Chapter 5 Force
LYSANDRA
I stared at the screen, looking at the blurry words. Pretty little sister.
“How… how do they have this number? Who is that?”
Cassian snatched the phone back, his face a mask of cold fury. He typed a single sentence; Who is this?
The reply was instant.
Unknown: A concerned party. Your silence is becoming expensive, Vale. Let’s talk.
“It’s him. Croft.” Cassian’s voice was low, dangerous. “He’s making his move.”
“He threatened Elara! You said he wouldn’t find her! You said I was safe!”
“You are safe! This is a bluff, a probe. He’s trying to rattle me. And he’s succeeding because of you.”
“Because of me? This is your fault! Your world! You dragged me into it!”
“You walked onto that auction block yourself! You invited this!”
My phone buzzed again in his hand. He looked at it, and his expression changed. The anger was replaced by something sharper. He answered.
“What.”
He listened, his gaze locked on me. “When?... How severe?... I see. Keep me informed.” He ended the call.
“Was that the hospital? Tell me!”
“Your sister. She spiked a fever post-procedure. They’ve moved her to isolation. It’s a known risk, and they’re managing it.”
The floor dropped out from under me. I grabbed the railing. “I have to go to her. Right now.”
“No.”
“Cassian, she’s alone! She’s scared!”
“And you showing up, hysterical, after I explicitly forbade it, will help how? You’ll get yourself arrested for trespassing and give Croft exactly the ammunition he wants.”
“I DON’T CARE ABOUT CROFT!”
“Well I do! This is connected! Her fever, this text… it’s not a coincidence. This is an attack.”
“You’re paranoid!”
“I’m a target! And now, so is she, because of her connection to you! The best thing you can do for her right now is to be invisible. My doctors are handling it. They will update me and you... You will wait.”
“I hate you.”
“I’m not here for your affection. I’m here to keep you both alive. Now, we’re leaving.” He grabbed my arm.
“Let go of me!”
“We are walking out of here calmly. We are smiling. We are giving them nothing. Or I swear to you, I will drag you out. Your choice.”
CASSIAN
She was shaking... Good. Let her fear be of me. It was cleaner than the other kind.
We moved through the crowd as I kept my grip firm on her elbow, a show of possession. I nodded at acquaintances, a cold smile on my face.
“Cassian! Leaving so soon?” Sebastian’s voice cut through the murmur.
I didn’t stop. “I have a prior engagement, Sebastian. My apologies.”
“Nothing too serious, I hope? Your lovely companion looks quite pale.”
Lysandra stumbled. I held her upright.
“Just a headache. The champagne, perhaps. Goodnight, Sebastian.”
I didn’t look back. The car was waiting. I shoved her inside and followed.
“Drive. Now.”
The car pulled away. She was curled against the door, silent sobs shaking her shoulders.
“Get ahold of yourself.”
“She’s all alone…”
“She’s in a world-class hospital, not a ditch. My head of security is en route to personally oversee her wing. No one gets near her without my direct authorization. That is more protection than she has ever had in her life.”
She looked at me, her eyes wide and wet. “Why? Why are you doing that?”
“Because I protect what’s mine. And for the next six months, her survival is a condition of your compliance. She is my property, same as you. I don’t let my assets get damaged.”
She turned away, staring out at the passing lights. “I want to go to sleep.”
“You will. After we’ve dealt with this.” My phone was already at my ear. “Croft’s number, the one he just used. Trace it. I want it burned. And get me everything you have on his holdings in the Northridge Medical Fund. I want leverage, now!”
LYSANDRA
The penthouse doors shut. He was already on another call, barking orders about stock prices and acquisitions.
I stood in the middle of the vast, cold living room. My sister was sick and scared. A powerful man was threatening her. And the man who owned me was starting a war.
He ended his call and looked at me.
“Well? What now, boss? Another dinner? A movie? Should I just stand here and look pretty while you burn the world down?”
“Go to your room.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Go to your room and stay there. I have work to do. Your dramas are a distraction I can’t afford.”
“My dramas? My sister is—”
“—being handled! By me! The only thing you’re doing is getting in the way. So get out of my sight.”
I just stood there, trembling.
“Now, Lysandra!”
I turned and walked away, each step feeling like a defeat. I reached my door.
His voice stopped me, colder than I’d ever heard it. “And Lysandra?”
I didn’t turn around.
“The next time you consider raising your voice at me, remember the text. Remember the fever. Your world is held together by my will alone. Don’t ever forget your place in it again.”
I shut the door behind me and slid to the floor, the scream finally tearing out of me, swallowed whole by the sterile, soundproofed walls.
