Page 80 of Say You're Mine

But I push the thought aside, locking it away in the darkest recesses of my mind. I can't afford doubt, not now. Not when everything I hold dear hangs in the balance.

So I focus on the warmth of Cara in my arms, on the steely determination in Judith's eyes, on the quiet, steadfast support radiating from Sarah. I let their strength flow into me, shoring up the cracks in my armor.

Together, we'll weather this storm. Together, we'll claw our way out of the darkness and into the light. Together, we'll build a future so bright, it will burn the shadows of the past to ash.

Elaine Deveaux may think she's untouchable, that her web of secrets and lies will keep her safe from retribution. But she's about to learn the hard way that when you mess with a Deveaux, when you threaten the people we love...

There's no power on this earth that can save you from our wrath.

As the morning unfolds, as plans are made and alliances forged over cups of steaming coffee, I feel a sense of grim purpose settle over me like a second skin. The road ahead will be long and treacherous, paved with blood and sweat and tears.

But with Cara by my side, with our child nestled safe beneath her heart...

I know I can face anything. Endure anything. Overcome anything.

For them, for the family we've fought so hard to build...

There's no price I won't pay, no depths I won't plumb.

Elaine may be a monster, a blight upon this earth...

But I'm the man who's going to slay her. The avenging angel, the relentless hunter.

And when the dust settles, when the last blow is struck and the final secret unraveled...

I'll stand tall amidst the wreckage, my wife and child sheltered safe in the circle of my arms.

Victorious. Unbroken.

Free.

As the weight of our impending battle settles over the room, a sharp knock at the door cuts through the tension. We all freeze, exchanging wary glances. It's too soon for this to be part of Elaine's machinations, isn't it?

Then another. It's not a knock—it's the sound of inevitability, of our fragile peace crumbling around us.

"Police! Open up!"

The words slice through the air like shrapnel, leaving us frozen in the sudden, deafening silence that follows. Cara's hand finds mine, gripping so tightly I feel bones grind together. Her eyes, wide with a fear I haven't seen since Elaine's clutches, bore into mine.

"June," she whispers, her voice cracking. "What's happening?"

Before I can answer, before I can pull her into my arms and promise her that everything will be okay, the door explodes inward. A flood of uniformed officers pours in, weapons drawn, faces set in grim determination.

"Juniper Deveaux!" A burly sergeant steps forward, his voice booming in the confined space. "You're under arrest for the murder of Dr. Adrian Faulkner."

The name hits me like a physical blow. Faulkner. The architect of my nightmares, the man who tried to unmake me. Dead? By my hand? The absurdity of it would be laughable if it weren't so terrifying.

As the cuffs click shut around my wrists, a flash of memory sears through me - Faulkner's leering face, the bite of restraints, the helplessness. I struggle to breathe, to stay present.

'Cara,' I think desperately, seeking her eyes across the chaos of our violated home. She meets my gaze, and in that moment, I see it - the steel beneath her tears, the unspoken promise. We've survived worse. We'll survive this too.

But as they drag me away, a chill runs down my spine. One of the officers, his face oddly familiar, leans in close. 'Better hope that pretty wife of yours stays out of trouble,' he murmurs, his breath hot against my ear. 'Be a shame if something happened to her or that baby while you're locked up.'

The threat ignites something primal within me. As they shove me into the back of the police car, as Cara's anguished face recedes in the distance, I make a silent vow. I'll play their game for now. I'll let them think they've won. But they have no idea what I'm capable of. What we're capable of.

Elaine, Faulkner, this whole corrupt system - they're about to learn why you don't come between a man and the people he loves. The game has changed, Mother. And I've got checkmate in three.

Chapter twenty-four

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