Just the Toxins
“Because someone buried it deep,” Sebastian said. “Whoever raised her must have hidden her identity.”
Rowan’s eyes narrowed. “Her aunt and uncle.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised.”
He thought back to the way they treated her. Like she was a curse they couldn’t shake. Maybe they weren’t just cruel—they were angry. Angry that she existed. Angry that her mother chose Cedric over whatever life she was supposed to live. Angry that she was a reminder of everything they’d lost or hated.
He gritted his teeth. “So the entire time… the woman I married was more powerful than me.”
Sebastian chuckled. “Not just powerful. Protected.”
Rowan stilled.
“Does he know?” he asked quietly. “Does Cedric know she’s alive?”
“Hard to say. If he does, he’s not making noise about it. But something tells me he’s been watching from the shadows. Or waiting.”
Rowan’s hand clenched into a fist.
He looked back at the hospital room door.
So much of her life had been stolen. Hidden. Manipulated.
And now the truth was clawing its way back to the surface.
Cedric De Luca wasn’t just anyone.
He was the kind of man who moved armies in silence. Who destroyed cities without ever stepping foot in them. If he learned someone tried to kill his daughter—if he learned about the kidnapping, the drugs, the car—Rowan didn’t doubt war would follow.
“I need to talk to him,” Rowan said.
“You sure about that?” Sebastian’s voice dipped. “He’s not the warm and fuzzy type.”
“I don’t care.”
He looked down at his trembling hands.
“She deserves to know who she is.”
“And if she doesn’t want to?”
Rowan went quiet.
That was the hardest part.
Remi had fought so hard to build her own life. To find peace. She’d been hurt over and over by people she trusted.
And now, just as she was healing… this.
Rowan’s voice dropped. “Then I’ll wait. But I’ll make sure he knows. I owe her that much.”
Sebastian sighed. “I’ll send everything I’ve got. You’ll have it in ten.”
The line clicked off.
Rowan stood still in the hallway, the weight of the truth sinking into his bones.
Remi Laurent wasn’t just a girl from a broken home.
She was born from power.
Born from danger.
Born from a man who would tear the world apart for her—just like Rowan would.
And he knew now more than ever:
This wasn’t just about love anymore.
It was about legacy.
And the moment she woke up, everything would change.
****
Remi’s POV
I woke up with a groan.
Everything felt… wrong. My head was pounding like a drum, my throat dry, and my entire body ached. It was like I’d been run over by something invisible and mean. The room smelled like antiseptic and something lemony. White lights. Beeping machines.
Hospital?
I blinked, trying to focus.
Then I saw her.
“Remi!” Jo’s voice pierced through the haze like a bright light. “Oh my God, you’re awake! You’re alive! You didn’t die!”
She was crying and laughing all at once, clutching my hand like I might dissolve into thin air. Her big curly ponytail bounced as she nearly launched herself over the hospital bed.
“What…” My voice cracked. “What happened?”
Jo sniffled, dabbing her eyes with a tissue she pulled from her sleeve like magic. “You got kidnapped, girl! As in full-on, masked men, creepy car, movie-style abduction! You were drugged with some scary-ass stuff. We were losing it!”
My brows drew together.
“Kidnapped?”
Jo nodded furiously. “Yup. But don’t worry, Rowan turned into John Wick and saved you from driving off a cliff like Fast & Furious. Literally dove into a moving car. And Callum was shooting commands at everyone like an undercover MI6 agent. It was madness.”
A soft laugh escaped me. Then faded.
I frowned.
“There were voices,” I murmured, staring at the ceiling. “People I didn’t know. A woman named Harper. A man named Gavin. I saw them in a house with black floors and… and a white piano. They were screaming. I think—I think I was Harper.”
Jo paused. Her brows shot up. “Omo. You’re still high?”
“I’m serious.” I swallowed, my chest tightening. “It felt real, Jo. I wasn’t just dreaming. I was her. I could hear her thoughts. I knew her memories. Gavin—he kissed me, and then he shoved me, and I saw blood and—” I winced, my fingers trembling.
Jo reached for the call button. “Okay, I think you need the nurse.”
“No,” I said quickly, grabbing her hand. “It’s gone now. It’s just… confusing.”
Jo hesitated, then slowly sat back down, squeezing my fingers gently.
“It’s the drugs,” she said softly. “The doctors said it’s some hallucinogenic compound. Messes with your brain. Makes you dream stuff. Feel stuff. You were talking in your sleep too—saying all kinds of things. About wolves. Fires. Secrets.”
I blinked rapidly.
It made sense now. The jumbled flashes. The overwhelming emotions. None of it was mine.
It wasn’t real.
Right?
I closed my eyes.
A tear slid down my temple.
Jo brushed it away.
“Hey,” she whispered, voice a little gentler. “You’re here. You’re safe. Rowan’s losing his mind outside the door, by the way. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to sleep in your room like a human guard dog.”
That pulled a faint smile from me. “Is he okay?”
Jo nodded. “Physically, yes. Emotionally? He looks like a wreck. He hasn’t left this hospital since they brought you in. I had to force him to shower. Twice.”
Something in my chest fluttered.
“He remembered something,” I said quietly. “I don’t know how I know… but he did.”
Jo’s smile faltered. “You remember him saying something?”
“No. I felt it.”
Jo stared at me like I’d grown an extra head.
I chuckled weakly. “Maybe I am still high.”
Jo leaned in and bumped her forehead against mine. “It’s okay. You get a pass for talking like a fantasy novel. You were kidnapped. You earned it.”
I let out a shaky laugh. “Thank you for being here.”
She sniffed again, brushing at her cheeks. “You scared the crap out of me, Remi. Next time, can you not disappear into thin air and almost die in a car crash? Thanks.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good.”
She adjusted the blanket around me like I was five years old and tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear.
“Rest,” she said. “You’re safe now. Rowan made sure of that.”
I closed my eyes again, heart beating slow and strange.
Safe.
For now.
Except… I wasn’t. Not really.
Because the longer I lay there, the more it crept in—the image of those masked faces, the feeling of helplessness, the sound of the tires grinding against gravel as the car rolled toward nothing. I couldn't shake it. My legs were jittery under the covers. My fingers twitched. My chest felt too tight.
I opened my eyes again.
Jo had curled into the chair beside me, scrolling through her phone, humming softly. Her presence helped. But
it didn’t kill the restlessness under my skin.
Someone had tried to kill me.
That wasn’t going to vanish just because the monitors said I was stable.
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