The MC President's Forsaken Wife (Zara and Knox) novel Chapter 427

Chapter 209-2

“The keys to the Crestview home,” he says softly. “The local police finished their on-site sweep yesterday following Mr. McVale’s death. The property is formally released from any legal hold. It’s yours.”

I stare at the keys for a long moment before picking them up. They feel impossibly heavy in my palm.

Twenty minutes later, Locke’s truck pulls off the coastal highway and onto the winding, private driveway leading up to the house.

The afternoon sun is beginning to dip toward the ocean, casting long, dark orange rays across the manicured lawn. The wrought-iron security gates stand wide open, left unlatched ever since the emergency vehicles cleared out.

Locke brings the truck to a stop in the broad circular driveway. He kills the engine, but his eyes never stop moving, scanning the perimeter, checking the tree line, checking the shadows cast by the high stone pillars of the porch.

“Stay in the truck for a second,” Locke says low, his hand reaching down to check the sidearm secured beneath his leather jacket.

“Locke,” I say, touching his forearm. “Is someone here?”

“Probably not,” he replies. “But I’m not taking chances with you or Willow.”

He steps out, his boots crunching against the gravel as he makes a slow perimeter check around the front porch. After a moment, he signals with a brief nod of his head.

I open my door, my knees feeling slightly weak as my feet hit the gravel. Willow climbs out of the back seat, looking up at the sprawling, white-brick facade of the house.

“It’s so quiet out here,” I say softly, turning to Willow as we walk toward the steps. “I know it’s hard to imagine right now, Willow, but look at the architecture. Those windows get full ocean sunlight all afternoon.”

“It must be very beautiful.”

“It is. It’s also totally private, set back from the road… I was thinking this could be yours. You could live here. You could build your yoga studio in the main wing, run your workshops, turn it into something beautiful.”

Willow stops at the base of the stone steps, wrapping her arms tightly around herself as she gazes up at the high windows reflecting the pale gray sky like dead eyes. A visible shiver runs

Chapter 209-2

through her despite her heavy sweater.

“It looks… cold, Zara,” Willow says. “Like no one ever really breathed in there.”

+25 Points

“It’s cold now,” I agree. “Knox made it cold, but you could give it life, Willow. You could fill these rooms with warmth and light.”

Willow looks at me, offering a tentative, soft smile, though hesitation still lingers deep in her eyes. “Let’s… let’s just look inside first.”

We walk up the wide stone steps together. Locke steps ahead, taking the key ring from my hand. He inserts the thick silver key into the deadbolt of the heavy, dark mahogany front door. The lock turns with a loud, mechanical click that echoes into the quiet afternoon.

Locke knocks three heavy times against the wood, his deep voice barking out into the quiet.” Becca? Anyone inside?”

Silence.

“Stay out here on the porch,” Locke says to us. “Keep your eyes open and don’t cross that threshold until I call you in.”

He disappears into the dim foyer, the solid front door resting slightly ajar behind him.

Outside on the porch, Willow and I stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the cool ocean air. The house seems to exhale a quiet, stagnant chill through the gap in the doorway. Willow keeps her arms wrapped tight against her chest, her eyes nervously scanning the high, empty windows of the upper floor.

Inside, the faint, deliberate sound of Locke’s heavy boots echoes against marble and hardwood. We hear the slow, rhythmic click of doors opening and closing: the coat closet, the study, the kitchen, the garage access.

Minutes stretch out, long and tense, as he sweeps room by room, moving up the grand staircase to clear the upper floor and the master wing.

Comments

LUCK DRAW >

Vote

2 4K

23