Chapter 148

Luca stood behind his desk at Cyber 10 the next morning, hating the fact he had to leave Sutton. But she had been heading to the hospital to be with Miles, and Luca had to make sure she had protection every step of the way. There was no way he was going to take any chances with her life.

His gaze had been locked

I on the skyline for over ten minutes, not reading a single line of the reports Jake had forwarded him. He really didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be with Sutton and Miles. He’d taken so much time off since Sutton’s fall. But soon they would be together.

The only shadow he could see now was Nicole–and he had no idea how to handle her. If he didn’t do something, she would always be a threat, and he couldn’t see Sutton being happy living under protection all the time.

He hadn’t told Sutton about the ongoing text messages and voicemalls from Nicole. She hadn’t been stupid enough to turn up here. But she hadn’t stopped since his press conference.

He knew Sutton didn’t want secrets; she was already going through so much. He hated the fact that Miles was still in the hospital, but Sutton, as his mother, was going through hell.

She had woken up crying this morning, and all he could do was hold her until she stopped. He wasn’t saying he didn’t feel the same pain, but his hurt wasn’t that of a woman that had held that tiny baby inside. The doctor at the hospital had warned him that Sutton would experience many emotions, including guilt. That somehow it was her fault that she hadn’t been able to carry Miles to term.

His phone rang. Seeing his lawyer’s number, Luca took the call.

“Tell me,” he said without introduction.

The head of his legal team didn’t mince words. “We got confirmation.”

Luca’s grip on the phone tightened.

His lawyer continued, “The second battery of psychological evaluations ordered by our team confirmed what you suspected. Nicole doesn’t suffer from delusions or any type of mental illness. No dissociation or temporary impairment. She was acting like a spoiled child, not having things go her way.”

“She knew what she was doing, so no impairment at all?”

“Nicole tried to fool us during the first lot of tests,” his lawyer confirmed. “She’s not insane, Luca. She’s cognitively sound. Just manipulative, with paranoid personality traits and narcissistic defense patterns. But fully aware of her actions and capable of understanding consequences. She’s smart and knew she would be a free woman if she were to be found insane. The second lot of tests were more in–depth, and she couldn’t hold on to the act.”

The silence stretched long.

Then, Luca exhaled slowly. “She is still dangerous to Sutton and my son,” he said quietly.

“Yes.”

“Go after her.” His voice was like steel through velvet. “Press charges. Every single one we can validate. Espionage, trespassing, hacking, security violations. Anything and everything. I want her so buried in legal hell, she won’t have enough air to breathe, let alone come after Sutton or Miles.”

today. The DA can review by close of business.” His

the line without

Nicole thought she could slither out of this, if she

left little to the imagination. Her hair curled around her shoulders. The doorman would have let her know he was corning up, so Luca wasn’t fooled by her appearance. It

into her apartment and closed the door. He wanted no one to hear what he had to say aside from

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Chapter 148

listen to what went on next because if Nicole tried to claim he

had allowed her this and also the funds to hire the hacker. But unlike his and Sutton’s place i

she breathed, voice dipping into

She reached for him.

up calmly, stopping her before her hands could touch his

“Don’t,” he said flatly.

didn’t falter. But it cracked just the slightest bit. “Don’t be like this. You didn’t answer my messages. I thought you might finally want to talk

an us. And there never will be.” His voice didn’t

laugh escaping her lips. “Okay, well… that’s a hell of a

“You worked for me. End of story.

she snapped, smoothing

to act noble now. Admit you were

Not appraising. Just disgusted. “In all

if he’d slapped her. But he wasn’t

me begging for it, I still wouldn’t want you. I

regret

for comfort. Dangerously close. His whole body vibrating

have backed away. But she held her ground. The

“I regret allowing you access

little girls like me with bodyguards and legal teams? I know about your plans to have me charged. My lawyer called about ten minutes ago. I was just planning on how I could make your

in her

given you a real life. Power. She is

saw him move, he had

The other just beneath her collarbone, not hard enough to bruise, just hard enough to hold her in place so she knew he meant every

“I want you to listen very carefully,” he said softly, his voice more lethal

again… if you so much as step foot on a sidewalk outside Miles‘ hospital… I will take you apart piece by piece. You won’t even hear it coming. And no one–no security team, no lawyer, no family… will find your body when I’m done. I will take you apart

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