Chapter 25
Jul 18, 2025
Landon’s POV
Hospitals feel like hell when you’re stuck in the waiting room, powerless.
The lights above me buzzed in that low, constant way that made my head ache. The chair was stiff, like it was designed to keep anyone from getting too comfortable.
My leg kept bouncing, out of sync with the ticking clock on the wall. I hadn’t moved in over an hour.
“Please keep them safe,” I muttered under my breath, my hands clenched together.
Every few minutes, I’d glance down the hallway, waiting for someone in scrubs to show up with news. Anything to break the silence.
When a nurse finally appeared, clipboard in hand, I stood before she even looked in my direction.
“She’s stable,” the nurse said gently. “For now.”
“And the baby?” I asked. My throat tightened around the words.
She hesitated. Not long, but long enough. “The heartbeat is weak… but it’s there.” I exhaled sharply, not sure if it was relief or fear clawing its way through me.
“She was panicking,” the nurse added, softer this time. “She thought you were gone for good. She kept asking for you.”
Those words landed like a punch to the gut. I looked away and nodded, my chest burning with guilt. I walked out of the waiting area without saying anything else.
Down the stairwell, across the hospital parking lot, until I found a shadowed corner where no one could see me fall apart.
The second the door shut behind me, I hit the wall with my fist. Then again. The third time split my knuckles wide open, blood streaking down my hand like a brand of shame.
“I should’ve protected her,” I muttered, holding my wrist as it throbbed. “I let them near her. I let them twist the truth. And I wasn’t there.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, ignoring the pain. It was Drew, my assistant. I answered immediately.
“Where are they?” I asked.
“Remingtons landed three days ago,” he said. “Chartered flight. Lady Remington, Marian, and a few others. They’re staying in the private estate. No press coverage, but I had someone track it.”
“Did Marian fly in from there?”
“No, she came in separately. Landed yesterday morning. Same airline we used last month. I pulled the airport footage, and she went straight to a driver. The car was rented under a company your mother’s been using for years.”
Of course. This had her fingerprints all over it.
“Did she stay with me last night?” I asked, knowing I didn’t need to. Drew didn’t answer immediately.
“Tell me.”
“She arrived just before midnight,” he said. “Security footage shows her entering your building and never leaving.”
I pressed my fingers to my temple, trying to stay calm, trying not to smash the phone against the wall. “Why the hell didn’t anyone stop her?”
“She told the doorman she was your fiancée. Had a key. Signed in under your name.”
I closed my eyes. They’d planned it, all of it. The timing, the setup, the way she greeted Emery at the door like she belonged there. It had been a trap.
“Can you get me a call with them?” I asked.
Drew paused. “You want to talk to Marian?”
“No,” I said sharply. “I want a secure line to the estate. Get me my mother.”
Ten minutes later, I was on a video call. The screen flickered before her face appeared. She was seated on a shaded terrace, wearing a robe like she had nothing to answer for.
“Well,” she said, “if it isn’t the long-lost son.”
“You sent her.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t play dumb. Marian didn’t show up on her own.”
“She missed you. Can you blame her?”
“She made Emery collapse,” I said coldly. “She nearly lost the baby.”
She scoffed. “Oh please, stop dramatizing. Marian said Emery overreacted.”
I stared at her, my voice low and steady. “If anything happens to either of them, I swear to you, I will tear down everything you’ve built. Brick by brick. I don’t care how many decades it’s taken you to cement your power. I will destroy it.”
She leaned back in her chair, face unreadable. “You always were dramatic, Landon. A little weak, too.”
“Say whatever you want,” I snapped. “But I’m done playing your game. Stay away from her. From us. Or you’ll find out just how strong I really am.”
I ended the call before she could answer. The screen went black, but the rage still burned in my chest. They wanted silence, control, obedience.
They were about to find out what happens when the quiet ones start speaking up.
