Chapter 5 - The Unpardonable Betrayal
"He's in my study!" Marcus yelled desperately. "Take me! Don't hurt her!"
Richard chuckled, motioning for his men to drag Marcus down the hallway toward the study.
When they kicked the study door open, the room was empty. The balcony door swung wildly in the wind. Leo was gone.
"Foolish," Richard sneered. "Search the grounds! He's crippled right now! He couldn't have gone far!"
Meanwhile, back in Clara's bedroom, the shadows near the closet shifted.
Leo emerged. He had tricked them, crawling through the air vents instead of running outside. Dragging his paralyzed left leg, he dragged himself across the floor to Clara’s bedside.
Clara’s lips were turning blue. Her pulse was faint.
"Leo..." she gasped, barely conscious. "It hurts... my head feels like it's burning..."
"I know," Leo whispered, pulling her trembling hand into his. "I'm here."
Leo closed his eyes and concentrated. He knew the risks. Absorbing a physical spinal block was painful, but absorbing an active chemical neurotoxin? It could destroy his own heart.
“If you use the bio-sync on poison, Leo, it will flood your own bloodstream,” his father’s past warning echoed in his mind.
"I promised," Leo muttered.
He gripped Clara’s hand tightly. A faint, visible golden pulse hummed beneath their skin.
May you like
Clara gasped loudly as color instantly flushed back into her cheeks. Her breathing normalized. Her eyes flew open, clear and bright.
Beside her, Leo collapsed onto his knees, blood pouring from his nose. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as the lethal toxin began stopping his heart.
