Chapter 80

Nathan's POV

I settled Christopher in the back seat of my car, my heart heavy with guilt. Every time I glanced at him through the rearview mirror, I saw the trust in his eyes—trust I was about to betray. But I had no choice. I needed to protect Lily and our baby, no matter the cost.

"I forgot my shoes," Christopher said, looking down at his socked feet.

"Don't worry about your shoes," I replied, trying to sound reassuring.

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel. Lily would never forgive me for this. Her words echoed in my mind—_"If you hand him over to Joseph or your family, I will never forgive you."_ The thought of losing her trust cut deeper than any knife, but I'd rather have her alive and hating me than dead and loving me.

We only had four and a half hours before Antonio's deadline. Four and a half hours to prevent a war that would destroy everything I loved.

Christopher leaned forward, peering out the window with confusion etched on his face. "Your apartment should be that way..." His voice trailed off as he slowly realized we weren't heading where I'd promised.

The look on his face made my stomach turn. Betrayal. It was the same expression I'd seen countless times before—on business partners I'd double-crossed, on enemies I'd deceived—but never on a child who trusted me.

I glanced at him briefly. "Christopher, you know I would never do anything to hurt you, right?"

He nodded hesitantly. "I know you're protecting Lily."

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I had to say next. "Then you also know you need to go back to your brother."

"No—no, I don't want to go!" Panic filled his voice as he pressed himself against the car door, as if trying to get as far away from me as possible.

"Christopher, calm down—Joseph won't hurt you, I'll make sure of it," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "My plan requires you to go back to your brother temporarily."

"I can't go back—Antonio will kill me for helping Tyler," he cried, tears streaming down his face. "He'll hurt me!"

Each sob felt like a dagger to my chest. I was the monster parents warned their children about.

"He won't. I'll talk to your brother. This is only temporary—once everything is settled, I'll come back for you, I promise. Trust me."

Christopher wiped his tears with the back of his hand. "Lily was right," he whispered, his voice breaking.

"No, she was wrong. I'm going to save both of you—you just need to trust me." I couldn't let him see how uncertain I felt about my own plan.

I pulled out my phone and called my father, putting it on speaker.

"The plan has changed," I said without preamble. "I need everyone ready. We have four hours before we meet Antonio."

My father sighed heavily on the other end. "I should drop dead right now."

"You need to pull yourself together," I replied, my voice sharp. "I need you to send Michael, Jake, and as many men as possible to protect Lily. She needs all the security we can provide."

"Nathan, I'm not doing anything until you tell me what's going on!" My father's voice boomed through the speaker, causing Christopher to flinch.

"I'll be there in an hour. Just have everyone ready." I paused before adding, "And make sure no one tells Lily about this. No one."

"Your brother is giving me such a headache—" I ended the call before he could finish his complaint.

I glanced at Christopher in the mirror again. He had stopped crying, but his eyes were red and puffy. I hated myself for what I was doing, but I couldn't see another way out.

Lily was both the most frustrating and the most amazing woman I'd ever met. Her reckless courage was infuriating—who else would risk everything to save a brother she barely knew and a child who wasn't even hers? But it was also what made me love her. She stood for what was right, consequences be damned. If she hadn't saved Christopher and Tyler, I couldn't imagine what might have happened to them.

I dialed Victoria's number next.

"Nathan!" Her voice was irritatingly excited. "Did Lily tell you everything?"

Despite her help with rescuing Tyler, I couldn't forget her betrayal. The wounds were still fresh.

"I hear you fixed about zero point one percent of the mess you created," I said coldly. "Do you want a reward? A cookie, perhaps?"

"Charming as always," she replied, her voice tight with forced cheerfulness. There was some shuffling on the other end, and then Tyler's voice came through.

"Sounds like your path to redemption isn't going smoothly," he said dryly.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you," I said, sincerity bleeding into my voice despite my usual façade. "You were never supposed to be involved in any of this."

"And yet you didn't do anything about it because my life wasn't worth as much as the dozens of others at stake," Tyler cut in. "It's over now. Just worry about Lily and the baby. We all care about them."

I took a deep breath. What I was about to say would shock him. "I'm giving Lily to Antonio."

"W-what?" Tyler's voice cracked. "You're handing her over to the enemy? Are you insane?"

"Think about it," I replied, keeping my voice calm. "Antonio hasn't killed you despite knowing some of the truth. I believe it's because he wants both of you together. As long as you and Lily are separated, you're both safe."

"So your brilliant plan is to use her as bait?" The rage in his voice was unmistakable.

"My plan is to save her life," I shot back. "You need to start by telling the Donovan family everything. This only works if Antonio can't get to you—so you need their protection."

There was a long pause on the other end. Finally, Tyler spoke again, his voice resigned. "If that's what it takes to keep her safe, I'll do it. She got us into this mess by saving me."

"Joseph will help us because I'm giving Christopher back to him," I continued, explaining the next phase of my plan.

"Why would Joseph help us?" Tyler asked, confused.

I swallowed hard. "Because he loves Lily."

The words tasted bitter on my tongue, but I knew they were true. If Joseph had truly wanted to get close to Lily, he would have done so long ago.

"Lily is going to turn herself in, she just doesn't know it yet," I added. "And don't tell her—she's probably the worst actress in the world."

"So you're lying to her?" Tyler's voice was accusatory.

"I'm doing what's necessary to protect everyone," I replied firmly. "In four hours, both your lives will be in danger. I need you and Victoria to go to my family and stay close until I finish dealing with Joseph."

Victoria chimed in, "Of course, Nathan! I'm so glad you care about us."

I rolled my eyes, not bothering to correct her misunderstanding. I hung up and turned to Christopher.

"Ready to help me?" I asked.

He nodded, a determined look replacing his earlier fear. "Yes, I trust you, Nathan! I'm a better actor than Lily."

Despite everything, I couldn't help but smile. I dialed Joseph's number and put it on speaker again.

"Nathan," Joseph answered, his voice tight with anger, "I swear if you've done anything—"

"I'm fine!" Christopher interrupted. "Nathan and Lily have been nice to me—I went to them on my own."

"Christopher?" Joseph's voice softened immediately. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"No! They protected me," Christopher insisted. "Joseph, give up on Antonio and your revenge. Let's live happily like before, just you and me."

"Christopher, I—"

"I'm sorry I left, and I'm sorry I worried you—but you pushed me, and that's not acceptable," Christopher continued, his voice stronger than I'd ever heard it.

There was silence on the other end. Then Joseph spoke, his voice choked with emotion. "Yes, yes—you're right, I'm a monster, I'm sorry. Come home, we can fix this!"

"Joseph," I cut in, "you're on the losing side. Christopher has done something, and now his life is in danger."

"What are you talking about?" Panic edged into Joseph's voice.

"If you want to save Christopher, you'll do exactly as I say."

"Fine, what do I need to do?" he agreed too easily. "I'm at my place."

"I need you to get rid of everyone immediately. What Christopher has done is serious—you can't trust them anymore. In four hours from now, they'll all turn on him."

I gripped the steering wheel tighter, suspicion creeping in at how readily Joseph agreed. Either he truly cared for his brother, or he was playing me.

"If you're playing me," I warned, "I won't give you Christopher. I've heard how you treated him."

After hanging up, I turned to Christopher. "Remember what I told you about pretending?"

"You're going to use me to threaten my brother?" he asked, surprisingly calm for a child his age.

"Yes, something like that—it might be scary, but I would never do anything to hurt you in my life, you know that, right?"

Christopher nodded, his trust in me unwavering. "Yes, or else Lily would kill you."

I chuckled humorlessly. "I think that's going to happen either way."