Chapter Seventeen
Seraphina
If my brother knew of the decision I am about to make, his fury would be unmatched. Yet, there is no alternative. Our cousin, Viktor’s daughter, is in grave peril. Just an hour ago, she managed to reach out, her voice trembling with fear and revealed her father’s heinous plans. He intends to send her to Romania to be “gifted” like some mere token of allegiance.
The words had struck me like a blade to the chest. I’d known Viktor to be ruthless, but this? This was monstrous, even for him. His very own daughter?
I pace the room, my thoughts racing as I prepare myself for what must be done. There’s no time to waste. Every moment I delay is a moment closer to her being whisked away, beyond our reach, beyond safety.
“Seraphina,” I murmur aloud as if saying my own name will steady me. “You must act decisively. There is no place for hesitation.”
But how does one reconcile the weight of duty with the defiance of tradition? My upbringing as a Princess, an Everhart, dictates that I seek counsel, that I strategize alongside my brother, the rightful heir, be it he wish for it or not. Yet, in this moment, tradition feels like an anchor, dragging me down when I need to soar.
My heart breaks with the thought of leaving my husband. He didn’t wish for us to leave Scotland. But he did so for me. I can only hope that he returns home safely.
I move to the open window, gazing out over the biker club’s estate. The moon hangs low, casting a silvery light over the grounds. It is a stark reminder of the shadows we must navigate, the darkness that Viktor thrives in.
My jaw tightens as resolve settles over me like a mantle. I cannot allow him to succeed. Not this time. If it means stepping out of the confines of propriety, so be it. I may be a Princess by birth, but tonight, I am a shield.
“I won’t let her be another pawn in his game,” I vow softly, the words carried away by the night breeze.
My mind is already racing ahead, crafting a plan, envisioning every step. There’s no room for error, not when so much is at stake. This isn’t just about family. It’s about justice, about drawing a line that even Viktor cannot cross.
I turn from the window, my hands steady despite the storm within me. The path I am about to tread may be treacherous, but it is one I will walk willingly. For her. For us. For the Everhart legacy that deserves more than Viktor’s shadow.
I place the note addressed to His Highness gently on the bed, alongside the phone I’ve used to communicate with Sandra. My heart feels heavier with each step I take toward what must be done, but there’s no room for hesitation.
Descending the staircase, I spot Leander and his Princess sharing a laugh with one of their companions. The warmth of the scene tugs at something deep within me, but it does not deter me from my course.
“I must step out for a few hours,” I announce as I approach, keeping my tone light and unassuming. “I’ve realized that all of my clothing is still at the hotel where I’ve been staying. And I must get a gift for the Governess. I promised her a taste of America. Something sweet, I think. There’s a charming shop not far from my hotel.”
Leander’s brow furrows in concern, his expression tightening. “It’s not safe, sister. I’ll send one of the men to retrieve what you need.”
Most of the time, Leander talks with his new accent and gruff tone. It suits him, really. But seldom a hint of his regalness shows its face. That, too, makes me smile.
“Nonsense,” I reply with a soft smile, allowing a touch of teasing to color my words. “I am more than capable of tending to my own errands, Your Highness. Plus, my husband is there waiting for me. I assure you, I’ll be perfectly fine. However, I would appreciate it greatly if you saved me some of that Chinese food, should you decide to order more. It was rather delightful.”
His frown lingers, but he relents with a reluctant sigh. “Very well, but take care, Seraphina.”
“Always,” I say warmly. “Farewell, Princess.”
“See ya, Princess Sara,” she replies, her cheeks tinged with a sweet blush. So endearing.
With a final smile, I step outside, the cool night air brushing against my skin. The small car I rented waits for me, a modest but sufficient vehicle for my time here. As I open the door and settle into the driver’s seat, I murmur softly to myself, a quiet confession to the silence.
“Forgive me, my brother. But if my instincts are correct, I can end Uncle’s reign and save you all.”
Mitchell
“Baby, hand me my phone?” Evie, comfortably curled up on my lap, reaches over to the nearby table and grabs it. She places it in my hand, her brows furrowed with curiosity.
“Everything okay?” she asks softly as I press a kiss to her forehead.
“Just going to check on my sister,” I admit, unlocking the screen. “She should’ve been back by now.”
“She did mention it might take a while,” Emily mutters without looking up, still glued to her laptop. She and Knox have been working nonstop for hours, their focus unwavering.
“Yes, but it’s been almost five hours,” I reply, scrolling through my contacts to find Seraphina’s number. “Her hotel is an hour away. Even with a round trip, a shower, and a quick stop at the shop, she should’ve been back at least two hours ago. Voicemail,” I mutter as I hang up. Frustration creeps into my voice. “I shouldn’t have let her go alone. Does anyone know her husband’s number?”
“He doesn’t have a phone,” Knox mutters. “Something about social media addiction.”
“My favorite type,” Emily says.
I try to reassure myself, but the knot in my chest tightens. Seraphina has been living her life without me for a decade, and she’s proven she can handle herself. I couldn’t be prouder of her resilience. Still, something feels off. Something I can’t shake.
“My Spidey senses are tingling,” Knox says, finally looking up from behind his screen. His tone is casual, but his eyes are sharp. “What’s going on?”
“Do you have eyes on Viktor?” I ask.
“Not at the moment,” he replies, standing and stretching until his joints pop audibly. “I’ve been drowning in code all day. I need to grab a different laptop to check. I don’t want to risk losing what I’ve got open. Sara was using it to watch a movie the other night, so it’s probably still in the guest room. Be right back.”
As Knox heads out, I feel Evie’s hand on my chest. Her touch is grounding, her presence soothing, but my unease only deepens.
“I’m sure she’s okay,” Evie says softly. “She probably just fell asleep. It’s been an exhausting few weeks… or seven.”
“Or she’s spending some much-needed alone time with her husband,” Emily says. “He’s sexy as sin. I wouldn’t blame her if she never left his bed.”
“You need to get laid,” Evie laughs.
“I know,” Em sighs.
Knox returns a moment later, his usual easygoing demeanor replaced with a grim expression. He’s holding a piece of paper, and the look in his eyes sends my stomach plummeting.
“Uhm, Mitch, we might have a problem after all,” he says, handing me the note.
My pulse quickens, a mixture of dread and anger building in my chest.
Seraphina, what the hell did you do?
Accepting the letter, I open it and read through it quietly, my anger turning to fear. I can’t breathe.
“What does it say?” Maddy asks.
Evie takes the paper from my hand and reads it out loud.
My dearest brother,
I don’t even know how to start this. I’ve been sitting here for what feels like forever, trying to find the right words, but nothing feels right. Maybe because I know you’ll hate what I’m about to say.
Seeing you again has been the best thing to happen to me. I always believed you were alive. I knew it. Just like I knew that Uncle was lying when he spread the rumor that I, too, was dead. He’s made a life out of lies, hasn’t he?
But I don’t have time to dance around this. Sandra needs our help. Uncle plans to send her to Romania, and you and I both know what that means. She tried to act bravely. Told me she’d handle it herself, but I can’t let her do that. She’s our family, Leander. She’s innocent in all of this, and I won’t let her pay for his crimes.
So, I’m going in her place. Although, Uncle doesn’t know that part yet.
I know what you’re thinking, and yes, it’s a risk. A huge one. But I’ve thought this through, and it’s the only way. Uncle doesn’t expect me to stand up to him, and that’s why this might work. He’s used to everyone fearing him, but I’m not the scared little girl he remembers. I can handle this.
Please, don’t come after me. I mean it. You’ve got people who need you. Evie, our beloved cousin, Sandra, and all the others you’ve adopted into your family. Focus on protecting them. If you rush in trying to save me, you’ll just make things worse, and we both know Uncle will use that against us.
Leander, you’re my brother, my best friend, and the person I trust most in this world. That’s why I’m asking you to trust me now. I’ll find a way to make it through this, just like I always have.
But, if by chance, something does happen to me, please make sure that my husband sets aside funds for Governess Mildred. She really has been a wonderful mother to me these past ten years. I know that she would love to see you.
I love you always.
Your beloved sister,
-Seraphina
“Uh, guys,” Knox says after Evie’s finished reading. He looks up from his laptop, eyes wide. “The FBI just raided Viktor’s warehouse. They received word from an anonymous source that he was there at the time of the raid.”
“How much you want to bet that it was Sara?” Em smirks. “Bad-ass Princess.”
“Was?” I ask, trying everything in my power not to lose my shit.
“Apparently, Viktor has gone missing,” Knox says. He looks at me with concern as he speaks his next words.
“There’s more,” Steel says. “What is it, boy?”
“The shipment that was supposed to arrive tomorrow night was at the warehouse,” Knox whispers, his voice tinged with despair. “Every single person inside was killed execution-style moments before the raid hit. Twenty-nine people. Not one of them was over the age of ten.”
The room feels like all of the air was suddenly sucked out.
“Was my sister there?” I ask.
“I don’t see any mention of her or anyone that sounds like her,” he says, looking back down at his laptop. “I think they found Viktor’s daughter, though. I bet Em’s right. I bet your sister called it in right before she gave herself up. Wherever he went, I’ll bet he took her with him.”
“Got you, motherfucker!” Emily suddenly shouts, her voice cutting through the oppressive silence like a knife.
Knox snaps his head toward her. “What?”
“Tag team?” she asks, her eyes sparkling with the thrill of discovery as she twists her laptop toward him.
Knox practically dives toward her desk, his own screen tucked under his arm. “What am I looking at?”
“Hidden file buried three subfolders deep in that trash heap of a server image we scraped from Viktor’s office,” Emily says, turning her laptop back around. “Encrypted as hell, but the metadata screams important. ”
Knox’s eyes widen. “Hidden in plain sight. Classic misdirect. What’s the hash on it?”
“SHA-256,” Emily replies, not missing a beat. I have no fucking idea what they’re saying, but I can’t seem to stop listening. “But get this. It’s masking a secondary layer. Double encryption, custom algo. Bet you a steak dinner it’s hiding something juicy.”
Knox grins. “Make it two steaks, extra rare. Let me see that cipher table.”
Emily smirks. “Bouncing it to you now. Pushed to your decrypt queue. Let’s break this bastard open.”
Knox pulls the laptop to his lap, his fingers a blur as he starts doing whatever the hell he’s doing. “Spinning up Hydra to brute the first layer. What’s the ETA on decompiling that wrapper?”
“Already running,” Emily fires back, eyes locked on her own screen. “Secondary layer’s using a hybrid of RSA and a modified AES-512. Whoever did this wanted to keep out the riffraff.”
“Good thing we’re not riffraff,” Knox quips, his grin widening. “I’ll tag Hydra into my local GPU cluster for extra juice. Let’s chew through this thing.”
“Got a match on the first key!” Emily exclaims moments later. “Dumping the payload to temp storage. You ready to catch?”
“Always. Redirect to my sandbox. No way I’m letting that code run on my main machine.”
“Smart move,” Emily nods, her tone approving. “Dumping now. And... oh, shit. ”
“What?” Knox leans closer, his excitement tempered with caution.
“It’s a handshake protocol,” Emily says, her voice hushed with awe. “Decrypt this, and we don’t just get the file. We get direct access to Viktor’s phone. His live phone.”
Knox whistles low. “A zero-day exploit embedded in the file. Man, this guy really thought he was untouchable.”
“Well, he’s about to be touched real good.” Emily’s smile is sharp. “Knoxy boy, this is a time-sensitive window. We need to move fast.”
Knox nods. “I’ll clone the handshake and redirect any pings to a decoy server. He won’t know we’re in until it’s too late.”
Emily grins. “Let’s light him up.”
From that moment, they stop speaking entirely, but the smiles never leave their faces. It’s a symphony of keystrokes, a digital dance that only they understand. Fingers fly across keyboards, screens flash with lines of code and rapidly updating graphs, and the faint hum of servers fills the room like a pulse.
“What the fuck just happened?” Blaze finally blurts, his confusion cutting through the intensity of their silence.
Evie chuckles, leaning back against my chest with an amused smirk. “Knox and Emily,” she says simply like that explains everything. “That’s what just happened.”
Blaze looks between the two hackers, who are still grinning as they work, completely in their own world. “Yeah, okay, but what does that mean ?”
“It means Viktor’s about to meet his match,” Evie replies, her smile sharpening.
As if on cue, Emily lets out a triumphant laugh, pointing at her screen. Knox leans over, and they exchange a quick fist bump, their smiles bordering on maniacal now.
“They’re in,” Evie says, her voice low and full of satisfaction.
The room settles into a tense silence, broken only by the clatter of keys and the hum of high-speed digital warfare. Knox and Emily don’t stop, don’t falter, their smiles never fading as they work. They aren’t just hacking. They’re dismantling Viktor’s world, one line of code at a time.
And everyone else knows it.
“Holy hell,” Knox mutters, leaning back with a smirk. “His royal dickhead owes enough money to buy a small island.”
“Do you have access to his phone?” Ghost asks, his voice sharp and focused.
“Yep,” Emily replies, her grin wicked. “And the best part? He has no idea. Damn, he owes money to three different sharks. No wonder he’s desperate. These texts are brutal.”
“Location?” I ask, my voice calm, though my insides churn with impatience.
Evie shifts slightly in my lap, drawing my attention. Her prosthetic has been off for hours, discarded when we settled in to watch a movie while Knox and Emily did their thing. I’d never tell Evie this, but I prefer her like this. Vulnerable, real, perfectly molded to fit against me. Her stump rests against my body, her other leg cradling my hip. She’s molded perfectly against my body. But, right now, she’s in pain.
“He’s still nearby,” Emily says, breaking through my thoughts. “He’s currently downtown at the penthouse of none other than Anthony Valdez.”
“He really does think he’s untouchable, doesn’t he?” Evie’s voice is strained, her attempt to mask the pain failing miserably. “You guys have to go before he leaves. He might have Sara with him.”
Fucking. Conflicted.
“You’re going to have a pain attack,” I tell her softly, my hand tightening on her hip. “I can’t leave you like this, baby.”
“Oh, I don’t think so, Mitchell,” she snaps, her glare cutting through any argument I might have. “If something happens to your sister and you could have saved her, I’ll never forgive myself. Now, someone, give me my damn leg. If you’re staying here because my body is feeling pain that’s not even real, then I’ll simply tag along.”
“You’ll stay,” Steel interjects, his tone calm but firm. “And I’ll stay with you. Just so long as your man doesn’t try to shoot me when he comes back and finds me holding his girl through her pain.”
Evie’s narrowed eyes shift to him, and for a second, I wonder if she’s going to argue. But then she exhales sharply, her shoulders slumping in reluctant agreement.
“I don’t like leaving you,” I counter, brushing a kiss against her temple. “But I’ll make it quick. You have my word.”
She nods, her fingers gripping my arm like a lifeline.
Knox clears his throat. “We’ve got maybe a fifteen-minute window before he notices something’s off. Emily’s rerouted the pings, but we can’t hold this indefinitely. We’re going to have to go with you.”
“Fuck no,” Taylor says.
“We have to,” Emily tells him. “We’ll need to keep you updated in case something changes.”
“And the closer we are to him, the faster we’re notified.”
“We have to keep these computers together so they can continue working as a team. Knox has his personal code-breaking process, and I have mine. You need us both.”
Taylor looks both pissed off and terrified.
I get it. Knox is his husband, and Emily is his sister.
“Let’s move,” Ghost says, already heading for the door.
I lift Evie gently, settling her back onto the couch. “Steel,” I warn, locking eyes with him.
“I got her,” he says. “Now, go and save the damsel in distress, Your Highness.”
Fucking Venom rubbing his smart ass-ness off on the one man who doesn’t get on my damn nerves.
As I grab my gear and follow the others, Evie’s voice calls out behind me. “Bring her home, Mitchell.”
I don’t look back, but I feel her words settle deep in my chest.
“I will,” I promise, though I don’t know if I’m reassuring her or myself.