Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 286

"Just promise me your safety always comes first," Julius said, gently pinching her cheek. "Now go wash your hands. Lunch is ready as soon as I plate this."

"Will do." Stella headed to the dining room. One look at the lavish spread—five gourmet dishes and a rich soup—and she knew he'd been cooking for hours.

It was enough food for an entire family.

"How are we supposed to finish all this?" she asked, noting every single dish was her absolute favorite.

"It's a celebration for getting you back in one piece. Don't worry about finishing it, just eat whatever you want." He placed a perfectly glazed piece of sweet and sour pork ribs into her bowl.

"God, this is incredible. Your cooking is the best," she moaned, digging in ravenously. "You have no idea how starving I've been."

"Slow down, you're going to choke." Julius grabbed a napkin and tenderly wiped a smudge of sauce from the corner of her mouth.

"Did you tell your people to look into that abandoned factory in the northern suburbs like I mentioned?" Stella asked, fully enjoying being pampered by her husband.

"I already have a team on it. Don't stress," he replied, expertly peeling a shrimp and feeding it to her. "Let's save the shop talk for after we eat."

Discussing murder and kidnappings at the dining table wasn't exactly romantic. Stella didn't mind, but since Julius wanted her to focus on recovering her strength, she complied.

Lunch stretched out for nearly an hour, mostly due to them playfully feeding each other like teenagers in love.

Afterward, they tackled the kitchen together—one wiped the counters while the other handled the heavy scrubbing.

Dying without ever knowing your boss never trusted you in the first place—what a pathetic way to go.

Stella's brows furrowed. "So who exactly is this mastermind? The fact that he ordered the hit the exact second Gideon broke..."

"...means the room was bugged. He heard every single word of our interrogation."

She paused, letting the pieces fall into place. "Julius, I think this guy isn't just watching Gideon. He knows you intimately. I'd bet everything it's someone in your inner circle."

Julius fed her a slice of orange, his eyes darkening with interest. "What makes you say that? Let's hear the theory."

Her sharp intuition never ceased to amaze him; he had only just started connecting those dots himself.