Chapter 196
Aspen swallowed the pills and looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “Did you talk to my dad? Is she in jail?”
“No police,” Kieran said. He moved back to the window. “Robert is handling it his own way.”
Aspen’s chin wobbled. Her eyes filled. “I don’t feel safe, Kieran. What if she comes back? What if she finds me?”
Kieran sighed. He felt the walls of his own making pressing in on him. He had made a promise. He had made a vow. A Douglas kept his word, even when it tasted like ash.
“She won’t,” he said. “You’re staying here.”
Rе𝘤о𝗆𝗺e𝘯𝖽 𝘨a𝗅𝗻𝗼𝘷𝖾𝗅𝘴.𝘤om 𝘵о y𝗼u𝗋 𝖿𝗿𝘪e𝗻d𝘀
“Forever?” Aspen asked, a hopeful gleam surfacing through the tears.
Kieran looked at her — the neediness, the fear, the calculation layered underneath. A heavy, settled weight of duty dropped onto his shoulders.
“We’ll get married,” he said. His voice was flat. “End of the month.”
Aspen forgot her leg entirely. She sat up and squealed. “Really? The wedding?”
“Yes,” Kieran said, turning away from her beaming face. “A Douglas protects his own.” He was trying to convince himself as much as her.
He reached for his jacket.
“Where are you going?” Aspen asked.
“To check on Grandma Wolfe,” he said. “To show support. For the family image.” He needed air. He needed to see Jocelyn. He needed to understand what had broken inside her — or what had finally been freed.
Aspen frowned. “Okay. Tell her I hope she — gets better,” she corrected herself quickly, flashing an innocent smile.
Kieran did not acknowledge the slip. He walked out, keys in hand.
The facility lobby was cold and sterile. Kieran arrived twenty minutes later in his best suit — the armor of a man accustomed to walking into any room and commanding it.
He approached the elevator bank.
Two men in dark suits stepped into his path. They did not look like hospital security. They looked like private military.
“Step aside,” Kieran said, his voice clipped. “I’m family.”
“Name?” one guard asked. The word came out flat, mechanical.
“Kieran Douglas. CEO of Douglas Tech.”
The guard consulted a tablet without looking up.
“Access denied. You’re on the blacklist.”
Kieran scoffed. “Excuse me? Who put me on a list? I fund a wing of this hospital.”
“Collins Family Security,” the guard replied. “The order is absolute.”
A chill moved through Kieran that had nothing to do with the air conditioning. Not the Senator’s office — a private directive. The entire Collins family was closing ranks around Jocelyn, building a fortress he had no way to breach.
“Please leave, sir,” the guard said, stepping forward. He was broader than Kieran, and he looked entirely prepared to use force. “Or we will escort you.”
Kieran stepped back. His mind was already moving. He had known Gaston Collins was Justin’s brother, but this level of coordinated, private authority was something else. It was not political. It was dynastic.
“I’m leaving,” Kieran said.