Chapter 15 Killian
“Chloe seemed lucid yesterday,” I said, cutting through the mindless chatter. I set my fork down with deliberate calm. “At the lake. She looked… normal.”
The table went dead silent.
Ava’s knife froze mid-spread over her toast. Arthur’s thumb stilled on his phone. Olivia’s face twisted like she’d bitten into something sour.
“What was the sedation for? What drugs were used?” I continued, pinning Ava with the same flat stare that had made warlords sweat. “She wasn’t hysterical. She wasn’t violent. She was standing by the water humming. She looked like a healthy young woman.”
Ava recovered first, folding her hands neatly in her lap. “Chloe’s condition is… complicated. What you saw was just a brief window of calm. Those never last. It’s like a fever breaking before the delirium returns.”
“She was humming a song while swimming,” I corrected, my voice dropping. “There’s a difference between that and madness.”
Olivia jumped in, her pitch climbing. “Healthy people don’t just wander off and hum to the moon, Killian.”
Arthur finally looked up, he was trying to keep his anger from showing on his face.
“This is a private family matter, son. Not exactly breakfast conversation.”
“I’m marrying into this family,” I said, leaning back. The chair creaked under my weight. “That makes Chloe my family too. I’d like to get to know her. Maybe have dinner with her tonight.”
Olivia’s fork clattered against her plate.
“No,” Ava said too quickly. She forced a pained smile. “Not tonight. We have Sunday dinner with extended family and friends. The noise, the people — it would be cruel to subject her to that.”
“Then another night before I leave.”
“We’ll see,” Arthur said, using that smooth executive brush-off I was learning to hate.
I kept my expression neutral. “I have a doctor friend. World-renowned. She specializes in trauma and cases like Chloes. I could have her fly in for a second opinion.”
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Ava’s throat worked as she swallowed. “That’s… incredibly generous. But Chloe’s care team has been with her since the beginning. We wouldn’t want to disrupt her routine. Continuity is key to her safety.”
Her safety. Or your control?
I took a slow sip of coffee, letting the bitterness ground me. “Of course.”
Arthur changed the subject with all the grace of a fucking brick. “How’s your grandfather? Still fighting?”
“Every day.”
“Good stock,” Arthur nodded, as if praising livestock. “The wedding can’t come soon enough. Joining our families — that’s the legacy he wanted, isn’t it? His final wish.”
“Something like that.”
Olivia reached over and squeezed my hand, her touch cold and far too comfortable for me. “I’m so excited, Killian. Once we’re married, everything will settle. You’ll see.”
Once the papers for Chloe are signed.
The words echoed in my head. I excused myself as soon as I could, walking through the hallway lined with dead Landry portraits. The second I was alone, I pulled out my phone.
Father holds power of attorney on her. I texted Cartier.
The three dots appeared. Disappeared. My pulse hammered in my ears as I stared at the attic door above me.
Cartier’s reply came through a moment later:
I already know. Heading your way now. Everything I found will blow your fucking mind.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket, jaw tight.
I didn’t know what he’d uncovered yet, but one thing was crystal clear:
I wasn’t leaving Chloe in this house when I left.