Chapter 18 - The Full Picture

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I led Adrien into the back office, pulling the heavy curtain shut. I handed him the tablet.

"You only heard the ten-second clip," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "Watch the rest."

Adrien took the tablet, his hands shaking as he pressed play. He watched Simone stroke the baby's crib. He listened as she methodically plotted the assassination of his wife and unborn heir, dismissing our lives as mere collateral damage to secure her own position of power.

When the video finished, the silence in the room was deafening.

The broken, weeping man who had fallen to his knees in my bakery was gone. In his place stood the ruthless, terrifying leader of the Thorne syndicate. The air around him seemed to drop ten degrees.

"I gave her everything," Adrien said, his voice entirely devoid of emotion. It was the voice of a man signing a death warrant. "I gave her a seat at the table. I gave her protection."

"She wanted the throne, Adrien. And I was in the way."

Adrien set the tablet down gently on the desk. He turned to look at Leo, who was quietly playing with his blocks in the corner. The softness returned to his eyes for a fraction of a second before the lethal ice froze over again.

"Pack your things," Adrien commanded, turning to me. "Elias has a safe house secured outside the city. It has a fifty-man detail. You'll be safe there."

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"I'm not going back into your cage, Adrien," I said firmly.

"It's not a cage, Mara. It's a fortress," he replied, stepping closer, cupping my cheek with a calloused hand. "Stay here for two days. When I come back for you... there won't be anyone left alive to hurt you."