidnapped, nearly murdered, and then rescued by the most dangerous man in the city.
She turned her head slightly to look at Victor. He was staring out the tinted window at the passing city lights, his profile carved from stone. He looked infinitely tired.
“Thank you,” Hannah whispered into the quiet space.
Victor slowly turned his head to look at her. “You do not need to thank me, Hannah. It was my blind spot that put you in danger. The apology belongs to me.”
“You didn't know he was a traitor.”
“A man in my position is supposed to know everything,” Victor replied, his voice laced with a bitter self-reproach. “I failed to protect my house. But I will not fail again.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the heavy silver coin. He held it out to her.
“Poppy said you took this from her,” Victor murmured.
Hannah looked at the coin, reaching into her own pocket to realize it was indeed gone from her jacket.
“I didn't want her to swallow it,” Hannah explained, her voice trembling slightly. “I didn't know what it was.”
“It’s a military-grade GPS tracker,” Victor confessed, his gray eyes locking onto hers. “I gave it to her to play with, thinking it was harmless. Because you put it in your pocket, I was able to find you.”
Hannah stared at him, the realization washing over her. A simple act of maternal caution had saved her life.
“She is a very brave little girl,” Victor added softly. “She marched into my study and demanded I find you.”
Tears welled in Hannah’s eyes at the thought of her daughter. “Is she okay? Is she safe?”
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“She is guarded by my best men. No harm will ever come to her.”
The SUV finally turned onto the private road leading to the estate. The massive iron gates of Harrow Point loomed ahead. For the first time since she had started working there, the walls didn't look like a prison to Hannah. They looked like a fortress.
