CHAPTER 49
The house was silent when Jasper walked in. He tossed his keys onto the shelf, crouched to loosen his laces, and then flipped the light switch.
The sudden brightness cut across his eyes and he saw his daughter immediately.
Lynn sat curled up tightly on the couch, knees pulled to her chest. She looked at him with a gaze that was angry, defiant, and guilty all at once. Like a cornered animal.
Jasper exhaled.
She’d come back.
“You said I had to be home in thirty minutes,” she snapped. “And you’re the one who didn’t show up.”
He stayed silent. Took off his jacket, draped it over the back of a chair, walked into the kitchen, and switched on the coffee maker.
Silence rang between them. He felt her sharp, hurt stare. And something inside him tightened into a suffocating knot.
He wanted to yell. To demand what the hell she was thinking. How she could possibly get involved with Nolan. But the words wouldn’t come. He couldn’t risk losing her—not after everything.
“I went to see Nina,” he finally said, watching the coffee drip.
Lynn twitched slightly but said nothing.
“She…” He inhaled slowly. “She’d like to get to know you better.”
He didn’t know why he said it. Maybe he was trying to bridge the gaping distance between them with anything he could.
Lynn didn’t react. She only hugged her knees tighter.
Jasper placed her cup on the coffee table and sat down opposite her.
“I’m not thrilled about it either,” he admitted. “That woman… technically has nothing to do with our lives. But—”
He rubbed his face wearily.
“If you want to know the woman who gave birth to you,” he continued, voice low, “I won’t stand in your way. As a person… she’s not bad. And she has her own issues to deal with.”
Lynn lowered her head, her hair hiding her face. He couldn’t tell whether she was crying or furious. But he could guess.
“It’s hard to accept,” she said quietly, her voice strained to the breaking point.
Jasper nodded slowly. It wasn’t easy for him either.
She lifted her eyes—full of pain, confusion, resentment.
“Why didn’t you tell me all these years?” she whispered.
His fingers tightened around the armrest.
“Because I didn’t want you to feel abandoned or unwanted,” he said hoarsely. “It was better if you thought she was gone.”
Lynn rested her chin on her knees. The slight trembling of her shoulders told him how hard she was holding herself together.
“We were doing fine,” he went on. “She never came. Lived her life, and we lived ours. Her showing up now… it’s a coincidence. No one planned this.”
A few heavy seconds passed.
“It still hurts,” Lynn said.
He stayed silent. There were no words capable of making it easier.
“Are you mad at me about Nolan?” she asked quietly.
Jasper let out a short, humorless breath.
“I’ll talk to him myself,” he said, his voice hard.
Lynn shifted nervously.
“Dad, please…” she whispered, twisting her fingers. “He’s good. He loves me. I think—”
“I know Nolan,” Jasper cut her off. His voice came out rougher than he intended. “Better than you think. Believe me, sweetheart—right now you need to stay away from him.”
Lynn dropped her head again. Her hair hid her face, but Jasper could still see it—she was hurt, conflicted, torn between love and loyalty.
He exhaled through clenched teeth and set his cup down.
“I don’t want you crying because of someone like him,” he said quietly. “And I won’t let anyone hurt you. Not even myself, if it comes to that.”
Lynn lifted her eyes.
“I love you, Dad,” she whispered almost inaudibly.
He moved to her, sat beside her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him—the same way she had when she was little. Nothing else mattered. She was his daughter. And he would do anything to keep her safe.
***
Sitting in his car, Jasper tapped his fingers lightly against the steering wheel.
Five men. One in plain clothes, four in tactical armor. Clean, precise, silent. They grabbed Frank at the main entrance. He didn’t even have time to understand what was happening. Questions, takedown, handcuffs. Face pressed to the hood.
The expensive coat fabric was smeared with dust. Only when the cuffs clicked shut did he start looking around, trying to identify who was behind it.
Jasper watched from his car. Cold. Detached.
Frank was shocked. Truly shocked—no bravado, no smirk. Real panic cracked through his mask of confidence at last.
Jasper's phone vibrated.
A message from Nolan.
“Clean. Press release sent. Everything went as planned.”
They had been in a cold war for five days now—short phrases, minimal contact. Jasper tolerated it only for Lynn’s sake. Because if he hit Nolan, he would lose her for good.
But later… later they would talk.
If Nolan ever dared hurt her.
Jasper kept watching as Frank was violently shoved into the back of a government car. The door slammed shut, sealing the fate of the man who had nearly destroyed them all. A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of Jasper’s mouth.
Frank had thought he was untouchable. That he could threaten, manipulate, ruin lives with impunity.
He was wrong.
Jasper turned the ignition. The engine hummed to life, a low, powerful sound. He pulled out of the parking lot. The clinic was ahead, an emergency operation waiting for him—routine work that, for a precious while, pushed everything personal aside.
He glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror. He should have felt relieved.
But he didn’t. Only profoundly empty. The rage was gone, leaving a vacuum where satisfaction should have been.
Fine. Later. For now—work. Life didn’t wait. And Frank could sit in jail for a while. He could think about life. If he was capable of thinking at all.