President's Daughter's Bodyguard Chapter 98: When He Was Sold

Chapter 98: When He Was Sold

Frank searched the villa like a man chased by ghosts.

He went into every room, window fra, shadow that could hide a footprint was checked twice.

Sotis he knelt, touching the floor as if the dust could whisper to him. He muttered to himself about angles and footprints and rifles that didn’t belong in this part of the world.

It was a very weird situation; all three did nothing wrong, but sohow wanted to bla each other.

And so just like that, the wind pushed the curtains in and out like tired lungs. Danielle hugged her arms, still feeling Theo’s hold on her, that fierce, unshakable strength he had wrapped around her like a shield.

Was he being truthful with her? Was he really honest? She couldn’t tell, and this didn’t let her mind rest until Theo walked out from the corridor after checking every corner again.

He was still shirtless, tense, still wired like every muscle inside him refused to calm.

His eyes cald down when they found her, but his body stayed ready just in case.

Frank lifted a ruined rifle from the ground. "They were trained," he said. "Not local or military. Maybe hired or owned."

Theo nodded slowly. "They were testing us. Testing the periter. Testing ."

Frank swallowed. "We need to leave before they co back."

Theo answered calmly, "We will leave when I say we leave. Not when they decide." Then he turned to Danielle. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, though her throat still trembled. "No. You got to before anything happened."

Theo stepped closer and touched her cheek with the back of his fingers. It was gentle enough to lt the breath in her chest. "Good."

Frank disappeared deeper into the house, muttering sothing about checking the tunnel. That left the room strangely quiet.

Danielle waited until it was only the sound of the wind and the soft drip of broken glass falling from the window fra. Then she asked the question that had been growing inside her like a shadow.

"Theo...Tell sothing. Those n tonight... They were not normal criminals. They felt organised. They felt like people who knew you."

Theo’s jaw tightened. "They probably knew what I was capable of."

"And how do they know that?" she asked gently.

He turned away for a mont. Not out of anger but because he seed to be fighting sothing inside himself.

When he faced her again, his eyes were darker and honest in a way that made Danielle’s breathing calm down.

"Because of my past," he muttered quietly. "Because of the things my father forced to do."

She stepped closer. "Tell ."

His breath left him like soone had cut a string inside. "You want the truth?"

"Yes."

Theo took a seat on the arm of the ruined couch as if the story was too heavy to tell standing. Danielle sat beside him, not touching him yet, but close enough that he could feel her presence.

"When I turned thirteen," Theo began, "my father discovered sothing about . He discovered I could obey without questioning. He discovered I did not fear death. So he sold ."

"Sold you to who?"

"To presidents," Theo said. "To kings. To foreign ministers. To anyone who paid him enough. They called it political exchange. They called it strategic bonding. But it was nothing more than slavery dressed in expensive clothing."

Danielle covered her mouth. "Theo..."

He kept speaking. "I learned thirteen languages because they wanted to blend into every country. I learned to shoot and disappear before I was allowed to go to school like a normal kid. My father put trackers in my clothes. He placed in palaces, in embassies, in underground rooms. He forced to do missions that were not ant for people my age."

Danielle could feel her entire body growing cold.

"They would reward him for my success," Theo continued. "Money or power....Protection. And when I grew older and stronger, the foreign ministers paid directly. They wanted my loyalty because my father could not control forever. So they gave properties in their countries. They gave accounts. They gave access to private networks. I own houses in nearly every region because they wanted a place for to stay when I served them. And when I stopped serving them, they still feared . So they kept paying ."

Danielle blinked hard. "That sounds like a nightmare."

"It was...But it made rich. Rich in a way that feels cursed." His eyes lifted to her face. "I run illegal businesses because I needed ways to stay ahead of those who wanted to chain again. Weapons, security, intelligence networks. In return they leave alone. They use when they need sothing done quietly. They protect my na. They protect everything I built."

Danielle’s fingers curled on her dress. "So the attacks tonight were connected to them?"

"They were connected to sothing," Theo assured. "Maybe an old enemy. Maybe soone who wants to punish . Maybe soone who wants you."

Her body shivered at the thought.

Theo placed his hand on her cheek again. "You looked uneasy tonight. Not only because of the attack. Sothing else scared you. Sothing about your father."

She shut her eyes for a mont. "I keep thinking about him. About how he would have to die. About how much I never understood him but still love him."

Theo brushed her cheek with his thumb. "I will not hurt him in front of you."

Her eyes opened slowly. "You promise?"

"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "I promise you I will not touch him. Not even if he deserves it."

She breathed shakily. "Then let him stay alive."

Theo hesitated, but only for a second. "If we keep him alive, it will be dangerous. For us and for you....For everyone."

"I know...But I cannot lose him..."

"There is a way. But it will require sothing extre."

She leaned closer. "What way?"

"We will have to fake his death..."

"What?"

"We will hide him on an island that belongs to . No one goes there. No one looks there. He would live. But to the world he would be gone. Including you. Including the man who killed him. Including your enemies."

Danielle stared at him in shock. "You... you would do that for ?"

Theo took her hands in his. "I would do worse if it ant saving you."

Before she could respond, Frank ran back into the room with fear in his eyes.

"Theo," he gasped. "You need to see this. Soone left a ssage in the garden."

Theo stood. "What ssage?"

Frank swallowed hard. "A warning....And it has Danielle’s na on it."