Chapter 24 Lily took a deep, shuddering breath, looking to compose herself after that severe second with James. Her thoughts became still reeling from Chloe's twisted threat against her dad. She felt scared out of her mind, however having James's strength and backbone to lean on helped ground her. "Okay," she said, willing her voice now not to shake. "We need to provide you with a plan to take down Chloe once and for all. Playing into her deranged game is the only way to protect my dad for now." James nodded grimly. "I've got my best security guys ready to move in as soon as we get a location on this showdown she's orchestrating. We'll be prepared for whatever sick traps she tries to lure us into." A shiver went down Lily's spine. She didn't even want to imagine what depths of cruelty Chloe might stoop to. The psycho seemed to have no limits when it came to her unhinged obsession. "I just hope your men can handle her," Lily said worriedly. "Chloe's been unraveling more and more. W
Chapter 25 Lily felt ice water slam into her veins at Chloe's ominous words. The deranged woman's eyes glittered with undisguised malice and menace, like a coiled serpent ready to strike. A low rumble sounded from James, like a warning growl from a defensive predator. He angled his body slightly in front of Lily's in a shielding stance without even seeming to think about it. "You just can't help yourself, can you, you twisted bitch?" His deep voice carried a scorching heat. "Spouting off more unhinged threats and delusions of grandeur." Chloe's eyes flashed with displeasure at his mocking tone, her lip curling back over her teeth. "Still overconfident to the end, I see. Perhaps this will wipe that arrogant sneer off your face for good." With a dramatic flourish, she pulled a small remote from her pocket and thumbed a big red button. Instantly, the shadows around the rec room seemed to come alive with movement as several hulking shapes detached themselves. Lily felt her throat co
Chapter 26Lily felt sick to her stomach as Chloe waved that gun back and forth between her and James. The shiny metal barrel seemed to swell until it filled her whole vision. "Drop it right now, you psycho!" Louis bellowed, his voice booming with rage. "Or I'll blow your crazy head off myself!"But Chloe just laughed, high-pitched and unhinged. Her wide eyes were almost glassy looking as she jerked the pistol from Lily to James and back again."I wouldn't try that if I were you," she said in an unnervingly sweet sing-song voice. "Unless you want your boss's little bride leaking blood and brains all over the floor."A wave of nausea rolled through Lily. She could almost smell the metallic tang of gunpowder within the air. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to run, to somewhere and break out from this nightmare before it went any further.Then James shifted to place his big frame in front of Lily, shoulders board and body coiled like a panther equipped to strike. His chiseled fac
Chapter 27Lily was totally freaking out as she watched Louis bleeding out right in front of them. The huge, tough guy who always looked like he could take on anything was now a broken mess, guts practically spilling onto the floor. It was crazy messed up.James shifted, blocking her view of the gruesome scene. His jaw was clenched so tight Lily thought his teeth might crack. She could see the muscle in his cheek twitching like crazy. "Talk to me, Louis," he growled in that deep voice of his. "What the hell is going on out there?"Louis sucked in a wheezy breath, eyes glazing over. But he managed to rasp out, "Ambush... Chloe's men... hit us hard..."One of the other tactical guys leaned in, trying to put pressure on Louis' massive wound. But it was no use - the blood just kept pouring out. Lily felt sick watching it soak through the guy's gloves."We're getting outnumbered and outgunned, sir," the tactical guy said, looking to James with poorly concealed fear. "They've got us surrou
Chapter 28Lily was completely freaking out about her dad after everything that went down with Chloe's crazy ambush. She kept imagining him hurt or worse because of that psycho's threats."James, we have to find my father right away!" she said urgently, grabbing his arm. "Who knows what Chloe might try to do to him?"James nodded grimly. "Don't worry, baby. We'll surely get to the bottom of this and make sure your dad is safe and sound."He motioned to one of his staff. "Mike, get the team ready. We need to sweep that clinic and surrounding areas on the double.""You got it, boss," the guy said, hurrying off to mobilize the search.Lily felt a little better knowing James was taking action, but she was still a nervous wreck. Her mind kept flashing back to Louis and how badly he was hurt because of Chloe's games. She hoped her own dad wasn't paying that same price.Just then, Lily's phone started ringing. She fumbled for it, her heart leaping into her throat when she noticed it turned o
Chapter 29Lily stared at James, her belly tying itself in knots. She had the equal sinking feeling he did - this wasn't over with Chloe, not by means of a protracted shot."You think she's lying? That this is another one of her twisted mind games?" Lily asked, fear creeping into her voice.James shook his head in confusion. "Seriously ,I don't know what to think, I'm confused. On one hand, getting institutionalized by her own family sounds like it could be legit. But on the other..." He trailed off, jaw ticking."You don't trust her as far as you can throw her," Lily finished.He gave a curt nod. "Exactly. That snake would say anything to try and catch us off guard. We can't let our guard down until we know for sure what her game is."Lily felt her shoulders slump a little. Of course it couldn't be that easy to put this nightmare behind them. When had anything with Chloe ever been simple?"So what now?" she asked. "We still need to go get my dad from the police station.""Yeah, we'll
Chapter 30Lily stalked back and forth across the intimate waiting room every bit as jittery as another. However, her dad, being the one in the chair, continued to snore lightly. She couldn't blame him for being so wiped after the crazy kidnapping attempt. She checked her phone again, hoping for another update from James. Radio silence so far. Lily nibbled her thumbnail, stomach churning with worry and impatience. What if this lead on Chloe's location was a dead end? Or a trap?With an irritated huff, she plopped down in the chair next to her dad. Sitting still was impossible right now. Her leg jiggled up and down as she tried to rein in her racing thoughts.That is when her dad began to move, his eyelids opening with a soft moan. "Oops, I didn't realize I slept off Lil," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Any word from James yet?"She shook her head. "Not since he said they might have a lead a little while ago." She bit her lip, unable to mask her anxious tone. "Dad, I'm really worried
Chapter 31Lily withdrew from James's embrace, cleaning her wet cheeks. "I'm so sorry, I look messy right now. It's just...I've been so scared to tell you about my past. That was why I was so scared when Chloe reappeared...I'm sorry."James shook his head. "No need to apologize, babe. We all got baggage." He shot her a wry look. "Hell, you've seen how crazy my family can get. The Watsons aren't exactly Leave It to Beaver material."That startled a watery giggle out of Lily. Leave it to James to find the humor, even in such an intense moment. Her husband had a gift for cutting through the tension with his blunt charm."I suppose you've got a point there," she conceded, feeling herself relax a little. "Your grandmother certainly seems like a piece of work."Michael cleared his throat then, reminding them both of his presence. "Sorry to interrupt this heartfelt moment," he said dryly. "But maybe you could fill us in on what you found out, James? About Chloe's situation?"James's expressi
Chapter 142: The Watson mansion was fully alive. Streamers hung cascading off of everything they could, balloons bounced merrily around various corners, and the air swam thick with the tantalizing smell of BBQ on the back porch. Today was, after all, Ave's party – but it was more than that; today was the day Lily and James had chosen to once again pledge themselves to one another.Lily stood before the full-length mirror, straightening out her simple white sundress. At seven months, she was radiant—a perfect arc the curve of her belly was, below the flowing fabric.From the doorway, the sound of a voice declared, "You look beautiful." Lily turned to see her cousin Maggie smile at her."Thanks." Lily smoothed the dress. "I feel like a beached whale, but James insists I'm glowing."Maggie burst out laughing. "He's right, you know. You look like you're about to light up his world or something." She walked over and hugged Lily. "I can't believe how far we've come since that one crazy nig
Chapter 141: Lily woke up off. She couldn't explain it, but something just seemed… off. And when she rolled over to check the time, a wave of nausea hit her. She groaned and buried her face in her pillow."Alright?" James mumbled, still half asleep."Yeah, I just feel a little queasy," Lily replied. "Probably just something I ate."James sat up concerned. "You want me to get you something?"Lily shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. We should get up anyway; Ave has that school play today, remember?"They climbed out of bed and busied themselves getting ready for the day. James went into the bedroom to awaken Ave while Lily projectile-vomited into the toilet.James had, by this time, somehow managed to dress Ave in her costume: a huge, puffy frog outfit in bright green made for the school dress rehearsal of "The Frog Prince.""Mommy!" Ave squealed as she clumped down the stairs. "Do I look like a real frog?"Lily laughed, pushing aside her queasiness. "Why, yes, my child, the fairest fr
Chapter 140: Giggles consumed the room, and James stirred awake. He opened an eye to find a little face at the end of the bed staring in at him."Daddy! Wake up!" little Ave chirped in at him.Stepping over the landmines that were on the bed, James ran his hand through the small amount of her running down her back and picked her up, digging fingers into her tummy."Morning, princess," he said by way of splaying a kiss on her forehead.Ave giggled and squirmed. "Mommy said breakfast was ready!""Oh, yeah?" said James, sitting up but not letting go of the squirming Ave. "Am I to take it that's why Mommy sent you in here to wake me up?"Ave nodded, her bouncing brown curls saying more than she could. "Yep! She said tell you there's coffee."James laughed, and if Lily knew him at all well, it was all for her benefit. "Well then, I guess we'd better not have Mommy waiting, huh?"He climbed out of bed, Ave still in his arms, and rolled out of the room. The smell of bacon and coffee wafted
Chapter 139James lay on his back on the pristine white sand beach and took a pounding from the burning Maldivian sun. His hand reached up behind him for the coconut cocktail, tasting sweetness in his mouth as the gentle lapping of waves broke almost ten meters away from shore. It was the first time he had really been allowed to relax, barring a three-month period, since they had released the secrets of the Shadow Council onto the world."Penny for your thoughts?" The sound of Lily's voice broke through his reverie. She settled herself down on the lounger beside him. Her skin was golden against the sun.He smiled, squeezing her hand, saying, "Just thinking how surreal this all is. A year ago, I was knee-deep in conspiracies and shadow organizations. Now I'm sipping cocktails on a private island."Lily chortled; that sound always hit James in exactly the right place in his heart."Life's funny that way, isn't it?" she said, turning her head to look at him with her chin resting on her a
Chapter 138: James was pacing his living room relentlessly. Elena was with Rachel. It was all over. Well yah, anyway that was supposed to mean.Lilly squinted at him from the couch. "James, honey, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet. Come sit down."He sucked in a deep breath and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry; I just… I just can't help but feel this is too easy. After everything we've been through, this is just too easy."Lily squeezed his hand reassuringly. "James, I hardly think that anything about this has been easy. But maybe, this is the way it ends. Not really with a bang, but with a whimper."There was a pounding on the door. The teenager was on his feet before James could even open his mouth. His heart pounded in his chest. This was it.The door was thrown open. To find Rachel standing there—grimy, dirty, and obviously completely exhausted but still with the fires of determination burning behind her eyes. And past her."Hello, James," came the soft-spoken voice of Ele
Chapter 137: Rachel's hands trembled on the wheel. She drove the car towards the lighthouse. It was a full moon drooping low into a mess, ever drooping across the sky to the west, throwing a queer, sickly light over the whole demesne. She could not believe the fact that she was actually doing this, meeting secretly with her mother, Elena.She couldn't bat the feeling away that this time—this time—things were different. There was no hand in the place that could have been straightened just then, and scarcely a hand for him to take.Beside the lighthouse was her mother's car. Ray closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and felt her hand shake again, then brought it quickly up to her chest and gripped hard. "You can do this," she whispered to herself.She scrambled out of the car and up the serpentine path to the lighthouse, where waves dashed to the rocks and her feet crunched over gravel.One figure stood at the top by the railing, looking out at the water: Elena. His mother.Rachel's hea
Chapter 136The world had barely had enough time to absorb the shock that came with the downfall of Shadow Council. News channels were all agog with relentless updates, while governments scurried to try and react to the development; people all around tried to understand what all this really meant and what the implications of the bombshell were that shook the very fundamentals of society.But there was so much more to it than that which James Watson could see coming.He found himself standing outside the hospital room after just a moment's hesitation on the other side of the door handle. He could see from the small window that Louis was lying in a bed, hooked up to a lot of machines, Rachel sat at his side.He steeled himself, took a deep breath, and walked in.Rachel lifted her head. Her eyes were red, red, but glittering. "James," she said very quietly. "I didn't expect you to be here.""How is he?" asked James, who had moved now and stood at the foot of Louis's bed.Rachel sighed. "
# Chapter 135: James took a deep breath and brought his head counterclockwise to his team, tired yet charged. It was time to engage their plan."Okay, let's go over this again. Hawk, are you set up with that kill switch or what?"Hawk just nodded. Her fingers danced across the laptop keyboard. "Okay, I am ready as I will ever be, but remember, this is one shot deal.""Right," James confirmed, turning towards Kelvin. "You got your contacts on standby?"Kelvin lifted his phone reassuringly. "They're all set, just waiting for our signal now."Glancing toward Angie and Agent Johnson, he asked, "You two sure about this? This is going to be dangerous."Angie made a show of rolling up her eyes. "Please. After all else we've done? It's just another Tuesday."It was Johnson's turn to chuckle. "What she said. We've got your back, James."James bobbed his head, his fear mixing in with his excitement. This was it: the last big push to finally bring down the Shadow Council."Alright then," he sai
Chapter 134: Days passed after the warehouse before a blur of debriefings, media frenzy, and shock waves that echoed across the globe. Standing smack in the middle of this hurricane, shaking the very roots of governments and institutions around the globe, was James and his team.They now sat in a safe house, courtesy of Agent Johnson—now an unlikely ally in all of this, ever since the exposure of the Shadow Council. There, in that very suburban home, the living room had now become something of a command center: there were laptops and papers all over, the place cluttered with empty coffee cups.James rubbed his tired eyes at the news playing on mute on the television. Of course, the headline scrolled by in the news: "Global Markets in Turmoil as Shadow Council Revelations Continue.""You should get some rest," Angie said before putting a hand on his shoulder. At least she looked a little better now, with the bruises from her captivity fading, but there was a new hardness in her eyes.