Chapter 26 Twenty Six
IDALIA SOLENE
The operating room was ice-cold and silent except for the steady beep of monitors and the soft whoosh of the ventilator.
I stood at the head of the table in full surgical armor — cap, mask, gown, gloves. My hands were rock-steady as I stared down at Kimberly Devereux’s open chest. The heart lay exposed, damaged and struggling, but still fighting.
Just like its owner.
“Scalpel,” I said calmly.
The nurse placed the instrument in my palm. For one brief second, I allowed myself to feel the weight of the moment. This woman had tried to have me killed. This woman had taken five years from my children. From me.
I could end it right here. One precise mistake. No one would ever prove it.
My eyes flicked to the observation gallery above. Thane stood behind the glass like a dark god, arms crossed, eyes locked on me. Even through the mask, he could see me. I felt his gaze like a brand on my skin.
I remembered last night — his body on mine, inside me, the raw, desperate way we had destroyed each other. The bite mark on his shoulder was probably still bleeding under his shirt.
I looked back down at Kimberly’s heart.
No. Death was too easy.
I wanted her to live with the consequences of what her family had done.
“Beginning graft,” I announced, voice clear and commanding. “Time stamp.”
The surgery lasted six hours and forty-three minutes.
When I finally stepped back and let the resident close, my shoulders were tight with exhaustion, but my mind was sharper than ever. I walked out of the OR, stripped off my bloody gown and gloves, and went straight to the scrub sink.
Thane was already waiting outside.
He looked wrecked in the best way possible — tie gone, sleeves rolled up, eyes burning with something dangerously close to worship.
“She made it?” he asked, voice rough.
I dried my hands slowly. “She’s stable. The next twenty-four hours are critical, but I did everything I could. More than she deserved.”
Thane stepped closer. The hallway was empty. He backed me against the wall, one large hand bracing beside my head.
“You were incredible in there,” he murmured, leaning down until his forehead nearly touched mine. “I watched every second. My wife… cutting open my mother’s chest like it was nothing. Fuck, Idalia.”
I shoved at his chest, but there was no real force behind it. “Stop calling me that.”
“You are my wife.” His voice dropped to that velvet rasp that always destroyed me. “Last night proved it.”
Last night had been a mistake. A beautiful, devastating mistake. I could still feel him between my legs, the soreness a constant reminder.
Before I could respond, Cassian appeared at the end of the corridor, walking briskly toward us with a tablet in hand. His expression was carefully neutral, but I saw the warning in his eyes.
“Dr. Solene,” he said professionally. “Post-op briefing in ten minutes. The family is waiting.”
Thane’s jaw flexed. He didn’t move away from me. “Cousin,” he greeted, cold and flat. “Funny how you always seem to appear whenever she’s involved.”
Cassian smiled tightly. “Just doing my job. Some of us actually work here.”
The tension between the two men crackled like live wires. Thane looked ready to throw a punch. Cassian looked ready to smile while he buried the knife.
I slipped away from Thane’s body. “I need to brief the family. Excuse me.”
THANE DEVEREUX
I watched her walk away, white coat flaring behind her like a battle flag.
She was magnificent. And she was still lying to me.
Jaxson’s latest report burned a hole in my pocket. New evidence. Wire transfers from Silas’s accounts to European clinics. Fake identities. Even a encrypted message from Cassian himself five years ago: The girl is dead. Long live Solene.
My cousin had stolen my wife. Had helped raise my children.
I turned on Cassian the second she disappeared around the corner.
“You helped her fake her death,” I said quietly. Dangerously.
Cassian didn’t deny it. He simply adjusted his cufflinks. “She would have died for real if I hadn’t. Your parents sent a cleaner after her, Thane. A fucking hitman.”
Rage exploded in my chest, hot and blinding. I grabbed Cassian by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
“My children,” I snarled. “You let me believe they were dead.”
Cassian met my eyes without fear. “They’re safer away from this poisonous family. Especially away from Julian and Kimberly. You know that.”
I released him with a shove.
“I want them back,” I said. “All of them. My wife. My son. My daughter. And if you stand in my way, cousin, blood or not, I will destroy you.”
Cassian straightened his coat, a dark smile playing on his lips.
“Good luck with that. She’s not the broken girl you lost anymore, Thane. She’s the weapon we built. And she’s still planning to burn your empire to the ground.”
He walked away, leaving me standing in the sterile hospital hallway with fists clenched and heart hammering.
I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Jaxson.
Thane: Full surveillance on Solene’s townhouse. I want eyes on my children by tonight.
Then I headed toward the private waiting room where my mother was being moved.
Idalia had saved her.
Now it was time for me to claim what was mine.
IDALIA SOLENE
I stood outside the ICU, watching Kimberly’s monitors through the glass.
She was alive. Against all odds, the surgery had been a success.
But as I turned to leave, I saw him.
Julian Devereux was walking down the hall with two large men in dark suits. His eyes locked on me with pure, venomous hatred.
And in his hand was a thick folder.
“Dr. Solene,” he called out, voice echoing. “Or should I say… Mrs. Idalia Devereux?”
My blood turned to ice.
He smiled, cold and triumphant, as he opened the folder.
“I think we need to have a little chat about your real identity… and the fact that you’ve been hiding my grandchildren for five years.”