Page 110 of Scaled Daddy's Secret Heir
“You could’ve told me this first.”
“You weren’t ready to hear it first.”
“AndnowI am?”
“No,” I admit. “But we don’t have the luxury of pacing.”
Something in her eyes clicks—like understanding and dread locking into place at the same time.
“They’re watching you.”
“They’re always watching.”
“They’ll come.”
“Yes,” I say. “But not tonight.”
She leans against the wall now, one foot braced like she needs the frame to hold her up.
“And you think you can just… what, outmaneuver the Alliance?”
“No,” I say. “I know I can.”
Her laugh this time is a breathless sound. Not quite mocking. Not quite believing.
“They want a war they can control,” I say. “But they don’t get to stage it through you.”
Leah’s gaze hardens. “You think I’m the battleground?”
“No,” I say. “You’re the reason Iwon’tretreat.”
I step forward slowly.
Her back doesn’t leave the wall, but her chin lifts, refusing to yield.
“I didn’t come back to follow orders,” I say. “I came back to end the people who think they can give them.”
“Dowron?”
“He’s first.”
“What’s your plan?”
“Contingency trees. Four layers deep.”
“Jesus, Kalev.”
“Fallback routes. Evidence caches. Dead drops. Falsified ID strings. Burn data in three separate systems.”
“You’ve already started?”
I nod. “Before I left Alliance airspace.”
Her hand runs over her mouth. “You always were a planner.”
“Survival makes you thorough.”
She’s silent for a moment. Then:
