Chapter 228

Chapter 228
Jake's POV

We landed just after two in the morning.

Sadie still hadn't woken up. I'd really worn her out.

My assistant was waiting on the tarmac, looking like he'd rather be literally anywhere else. Can't blame him—I'd called him at midnight and told him to get his ass to the airport.

He took one look at Sadie—limp and draped over my shoulder like a ragdoll—and wisely kept his mouth shut.

I settled her into the backseat of the car, arranging her so her head was on my lap. She made a small sound and curled into me, still fast asleep.

"Montgomery Estate," I told the driver.

Through the rearview mirror, I caught my assistant sneaking glances. At Sadie's neck, where the hoodie had slipped down. At the marks clearly visible on her skin.

"Eyes front," I said quietly.

He faced forward so fast I almost laughed.

The drive took forty minutes. I spent the entire time watching her sleep, one hand tangled in her hair. She looked so small like this. Fragile. Nothing like the girl who'd run from me three years ago.

That girl had been strong enough to disappear without a trace. Strong enough to stay hidden even when I'd burned through every resource I had trying to find her.

This girl... this girl was mine. And she was never getting away again.

When we pulled up to the estate, I carried her straight upstairs to one of the guest rooms that had been converted into her original bedroom. The bed was already made—the staff knew better than to slack off—and I laid her down carefully, tucking the blankets around her.

She mumbled something in her sleep and rolled over, burying her face in the pillow.

I stood there for a long moment, just watching her. The dark circles under her eyes. The way her curls spread across the white pillowcase. The rise and fall of her breathing.

Then I went downstairs to the study.

My head of staff was waiting, looking appropriately nervous.

"From now on," I said quietly, "her word is my word. She frowns, you're all fired. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

I turned to the head of security—a woman named Sloane who I'd specifically hired because she didn't take shit from anyone. "She loses a single hair on your watch, you answer to me personally."

Sloane nodded once. "Understood."

They filed out, leaving me alone in the dark study.

Through the window, I could see the sky starting to lighten. Dawn. A new day.

She was home. Finally.

And this time, I was making damn sure she stayed.

I pulled out the file my assistant had compiled—the one I'd requested on Phoenix Brooks. Sadie's biological father.

The first page was a photo. Dark hair, sharp features, and those same hazel eyes that had haunted me for three years.

"Knew it," I muttered.

Then the memories hit.

---

Rain. Cold and sharp, mixing with blood on the pavement.

I was on my knees, head ringing from where someone had hit me from behind. Through blurred vision, I saw him—the man from the photo. Older, harder, but definitely him.

"You working with my uncle?" I spat blood. "With Elijah?"

He looked confused. "You know me?"

I laughed, even though it hurt. "You're about to ruin your daughter's life. She wants to be a diplomat. You know that? She's got dreams. And you're gonna destroy them."

Something flickered in his eyes. "My daughter... is she—is she okay?"

"She's perfect," I said. "She's good and smart and nobody would ever hurt her. Unlike you."

I tried to stand, to walk away. Then everything went black.

---

I opened my eyes, back in the present.

That's how it happened. That's how I lost those three months.

Her father had hit me from behind. Caused the traumatic brain injury that made me forget her.

I flipped to the last page of the file.

Current Status: Incarcerated. 15-year sentence. Charges: Assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, kidnapping.

The rage came back all at once.

I swept the entire file off the desk, papers flying everywhere like snow. My assistant, who'd been hovering by the door, actually flinched.

I closed my eyes, forcing the anger down. Forcing myself to think.

Sadie's dream had been to work in international relations. To be a diplomat. And now her father was in prison for violent crimes.

That dream was dead.

And she'd known. She'd known when she left three years ago that everything she'd worked for was gone.

Is that why she ran? To spare me from the scandal? Or because she couldn't face me knowing her future was destroyed?

I pressed my palms against my eyes, breathing hard.

If I could go back, I'd kill him. Phoenix Brooks. I'd kill him and take whatever punishment came after. Because the thought of Sadie carrying that pain alone, of her dreams dying in the dark while I forgot she even existed—

It made me want to burn the whole world down.

But I couldn't go back.

All I could do was make sure she never had to face anything alone again.

I looked up at the ceiling, toward the room where she was sleeping.

She was home now. Safe. Mine.

And I was never letting her go.