The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 568

In the pitch-black room, the sudden ringing of a cell phone was jarring.

Franco leaned against the wall, taking a long time before finally pulling the phone from his pocket. The harsh glare of the screen illuminated his pale, cold face.

He swiped to answer.

"What."

The blatant aggression in that single word caught Galen off guard. Galen clicked his tongue. "What the hell is with the attitude? Did I offend you?"

Franco let out a heavy breath. "She's back."

Those two words made Galen freeze. "Petty?"

He realized it was a stupid question the second it left his mouth. Who else on this earth had the power to make Franco White unravel like this?

He had to hand it to Petty. When she ghosted, she ghosted hard. When she returned, it was an earthquake.

"So how did she piss you off this time?" Galen drawled, his tone laced with obvious amusement.

Franco heard the distinct click of a lighter over the line. The metaphorical flame seemed to catch perfectly in his chest, igniting a blinding blaze of fury.

Just two months ago, Galen had been suicidal. Now he had the nerve to mock him.

"When exactly are you planning to show yourself? Or do you just want Livia to keep thinking you aren't stalking her every move from the shadows?"

The line went dead silent for several seconds. Galen let out a dark chuckle. "I just called to let you know I'll be back in time for Abacus's birthday. You think I actually want to talk to you? Petty really should have brought a man back to Cabinda with her. Maybe it would cure your awful temper."

Whatever Galen was trying to accomplish, it backfired violently. Before Galen could even finish his sentence, Franco hung up on him.

Franco gripped his phone, his sharp ears catching the faint sound of a struggle near the stairs.

Everyone had tactfully cleared out of the main house. General had been dragged away by Jay. That meant Petty was hauling the luggage entirely by herself.

Downstairs, Petty wrestled the heavy suitcase to the bottom step. It hadn't seemed so bad when she was rolling it, but lifting it up a grand staircase was going to require serious effort.

The elevator in the main house had likely been disabled to keep a wandering toddler out of it.

Just as she let out a loud exhale and hoisted the handle, a tall, imposing figure materialized at the top of the stairs.

She froze, clutching the handle tightly.

Franco descended the stairs in total silence, stopping right in front of her.

Franco returned to his room, showered, and sat down heavily on the sofa.

There was a security camera in the nursery.

Jay had access, and so did Jackson.

The thought spurred Franco to grab his phone from the nightstand and open the security app. Even though they had access, he was the system administrator.

He swiftly revoked Jay and Jackson's viewing permissions, leaving himself as the sole viewer.

He wasn't a creep. He had no bizarre voyeuristic tendencies.

But checking the monitor to make sure his son was sleeping soundly was standard parenting.

Franco's thumb tapped the live feed icon faster than his brain could fully process the action.

But as the screen loaded, it displayed a connection error.

The power to the camera had been cut.

He didn't even have to guess. It was Petty's doing.