Chapter 99 Chapter Ninety-eight
ARA
The milkshake had gone warm in my glass, the whipped cream melting into a sad swirl. I pushed it aside and folded my hands over the curve of my belly, letting my thumb trace the seam of my sweater.
It was a small, private habit that grounded me while the rest of the diner buzzed with stolen glances and whispered questions.
People had their phones out now. More than a handful. They were pretending to take selfies, angling their cameras toward our table, toward me.
The hostess had already circled the table twice, refilling water I hadn’t asked for, her eyes wide with the same disbelief I saw on every face.
They had all read the headlines earlier. Thayne Slade and his pregnant mistress, presumed dead after a midnight ambush on the river. Bodies never recovered. Slade Senior’s carefully worded statement about “tragic loss” and “ongoing investigations” had left very little for them to wonder about.
But we'd shown up in Su Cheval, alive, laughing and sharing fries like none of it had happened.
I felt the shift in the air before I heard the confirmation in my earpiece.
I'd been counting down for fifteen minutes since Thayne left. The plan said I was to insert the earpiece into my ear exactly fifteen minutes after.
A clipped voice rasped out the latest update. “Slade Senior’s detail confirmed. Four Escalades turning onto Randolph. Five minutes out.”
A beat later: “Your father's convoy still en route from O’Hare. ETA twelve minutes.”
Slade Senior was coming first. Exactly as we hoped. He was coming straight for the kill, but did he know he was the prey today?
I lifted my phone, opened the camera, and pretended to fix my lipstick. The reflection showed me the front windows perfectly.
A man in a dark coat wearing a black cap that looked like it'd been borrowed from Peaky Blinders lingered across the street.
His hands were tucked in his pockets, while his hidden eyes were fixed on the diner.
Another sat in a parked Town Car, the driver’s window cracked just enough for a lens.
I smiled sweetly at my own reflection, the way a happy, pregnant woman waiting for her husband should smile.
Inside me, I was trembling from panic, from everything that could go wrong. This wasn't a movie script, this was real life.
Thayne’s voice came through the ear piece next, calm as ever.
“Walking into the store now. Nadia’s ready. Are you okay, baby?”
Despite the tension, I couldn't hide the blush staining my cheeks.
I brushed a strand of hair from my face, then murmured just loud enough for the mic.
“Never better.
The minutes crawled like a pregnant snail.
I ate a fry, drank water, then laughed at a text I pretended to receive.
Five minutes. Then four. The first Escalade rolled past the front window. It was black, tinted, and moving too carefully to be casual. It parked half a block down.
Three minutes later, another three followed, sliding into spots across the street.
Exactly two minutes after, the doors opened.
Slade Senior stepped out of the lead vehicle, his hair catching the streetlights, his coat buttoned against the wind.
His face was stony, eyes scanning the diner with predatory focus. When they landed on me through the glass, triumph flashed across his features.
He started forward, four guards falling in behind him. My heart began to beat a panicky rhythm, but I kept my posture relaxed, sipping my water and scrolling idly.
The door chimed, and Slade Senior entered, his men spreading out to block exits and clear sight lines.
Conversations died out immediately and people lowered their phones from fear and curiosity.
He walked straight to my table, stopping just close enough for his shadow to fall over me.
“Hello, Arayna,” I hated the way he called my full name. “You’ve been rather difficult to get rid of.”
I looked up, meeting his cold gaze with a calm smile. “Have I?”
His eyes flicked to my belly, naked greedy gleaming in them.
“You’re coming with me. Quietly. The babies need proper care. Family care.” He smiled maliciously.
His men closed in, their gloved hands reaching for me. That was the moment his phone rang.
He frowned, but he still pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the screen.
His frown deepened, and he pursed his lips as he picked the call.
The voice on the other end was Munroe's. The conversation was loud enough for me to hear.
“Sir, we have confirmation. Arayna is at the Van Cleef on Oak Street. Slade Junior just walked in with her. They’re looking at rings. I think they want to make their secret marriage official now.”
Slade Senior’s face went slack.
“What?”
He spun toward the window, staring down the street as if he could see the jewelry store from here.
His men hesitated, looking to him for orders.
That single heartbeat of confusion and ractured attention was all we needed.
The first shot cracked from a rooftop across the street. Slade Senior’s lead man dropped, smoke curling out from a neat hole in his forehead.
The second shot took out the man still reaching for my arm.
Chaos exploded. Glass shattered as more rounds poured in. Slade Senior dove for cover behind a booth, still clutching his phone in his hand, shouting orders that no one could follow.
His remaining men spun, raising their weapons, searching for threats that came from every angle.
My father’s convoy screeched to a halt outside at that exact second. It was too late to coordinate and too early to retreat.
The doors burst open, and my father burst in, his face purple with rage, his own men pouring through the entrance.
He saw the bodies, saaw Slade Senior crouched behind the booth, saw me standing untouched in the center of it all.
Both men locked eyes across the wreckage, realization hit them at the same moment. They’d been played.
Thayne’s voice in my ear reminded me I was not alone. “Ara, follow the side exit out. Don't panic, I have you covered.”
I moved, walking through the screaming crowd, past overturned tables and spilled blood, straight out the side exit where the SUV waited.
Thayne was already inside, Nadia seated beside him with a pale face. He pulled me in, the door slamming shut as we peeled away.
Thayne was speaking to me, praising me for managing my role efficiently, but I wasn't listening. My eyes were trained on Nadia's hands which were concealed in her coat.
She lifted her head and our eyes collided. She was up to something, I just knew it. She whipped out her arm and I blocked her from piercing Thayne's neck with the syringe in her hand.
“What the fuck?!” Thayne cursed, grabbing Nadia's hands and twisting them to immobilize her.
But it was already too late. When I raised my arm to block Nadia's attack, the syringe got my arm.
“Thayne…” I wheezed, then I fell back in my seat, my eyes shutting on their own accord.