Chapter 5 Visitors and Ghosts

The quiet that followed the security scare didn't last long.

The next morning, the mansion buzzed with a new kind of energy-one that felt like business as usual was being stitched back together with invisible thread. Jaxon was up before dawn, dressed in a dark tailored suit, speaking low into his phone as he sipped black coffee.

Emery watched him from the kitchen as she poured Leo a bowl of cereal.

He hadn't said much since last night. But he'd stayed in the room with Leo longer than usual. Long enough to matter.

He caught her eye across the marble counter.

"I'll be out most of the day."

"Board meeting?"

"Two. And a press update."

Leo perked up slightly at the sound of his dad's voice. "School?" he asked quietly.

Jaxon turned to him. "Yes. I spoke to Principal Hargrove. You don't have to go if you're not ready."

Leo hesitated, then looked at Emery.

She smiled. "You don't have to talk. You just have to show up."

Leo nodded.

"Okay," he said. Quiet. But clear.

Jaxon didn't hide his surprise.

A flicker of pride crossed his face. "I'll have the driver pick you up at three."

Emery wiped Leo's mouth with a napkin and handed him his backpack. "You got this, champ."

When Leo was out the door, Jaxon lingered.

"I appreciate what you did yesterday," he said, voice low.

"You mean speaking to your child like a human being?" she replied.

He almost smiled. "That. And not quitting."

"Still considering it."

"No, you're not."

And with that, he left.

By noon, the house was quiet again. Almost too quiet.

Emery found herself leaning against the island, staring into her coffee like it might give her answers.

So she pulled out her phone and texted Nina.

EMERY:

You free for lunch? I need normal.

NINA:

Your place or mine?

EMERY:

Yours. I need loud. And carbs.

NINA:

Say less.

An hour later, Emery was back at the bakery, slipping into the warmth of cinnamon and coffee and the sound of Nina's bad playlist.

"Look who's not covered in billionaire tension," Nina teased as she handed Emery a warm croissant and a hug. "You look okay?"

"I feel like a shaken soda can."

"Tell me everything."

They sat at their usual corner table, and Emery gave Nina the whole story-the bang, Leo's reaction, Jaxon's distance, and the strange moment of softness between father and son that hadn't quite left her.

"He's like... a locked box," Emery said. "And every time I think I've found a crack in the lid, he slams it shut."

"But you like him."

"I don't even know him."

Nina raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe I like parts of him," Emery admitted. "But he's still a fortress. And he carries around this guilt like it's welded to his spine."

"And the kid?"

"Leo's the one keeping me there."

"You're sure that's the only reason?"

Emery gave her a look.

Nina grinned. "I'm just saying. Hot billionaire, troubled son, live-in arrangement-it's basically the setup to every spicy romance novel ever."

"This isn't a book."

"You say that like you haven't already imagined chapter twenty."

Emery laughed, but there was truth under it. She had imagined more. And that was exactly the problem.

She glanced at her watch.

"I should head back. Leo gets home in twenty minutes."

She took the long way, needing air before going back into that marble world again.

She was halfway to the gates when someone called out.

"Emery Vale?"

She turned.

A man stood on the sidewalk, tall, lean, wearing a light gray sweater and jeans. He had soft brown eyes and the kind of face she hadn't seen in years.

"Lucas?" she blinked. "Lucas Hart?"

"Wow," he said, smiling. "Didn't expect to run into you on this side of the city."

"What are you doing here?"

"Just opened a pediatric clinic on Ninth. Had a late lunch. And then I see you walking around like you didn't vanish from our graduating class."

She laughed. "That was years ago."

"And you look exactly the same."

"Liar."

"Doctor," he corrected with a grin.

They stood there for a second, the surprise still hanging in the air.

"I'd love to catch up," Lucas said. "Are you around this weekend?"

Emery hesitated.

"Nothing fancy," he added. "Just dinner. Real dinner. No billionaire chef, no security detail, no schedule."

That made her smile. "Okay. Dinner sounds good."

He pulled out his phone. "Number?"

They exchanged info quickly. Lucas winked as he backed away.

"Don't ghost me again, Vale."

She watched him go, a little stunned.

It felt good to be seen by someone from her old life. Someone who didn't look at her like she was a problem to be solved or a temporary asset.

She started walking again, lighter than before.

The moment she stepped through the front doors of the mansion, she knew something was off.

Too quiet.

Not "Leo's still at school" quiet.

More like someone's watching you quiet.

The butler gave her a tight smile. "You have a guest waiting in the atrium."

"A guest?"

"Yes. Miss Elena Voss."

Emery froze. "Who?"

But she already knew the name.

Jaxon had mentioned it once. Briefly. Barely.

Elena. His late wife's half-sister. Socialite. Heiress. Quiet threat.

Emery walked into the atrium and found her seated on the ivory loveseat, legs crossed like royalty, a glass of wine in her hand and perfect red lipstick that hadn't moved an inch.

"Elena Voss," she said smoothly, standing.

"You must be the nanny."

Emery stepped forward. "And you are?"

Elena gave a practiced smile. "Oh, I'm family. I'm sure Jaxon mentioned me."

"Briefly."

"Yes, he does that. Keeps secrets until they start bleeding through the walls."

Emery blinked. "He didn't say you were visiting."

Elena tilted her head. "That's because I'm not."

Emery frowned. "I don't follow."

"I'm staying, darling." She sipped her wine. "It's time someone looked after Jaxon's interests from the inside."

And then she smiled wider.

"You'll get used to me."