When They Beg I Rise (Lemira) novel Chapter 1029

Orion carried Lemira into the VIP suite, moving as if she were made of fragile glass.

As he laid her down and pulled the blankets over her, he realized her fingers were still locked in a death grip around his shirt. Her knuckles were bone-white, clinging to him as if he were the only thing keeping her tethered to reality.

Orion's chest tightened.

Instead of pulling away, he sat down on the edge of the mattress, gently brushing the hair from her forehead. What exactly was she so terrified of?

The door clicked open, and Thaddeus slipped inside. "Is Lemon okay? The director told me the procedure was flawless."

Thaddeus had seen the chaotic aftermath in the hallway and assumed something had gone catastrophically wrong.

Orion kept his voice low, his eyes never leaving Lemira's sleeping face. "The procedure was fine. The problem was when she woke up."

He quickly relayed exactly what had transpired in the operating room.

Thaddeus's expression darkened. "Knowing Lemon, there's definitely more to this. She doesn't panic over nothing."

"I know."

"Those Langstons are absolute garbage. Look what they've done to our girl."

Orion shot him a deadpan look. "Your girl?"

Thaddeus cleared his throat, holding his hands up in surrender. "Right, sorry. *Your* girl. My bad."

Orion turned his gaze back to Lemira, his tone chillingly casual. "If my suspicions are correct, I am going to bury that entire family."

"And they deserve it. But why hasn't she ever mentioned this to us?" Thaddeus mused, genuinely confused. "We know all about the other horrible things she went through with them. Why keep Rowan a secret?"

Orion's jaw clenched. "I ran a background check on Rowan Langston a while ago. He relocated to an offshore research facility years ago and barely ever returned to the mainland."

"How long ago?"

"Shortly after their parents died. He fast-tracked his medical degree and just left."

Thaddeus rubbed his chin. "So they barely lived together. What could have possibly happened in that short window to terrify her to the point of silence?"

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