Jackson's POV
Soon I was able to ensure our travel plans were secure and Bel were ready to leave.
When I guided her through the house to say her goodbyes, everyone was in the kitchen ready to eat breakfast.
"Hey everyone, Bel and I won't be staying for breakfast. It's a crazy day at the office for both of us so we need to go and sort that out." I informed only making eye contact with my mother.
"Oh honey! Okay that's understandable. Belinda, dear you are welcome any time okay? You can come alone, don't bring this monkey next to you." She teased making Bel laugh.
Her laugh…it always gets me.
Everyone hugged her and Lyle showed me his sign of approval meaning he likes her. "You are welcome to join my wife Sarah and I in the country side whenever Belinda. She is so excited to meet you already."
"That's so sweet, I'll be glad to meet her too I'm sure she's wonderful." She cheered.
My father gave me a gaze of suspicion which made my stomach turn. If my mother knew…she'd be destroyed. She sees him as the perfect model citizen.
Then, his gaze slid past me. It rested on Belinda.
The change in the atmosphere was immediate. He wasn't looking at his son's girlfriend… he was looking at a primary target. His eyes, sharp and utterly relentless, performed a long, deep assessment of her, searching not for charm, but for the fault lines of a spy.
I felt the almost undetectable stiffening of Belinda's body next to me. She held his gaze for a moment, a defiant flicker in her eyes, before demurely lowering them. The General was confirming a known threat.
He knows. He's connected the dots between her and Chester.
I had to end it. "We have to leave," I cut in, my voice tight and urgent. I stepped forward, deliberately placing myself between my father and her, obstructing his view. "The window for us doing damage control in time is closing, General."
His eyes snapped to mine, and I saw a cold flash of calculated anger at the interruption. By shielding her, I had confirmed his worst suspicion. His own son is in love with his partner's most important leverage.
"Of course," he said, the patience returning, thick and unnerving. "Go on, then. Do return soon, the both of you." He paused, his lips curving into that slight, cold, knowing smile. "And Jackson... enjoy her. She seems like a blast."
Son of a…
I didn't wait for a further word from Eleanor or Lyle. I placed my hand firmly on the small of Belinda's back…a possessive, protective gesture and steered her directly toward the main entrance.
"Goodbye, Eleanor. Lyle. General," I said, burning the final bridge behind me.
As we reached the car, Belinda let out a slow, controlled breath. "He knows," she whispered, the professional act dissolving.
I opened the door and ushered her into the armored vehicle. "He suspects. And suspicion is enough to launch the missile. Get us out of here," I told Tyrone. The car surged forward, leaving the estate's façade of normalcy behind us.
I pulled the interior partition closed. I turned to Belinda and took her hands, holding them tightly.
"His suspicion changes nothing about our trajectory," I assured her. "He knows you're Chester's daughter now, but he doesn't know the rules of the game have changed. We're leaving the country, Love. And we are never coming back to his control."
I know I said 3 weeks but we might be gone for good depending on the outcome of the takeover.
I needed to tell her. Now. Before the plane took off, before the continents separated us. I couldn't build our future on a foundation of a lie that big.
"Love," I began, my voice steady, though my stomach was a knot of ice. "There's one more asset you need to know about…a missing piece of the puzzle you've been searching for. It's about your father."