CHAPTER 407. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. Trust MeJohn was on a roll. He could feel it in each of his two broken bones. It wasn’t just because he had struck a deal with Mamma and the Conte, but because he knew they wouldn’t go back on their word. At least on their end, the clients would return to Asterion Bank.Now, he faced another battle, one much tougher because it was against people who were used to being untouchable.“Malcolm Sabater, none other than the Chief of Staff of the White House.”The president’s right-hand man and the one who knew all forty-six dignitaries in the government who kept their corrupt money at Asterion.“Is everything ready?” John asked Billy as soon as he landed in Switzerland, and Billy handed him the Malcolm Sabater file.“Now the hardest part remains, and that depends on your wife’s goodwill,” Billy warned, not seeming too confident about that particular fact.However, John seemed more than determined. “Give the package to Speedy. He knows what to do.”From t
CHAPTER 408. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. ChocochipsJhon was good at many things, and threatening with precision and conviction was one of them. Perhaps that’s why the next day Noémi was surprised when she was told that Malcom Sabater had returned and wanted to see her."Excuse me, what did you say?" she asked, needing to confirm because she thought her ears had deceived her. "Did you say 'reopen his account'?"The White House Chief of Staff nodded without offering many more explanations, and within a couple of hours, everything was set up again.The following week was just as strange, so much so that when Noémi went to visit Chiara six days later, she didn’t even know where to start."Is it bad news?" Chiara asked when she saw her sister’s expression."No… I don’t think so… I don’t know!" exclaimed Noémi, sitting beside her on the sofa. "Ara, the Mamma was at the bank."Chiara felt her voice leave her, and her heart raced so fast she could hear it thudding in her ears."Did she do anything
CHAPTER 409. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. Shall we play tonight?Chiara hung up and placed the phone beside her as she kept her eyes fixed on the floor. Then she curled up on the bed and closed her eyes, trying to process everything that was happening, especially what she had just learned.Three hours later, Jhon started to worry, but eventually, he saw her get up to have something for dinner. She walked her usual rounds around the room and then stopped in front of the box where she had stored the chess set and the remnants of the tablet they used to communicate."We shouldn’t have broken this, right, baby?" she said, caressing her belly. "Sometimes we feel like talking to someone, even if that someone is your father and he drives us crazy."Jhon felt his heart swell when he heard those words, and within seconds, he was already asking Billy to prepare another tablet for him. He was sure that for Speedy, smuggling it into the prison wouldn’t be any harder than the first time, and Jhon smiled
CHAPTER 410. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. DarknessHe could have stammered, trembled, mumbled, run... any reaction would have been valid at that moment, but Jhon just stood there, frozen, looking into her eyes as his own filled with tears that he couldn’t hold back.The pajamas Chiara wore weren’t loose, so he could see the slight curve of her belly, just starting to show."Are you spying on me?" she hissed, though the question was purely rhetorical. Of course, he was spying on her! "I asked you a question, Jhon! Or do you want me to scream in the middle of the night and see if you can escape all the guards that will come running?"He shook his head, trying to approach, but Chiara’s first instinct was to step back."How...? How did you figure it out?" he asked."‘Special clients,’" she replied in an icy tone. "My sister said those words, and less than ten minutes later, you repeated the exact same ones, referring to the same people."Jhon closed his eyes, grimacing. It seemed like he was lo
CHAPTER 411. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. An Important DecisionShe wanted to hate him; it was much easier that way because she needed someone to blame for everything that was happening. But the truth was, hating Jhon Hopkins wasn’t that simple.She couldn’t sleep the rest of that night, but the next morning, as soon as the sun came up, she stood in front of that bookshelf and began pulling out one book after another, reading through them. Each one had passages like the first she had read—words full of regret, painful because Chiara knew they were true.If Jhon was there watching over her, it meant he could no longer be at the agency working. She understood that the only reason a man like him would have left the job he’d built his life around was for her and their child. Nothing else mattered to him anymore, and he was proving it.She closed her eyes for a moment and remembered the bruises on his face and his split lip. He had to have been desperate to walk into the lion’s den of the ‘Ndrang
CHAPTER 412. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. What’s it going to beIf it hadn’t been for how heavy the equipment was, and the fact that he couldn’t make a sound, Jhon would have shot himself over the outer wall with a cannon. But instead, Billy took control of the cameras again, and Jhon climbed as quietly as he could.Twenty minutes later, in the most perfect darkness, Jhon slipped through the terrace window and into the room.Chiara was sitting on the couch, legs crossed beneath her, looking expectant. The lights were off, and only a small nearby lamp allowed them to see each other. Jhon approached slowly, as if afraid to startle her.“Hi,” he whispered softly as he sat down across from her and handed her a package, which made her smile.“Chocochips,” Chiara murmured, and he nodded.“I’ve got like fifty packs at home since you said they were one of your cravings,” Jhon replied. “If that’s not true, just let me know, and I’ll let the guys steal them—like they haven’t tried already.”Chiara str
CHAPTER 413. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. Trust Yourself“And you won’t have to worry because Daddy’s going to kill all the bad guys in the world, and the monsters, and the ghosts, and the boyfriends...”“So, genocide?”“Leave me alone—she’s mine. No one’s going to take her away. She’ll be a nun,” Jhon replied, gripping her hips and resting his forehead on Chiara’s belly in a gesture that made her shiver.For a brief second, Jhon stroked her, and his lips grazed her skin until he felt the tension in every muscle of Chiara’s body.“Daddy’s always going to protect you, baby girl, and Mommy too, okay?” he whispered, lifting his gaze to meet the woman in front of him. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, baby. I really am!”He wrapped his arms around her waist in anguish, and Chiara couldn’t do anything but envelop him in her embrace. She felt his silent tears soaking her pajamas, then that gentle and tentative, uncertain gesture that led to a sudden surge of courage.“I’m sorry...” Jhon murmured as he des
CHAPTER 414. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. One Single MistakeChiara couldn’t leave. She had already made a decision about that; she wasn’t going to escape and live as a fugitive for the rest of her life. However, that wasn’t the only option she had to ensure her child was born somewhere else. She just needed to think of the right strategy. "Don’t worry," she murmured, looking into Jhon’s eyes. "I have to figure out what to do, but for now, it’s fine if you help me with the doctor."She saw him nod, respecting her wishes even though he still seemed worried. She knew he wouldn’t be entirely at ease. Jhon kissed her hands again and looked around at the box on the table. He slid it closer with a smooth motion and smiled. "Do you want to play?" Chiara gave him a weak smile and nodded. He didn’t want to leave, but they couldn’t just sit there in the same room with the tension building, so playing made the most sense. Unfortunately, the first game ended much sooner than Jhon had expected, and h