Six nurses had quit in five weeks because of the man I was being paid $10,000 a week to keep alive. One fled his mansion sobbing so hard she left her winter coat behind, another threatened to sue, and now I was walking straight into his bedroom knowing only one thing: Liam Mercer supposedly ruled half the city, but he couldn’t even walk himself to the bathroom.

Liam kicked open the hidden panel behind the mahogany bookcase, revealing a heavy steel reinforced door with a digital keypad.

He slammed his thumb onto the biometric scanner. The door hissed open, revealing a hidden security control bunker filled with dozens of high-definition monitors displaying live feeds of every corner of the estate.

"Leo!" Liam barked into the main master console microphone. "Activate Protocol Omega! Seal the second floor fire doors now!"

Through the monitors, I watched heavy iron blast doors slam down across the hallways, trapping Marcus Kane and his six remaining mercenaries inside the narrow second-floor corridor, completely cut off from their escape route.

Marcus Kane’s face appeared on Camera 4, screaming curses as he slammed his cane against the solid steel blast door.

"You're trapped, Marcus," Liam’s voice echoed through the hallway speakers, cold, resonant, and divine. "You came into my home. You threatened my people. And you tried to kill the woman I love."

Inside the bunker, Liam reached over to the primary environmental panel and flipped a heavy red toggle switch.

High-pressure tear gas canisters deployed from the ceiling alcoves along the second-floor corridor, flooding the hallway with thick, blinding white smoke.

Through the monitors, we watched Kane’s men drop their weapons, coughing violently, clutching their eyes as they collapsed onto the carpet.

Ten seconds later, Leo and four heavy security operators armed with non-lethal shotguns stepped through the side access doors, sweeping the hall, pinning Marcus Kane to the floor and snapping heavy steel zip-ties around his wrists.

The siege was over.

Liam leaned against the master console, his breathing heavy, his face pale from the immense physical toll his body had just endured.

I rushed to his side, wrapping my arms around his waist to support his weight.

"You did it," I whispered, tears of relief spilling down my face as I rested my cheek against his broad chest. "You took your house back."

Liam looked down at me, wrapping his arm tight around my shoulders, pulling me against his side.

"We took it back, Clara," he corrected softly, kissing the top of my head. "Together."

Leo’s voice crackled through the comms speaker. "Boss! Second floor secure. Kane is in cuffs. And I just got a call from Dr. Harrison at Northwestern Private Hospital."

My heart stopped. I looked up at the speaker, holding my breath.

"What did Harrison say, Leo?" Liam demanded.

"The plasma exchange was a success, Boss," Leo reported, a rare, genuine grin visible in his voice. "Tommy’s blood pressure has stabilized. Dr. Harrison says the kid’s vitals are strong, and he’s awake asking for his sister."

A loud, breathless sob escaped my lips. I collapsed against Liam’s chest, weeping uncontrollably with pure, overwhelming joy.