Chapter 68: Bonus - : Pieces We Never Lost

Chapter 68: Bonus Chapter: Pieces We Never Lost

Morning arrived gently.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Allison awoke without the shrill echo of alarms, frantic footsteps racing through hallways, or the lingering scent of smoke and gunpowder clinging to the air.

Instead, she was greeted by the rhythmic sway of the yacht beneath her and the soft murmur of waves brushing against the hull.

It took her a long moment to remember where she was.

The rescue.

Susanna was safe.

Clara had been found.

Elena had been arrested.

Anthony was finally behind bars.

Aaron Mercer...

Her chest tightened.

No.

Not today.

She silently promised herself she would not let the shadows of yesterday steal the peace of this morning.

As her eyes wandered around the softly lit cabin, they landed on the empty armchair beside the window.

Lucian.

He was already gone.

The realization brought an unexpected smile instead of disappointment.

He’d probably been awake for hours.

Working.

Planning.

Protecting everyone before anyone else had even opened their eyes.

That was simply who he was.

Then her gaze drifted to the small table beside the chair.

A porcelain teacup rested there, still releasing thin curls of steam.

Beside it lay a folded cream-colored note written in Lucian’s unmistakably neat handwriting.

She reached for it.

Good morning.

The doctors said you finally need real rest instead of pretending you’re fine.

Please take the morning slowly.

Your tea should still be warm.

—L.

Her lips curved into a genuine smile.

There were no extravagant declarations.

No poetic speeches.

No dramatic professions of love.

Just...

Tea.

Exactly the blend she liked.

And a reminder to take care of herself.

It amazed her how someone could make such small gestures feel so meaningful.

Anthony had always believed love needed to be earned.

Every compliment came with expectations.

Every gift carried invisible strings.

Every kind word eventually became ammunition.

Lucian expected nothing.

He simply noticed.

He remembered.

He cared.

Taking a slow sip, she closed her eyes as the familiar floral warmth spread through her chest.

"It really is perfect," she whispered.

After dressing in a comfortable cream-colored sweater and navy trousers borrowed from the wardrobe Nora had somehow managed to fill overnight, Allison quietly slipped out of the cabin.

The corridors remained peaceful.

Most of the guests were still asleep after the emotional exhaustion of the past several days.

Only a few security officers nodded respectfully as she passed.

One even smiled.

"Good morning, Miss Allison."

She still wasn’t used to hearing that title spoken with genuine affection instead of obligation.

"Good morning."

The elevator carried her to the upper observation deck.

As the doors opened, cool ocean air immediately greeted her, carrying the scent of salt and the faint promise of sunshine.

The horizon glowed with streaks of pink and gold as the sun slowly climbed above the endless sea.

It was breathtaking.

The kind of sunrise people spent thousands of dollars traveling to witness.

Yet somehow...

She almost missed it.

A familiar figure stood quietly near the railing.

Hands wrapped around two mugs.

Blanket draped across broad shoulders despite the mild chill.

Her father.

He turned before she could announce herself.

His face immediately softened.

"I had a feeling you’d wake up early."

She blinked.

"You did?"

He lifted the second mug with a small smile.

"I made coffee just in case."

Allison couldn’t help laughing.

"You brought tea and coffee?"

"I wasn’t sure whether Lucian would beat me to the tea."

"He did."

"I knew it."

She walked over, accepting the coffee anyway.

"I’ll drink both."

"That’s my daughter."

The words settled warmly inside her.

Not because they were unusual.

Because lately...

She realized how desperately she’d wanted to hear them.

For several minutes, neither of them spoke.

They simply stood together watching sunlight slowly spill across the ocean.

Sometimes silence wasn’t uncomfortable.

Sometimes...

It was healing.

Her father broke it first.

"Beautiful, isn’t it?"

"It is."

"You used to wake me before dawn to watch sunrises."

She looked at him in surprise.

"I did?"

He chuckled quietly.

"You were five."

"I don’t remember."

"You insisted every sunrise was different."

She smiled.

"That sounds like something I’d say."

"You also believed the sun came up because someone painted the sky while everyone else was asleep."

She laughed softly.

"I was a strange child."

"You were imaginative."

"I suppose that’s a nicer way to say it."

"It is."

They shared another smile before silence settled once more.

This time...

It wasn’t as easy.

There were too many years between them.

Too many conversations left unfinished.

Too many misunderstandings.

Allison stared into the coffee swirling gently inside her mug.

"Dad..."

He looked at her immediately.

"Yes?"

"I’ve been thinking."

"I know."

She smiled weakly.

"I do that a lot."

"You always have."

She inhaled slowly.

"There were years..."

The words caught in her throat.

"There were years when I thought you stopped choosing me."

His expression changed instantly.

Pain.

Raw.

Immediate.

"I know."

She swallowed hard.

"You were always working."

"You were."

"Always traveling."

"Yes."

"You kept telling me it was to protect us."

He lowered his eyes.

"I did."

"But when you’re sixteen..." she whispered, "...all you understand is that your father keeps leaving."

The confession lingered between them like fragile glass.

Her father stared toward the ocean.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than she’d ever heard it.

"I never stopped choosing you."

She looked at him.

"Not once."

His grip tightened around the coffee mug.

"The cruel irony is..."

He gave a small, humorless laugh.

"The more danger surrounded our family...the more I believed distance was the safest way to love you."

Allison listened carefully.

"I thought if fewer people saw us together..."

"If fewer enemies knew how much you meant to me..."

"If I handled every threat before it reached you..."

"...you’d have a normal life."

He shook his head slowly.

"I was wrong."

She watched tears begin to gather in his eyes.

"I didn’t know Anthony would become who he did."

His voice cracked.

"I noticed things."

"He was charming."

"Helpful."

"Respectful."

"At least while I was watching."

He closed his eyes briefly.

"But there were moments..."

"What moments?"

"I caught him speaking over you."

"Answering questions for you."

"Correcting little things that didn’t need correcting."

"I warned him more than once."

Allison stared.

"You did?"

"I told him that loving someone didn’t mean controlling them."

He sighed heavily.

"He apologized every time."

"I believed him."

The guilt in his voice made her chest ache.

"I should have looked deeper."

"I should have trusted my instincts."

"I should have taken you away the moment something felt wrong."

"Dad..."

"But instead I convinced myself I was overreacting."

His shoulders slumped.

"And by the time I realized how dangerous he truly was..."

"...you’d already learned to hide your pain."

Allison’s vision blurred.

She had never known.

Never imagined those conversations happened behind closed doors.

"I wasn’t hiding it very well," she admitted quietly.

"No."

"You weren’t."

"I just..."

He looked at her, tears finally escaping.

"...failed to see how badly you needed me."

The honesty shattered something inside her.

For years she’d carried anger.

Resentment.

Questions.

Yet standing before her wasn’t a father making excuses.

He wasn’t defending himself.

He wasn’t rewriting history.

He was simply admitting where he’d fallen short.

"I spent so much time trying to keep danger away from our home," he whispered, "that I didn’t realize danger had already walked through the front door."

Allison slowly reached across the table between them.

Her fingers rested gently over his hand.

"I blamed you."

"I know."

"I told myself you cared more about work."

"I know."

"I convinced myself..."

Her voice trembled.

"...that maybe I just wasn’t enough reason to stay."

Her father’s head snapped toward her.

His eyes widened in heartbreak.

"Allison."

She couldn’t stop now.

"I believed that for years."

Before another word could leave her lips, he stepped forward and wrapped both arms around her.

She froze.

Just for a heartbeat.

Then every wall she’d carefully built over the past decade crumbled.

She hugged him back with equal strength.

Tears streamed silently down her cheeks as she buried her face against his shoulder.

"I’m so sorry," he whispered.

"So am I."

"You deserved a father who knew when to put everything else down."

"You deserved to know how loved you were every single day."

His voice broke.

"I loved you so much that I became afraid."

"And fear made me love you in all the wrong ways."

Allison closed her eyes.

For the first time in years...

She understood.

Not every wound came from a lack of love.

Sometimes...

It came from love wrapped in fear.

And perhaps those wounds could heal too.

📦 Author’s Black Box: Alternate Universe – "The De Luca Family Group Chat"

⚠️ Warning: This Chapter is 0% canon, 100% chaos.

⸻

Group Chat Created: "Absolutely No Family Drama"

Members:

Adrian

Susanna

Lucian

Theo

Simone

Nora

Allison

Allison’s Dad

Uncle James

⸻

8:02 AM

Adrian: Good morning, everyone.

Simone: Why does Grandpa text like he’s announcing the stock market?

Theo: Because he owns half of it.

⸻

8:05 AM

Nora: WHO ATE MY CINNAMON ROLLS?

(Everyone immediately goes offline.)

⸻

8:06 AM

Nora: I can see the read receipts.

⸻

8:07 AM

Lucian: ...

⸻

8:07 AM

Nora: Lucian?

⸻

8:08 AM

Lucian: It wasn’t me.

⸻

8:08 AM

Theo: He answered way too fast.

⸻

8:09 AM

Simone: Suspicious billionaire behavior.

⸻

8:09 AM

Allison: 😂😂😂

⸻

8:10 AM

Nora: Allison, did you eat them?

⸻

8:10 AM

Allison: No.

⸻

8:10 AM

Nora: Lucian?

⸻

8:11 AM

Lucian: Allison wanted breakfast.

⸻

Simone: HE STOLE GRANDMA’S CINNAMON ROLLS FOR HIS WIFE.

⸻

Theo: Ladies and gentlemen...

We have lost him.

⸻

8:12 AM

Lucian: She looked hungry.

⸻

Simone: HE’S ADORABLE.

⸻

Lucian has muted the chat for one year.

⸻

Later...

Allison: Does anyone know where Lucian is?

Theo: Check the library.

⸻

Five minutes later...

Allison: He’s not there.

⸻

Theo: Then check the office.

⸻

Allison: Nope.

⸻

Simone: Rooftop.

⸻

Allison: Not there either.

⸻

Theo: That’s weird...

He’s usually in one of his billionaire habitats.

⸻

Nora: Did you check where YOU are?

⸻

Allison: ...what?

⸻

Nora: Turn around.

⸻

(Lucian is standing directly behind Allison holding tea.)

⸻

Lucian: You forgot your tea.

⸻

Theo: HE FOLLOWS HER LIKE A LOST GOLDEN RETRIEVER.

⸻

Lucian: I do not.

⸻

Simone uploads security footage.

It shows Lucian subconsciously following Allison through the mansion for three straight hours.

⸻

Theo: Exhibit A.

⸻

Lucian has left the chat.

⸻

Three Days Later

Simone: Allison, blink twice if Lucian has smiled today.

⸻

Allison: He smiled this morning.

⸻

Theo: Impossible.

⸻

Allison uploads a picture.

Lucian is smiling while Allison steals food off his plate.

⸻

Theo: Photoshop.

⸻

Adrian: That’s genuine.

⸻

Nora: She has achieved the impossible.

⸻

Family Dinner

Waiter: Sir, your fiancée ordered before you.

⸻

Lucian: Good.

⸻

Waiter: ...Would you like to see the menu?

⸻

Lucian: Whatever she’s having.

⸻

Theo: THAT’S NOT EVEN THE SAME CUISINE.

⸻

Allison: I ordered pancakes.

⸻

Lucian: Then I’ll have pancakes.

⸻

Simone: Brother...

It’s seven o’clock at night.

⸻

Lucian: Pancakes are timeless.

⸻

Meanwhile...

Anthony creates his own group chat called:

"People Who Appreciate Me."

Members:

Anthony

⸻

Anthony leaves the chat after an argument.

⸻

Aaron Mercer Accidentally Joins the Family Chat

Aaron: Wrong conversation.

⸻

Simone: Since you’re here...

Explain yourself.

⸻

Theo: Also, your vibes are terrible.

⸻

Nora: Have you eaten today?

⸻

Aaron: ...

⸻

Susanna: Sweetheart, are you getting enough sleep?

⸻

Aaron: I came here to threaten your family.

⸻

Adrian: That’s nice.

Would you like lasagna first?

⸻

Aaron has gone offline.

⸻

One Week Later

Theo: Emergency meeting.

⸻

Simone: What’s wrong?!

⸻

Theo: Lucian called Allison...

"Sweetheart."

⸻

(Chat explodes.)

⸻

Nora: I’VE BEEN WAITING MONTHS FOR THIS.

⸻

Adrian: I owe Susanna twenty dollars.

⸻

Susanna: Pay up.

⸻

Lucian: I regret sharing anything with this family.

⸻

Allison: ❤️

⸻

Lucian is typing...

⸻

Lucian: ...

⸻

Lucian: ❤️

⸻

Theo: HE USED AN EMOJI.

⸻

Simone: SOMEONE CHECK IF HELL FROZE OVER.

⸻

Author’s Note

No billionaires were emotionally prepared for this group chat.

Lucian’s greatest enemy wasn’t Anthony.

It wasn’t Aaron Mercer.

It wasn’t corporate warfare.

It was Simone having access to memes and Theo having access to security camera footage.

Poor Lucian never stood a chance.