The Bound Between Us

Mr. Walker stepped out of the bedroom, pausing at the door for a moment. He looked back at Autumn, who was resting quietly on the bed, then gently closed the door behind him.

In the study, his assistant came in carrying a stack of files. "Mr. Walker, here's what you asked for."

He opened the folder to find piles of photographs. They were snapshots of Autumn meeting Ben, along with some from her college days.

One group photo caught his eye-—it was a little blurry, but Mr. Walker immediately recognized the two men beside Autumn. Ben was on her left, Devin on her right.

Back in college, Autumn was the belle of the class-everyone loved her.

Without a word, Mr. Walker slid the photos into a manila envelope, his face giving nothing away. He turned to his assistant. “What's happening over there?"

"Last night, Rowan was poisoned and Jason rushed him to the hospital. They managed to save him, and he was sent home this morning," the assistant reported. "Rowan's sticking to his story, insisting Mrs. Walker was the one behind it all."

Mr. Walker's expression darkened. Trouble doesn't come out of nowhere, and now it was Autumn who was in the crosshairs—she wouldn't be able to walk away from this so easily.

He'd already suspected Autumn might be involved in Anastasia's kidnapping. Now, all the signs pointed right to her.

The assistant watched him, a hint of worry in his eyes. "Sir, I really don't think Mrs. Walker had anything to do with this."

Whether she did or not, Mr. Walker knew the truth deep down. With all this evidence and Rowan's accusation, if it weren't for his protection, Autumn would have been hauled in for questioning already.

“Go on,” Mr. Walker said, waving him off. “Call me if anything comes up at the office."

"Yes, sir."

"Have someone keep an eye on Herman. I want

"Yes, sir."

the scene. That didn't sit right with

was accusing him of being the mastermind behind her kidnapping, it didn't make sense that he was

cigar. Alone in the study,

knew exactly what it meant to protect Autumn, and the conflict ate at

doing right by others, never once betraying his conscience. But today, he knew he

dedicated to

ever showing her the care she deserved. Husband and wife were supposed to be a team-he couldn't let her down

he searched for the truth in secret, he did everything he could to keep

darker as evening settled

Walker left the house alone, no security

Elysian Technologies, Herman had just stepped out of the building when he spotted Mr.

understood what

ahead," Herman said to his men.

with

positions, Mr. Walker calling him by his first

was cool, almost indifferent, as he played dumb.

we talk privately?" Mr. Walker's voice was friendly,

Herman replied. He wanted to

or later, they'd have to face off. The more you

which had been cleared out for