Chapter 29: Chapter 28 He Let Me Run
"It’s missing, sir," the security chief said, dropping his voice. "Sparita. Pulita."
Laziel didn’t shout. He slowly raised his eyes from his tablet.
"Explain," he said.
"The folder was on the desk after you left for the clinic," the chief replied, standing completely still. "When I went back to lock the room, it was gone. Cazzo, someone was right under our noses."
Laziel leaned back, tapping a single finger against his chair. "Who entered my study?"
"I don’t think anyone..."
Laziel’s eyes darkened. "Wrong."
There was only one suspect.
I walked into the office right at that exact moment, holding a stack of logistics files I’d gone to fetch from the archive room. Thanks to Laziel’s absolute obsession with keeping me under his thumb, my desk was set up directly inside his space, right opposite his.
The second I stepped through the door, the conversation killed itself.
Both Laziel and his security chief turned their heads, staring straight at me. My heart flipped. my knees want to give out, but I forced my feet to keep moving.
Does this dickhead know? Did he find out already?
I kept my head down, crossing the floor to my desk. The stolen folder were hidden under my bed at the mansion felt Did they find out?
I gulped, trying to ignore them as I pulled out my chair.
I stared at my monitor, blindly clicking on a spreadsheet while my hands shook.
The security chief placed his hand over his chest, bowed to Laziel, and murmured a quiet "Con permesso" before leaving. The door clicked shut, leaving me completely stranded.
I struggled to look busy under Laziel’s unblinking glare. He didn’t look back at his tablet. He just sat there, watching me. Every phone ring made me jump. Every knock on the outer door scared the shit out of me.
Through the silence, I heard Laziel pick up his phone. He just quietly ordered the chief: "Review every camera."
My blood ran cold. The cameras.
Fuck. I was such a stupid bitch. In my panic last night, I had completely forgotten about the security feeds. If they pulled the footage from the corridor, I was done.
Ten minutes later, the phone on Laziel’s desk buzzed. He put it on speaker.
"Sir," the chief’s voice came through. "We have a problem. The corridor camera went offline for maintenance for exactly twenty minutes last night. No footage."
Laziel’s jaw tightened. "I don’t believe in coincidences."
He hung up. He didn’t look at me, but I knew he was ten times more suspicious now.
My phone vibrated in my lap. I glanced down at the gaming app.
Giulia: Driver confirmed. Midnight. Platform 8. Don’t be late, babes.
A small, secret smile hit my face. Yes. We were actually getting out of this hellhole. Just a few more hours.
Laziel suddenly stood up, walked across the room, and placed another file right on my desk. "Organize these."
I reached for it.
"Have you ever stolen anything before, Miss Brenner?" he asked suddenly.
I froze. My heart completely stopped. I forced myself to look up, staring into his cold eyes, and lied straight to his face. "No."
Laziel watched me, the silence stretching until I thought I’d faint.
"Good," he said flatly, and walked right back to his desk.
....
Back in NYC
Helix Monroe sat in the examination room, a cocky smirk on his face as the fertility specialist walked in.
"Alright, doc, give it to me straight," Helix laughed. "
"Mr. Monroe, we ran the genetic sequencing three times to be certain."
"And?" Helix scoffed, trying to maintain his usual arrogant posture. "What’s the issue?"
"Natural conception is extremely unlikely," the doctor said bluntly. "In fact, it’s practically impossible. Your count is virtually nonexistent. If you want a biological heir, the window is closing rapidly, and the chances are less than five percent."
Helix’s smirk died instantly. He froze, the blood rushing out of his face as Chloé’s screaming accusations echoed in his head.
The clock was officially ticking. If he couldn’t produce an heir, Laziel would take everything.
Midnight.
The mansion was completely dead.
I didn’t turn on any lights. Because here was the worst part of Laziel’s psychological warfare: our bedrooms were directly opposite his suite.
One sound and that monster will be out in the the hallway.
I opened my door, stepping into the corridor. I stared at the closed doors of Laziel’s room right across from me. He was in there.
Creeping past his door, I slipped into Anastelle’s room right next to mine. She was fast asleep.
I scooped her sleeping body into my arms, leaving her diamond tiara on the nightstand. Let that mother fucker keep his expensive shit.
Anastelle stirred softly against my shoulder.
"Shh..." I whispered, pressing a kiss against her curls.
"Just a little longer, baby."
I eased the bedroom door shut behind us.
I descended the grand staircase one slow step at a time, waiting for a flashlight to hit my face or a guard to tackle me to the floor.
But as I reached the front doors. It was unlocked.
I pushed the doors open.
Cool night air rushed over us.
I hurried across the enormous courtyard, my heartbeat pounding harder with every step.
Nothing.
Where the fuck were the guards? Usually, this damn place was crawling with security details rotating every hour. Right now, the grounds were completely empty. It was dead silent.
Why the fuck does escaping feel this easy?
Something didn’t add up. It didn’t add up at all. Laziel Monroe was a paranoid, control-freak billionaire who locked down my entire life, yet his multi-billion-dollar estate suddenly had zero security outside? It felt wrong. It felt like a setup. Was this a Anastelle stirred softly against my shoulder.
My mind was screaming at me to turn back, but I looked down at Anastelle sleeping soundly against my shoulder, and my grip tightened. I didn’t have a choice. If I stayed, that dickhead would read that background file eventually, and I’d lose my daughter forever. I had to run, trap or no trap.
I ran across the open lawn. Every shadow looked like a threat, but I kept my eyes locked on the gates ahead. Still, no one stopped me. No alarms went off.
I finally reached the gate, my hands trembling as I looked at the keypad. This was the exact passkey I had been eyeing for days, carefully memorizing the movements of the guards’ fingers whenever they entered it.
I punched in the numbers.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The gates slowly began to open.
We were actually going to make it out.
A tiny sob of relief escaping my throat as I took my first step forward.
"Running away without saying goodbye, Miss Brenner?"
