Page 68 of Serpent King's Revenge

"Family?" Owen's voice softened, but the edge remained. "I am your family, Abby."

"Of course, you are," I replied quickly, feeling the sting of tears again. "But Nathan…he is too."

There was a heavy silence on the line, as if he was weighing my words, measuring them against some hidden scale only he could see.

"Are you talking about loyalty now?" he asked, skepticism oozing from every syllable. "Where do your loyalties truly lie, Abigail?"

I stopped pacing, taking a deep breath that did little to calm the fluttering in my chest. It felt like standing at the edge of a precipice, the ground uncertain beneath my feet.

"Daddy," I began, and I heard him grunt—a prompt to continue. "As you know by now, my loyalty," I said, each word etched with a conviction that came from somewhere deep within, "lies with my child."

“I know, but Abby--”

"Then you also know," I continued, “that I'll do whatever it takes to protect them."

The cold whispers of dawn brushed against my skin as I clutched the phone tighter, trying to brace myself for what came next. His voice softened just a fraction, and that small change felt like an anchor in the chaos.

“I know, but that’s why I’m so concerned–”

“Dad–”

“No, let me finish, Sprout. You need to keep yourself safe," he said, and his words were laced with an understanding that surprised me. "You're right. You’re carrying your child. That's what matters most now. You have to be safe so your baby is safe.”

I didn’t need to hear that from him; I knew I needed to keep my baby safe, but I also wasn’t some fragile flower. I’d fought myself out of more than a few life-threatening situations at this point, and they weren’t going to stop.

And with all the questions he’d had for me…there was one I had for him, too.

Because when I’d sent him to talk to Nathan at the county jail, I’d asked him to do one thing. To tell Nathan that I was pregnant, to give him hope for our future together. But somehow, despite my wishes, Nathan hadn’t known when I broke him out.

I cleared my throat, my voice quiet as I asked, “Why didn’t you tell him?”

I could tell from the silence that my dad already knew what I was asking…but he played dumb, just like he had when we had disagreements when I was growing up. “What are you talking about?”

“Why didn’t you tell Nathan I was pregnant?”

I heard him swallow, sigh. There was rustling on the other line, and I figured he must have gotten up to pace.

“Because I was still hoping you’d get out,” he finally said. “Come back with me to Boston. Leave this all behind.”

“I’m never going to leave him–”

“I know,” he said, voice rough. “Sprout…you scare the hell out of me. You drive me fucking crazy. Being your dad is rough sometimes.”

I tried not to let that get to me, not to let it hurt.

“But goddamn it, I’m still in,” he said. “I’ll keep protecting you, no matter what. You just make the call, and I’m there…come hell or high water.”

I bit my lip, holding back tears. Shit. I’d never cried this much in my whole life, and this baby was making everything harder. But at least I had the Vipers…at least I had the Zhou siblings, and I had Nathan back now.

And I had my dad, too.

“I won’t go so long without calling again,” I whispered. “I love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, Sprout,” he said. “Now go kick some ass, okay?”

“Okay,” I laughed, and then I hung up.

We were fractured, yes, but we were all together now. And once we’d gotten rid of Kenny, we could make this world safe for my child.

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