Page 37 of Fallen Heir

It was the word.

Wife.

One word. One syllable.

And suddenly, I was that broken woman again. The one who flinched at shadows. The one who prayed no one could hear her crying through the walls.

The phone slipped from my hand, crashing to the hardwood like it burned. And I ran.

Straight to the bathroom, hand clamped over my mouth, the world tilting beneath my feet.

This time, I didn’t need to fake anything. The nausea was real. The panic was real.

The bile came hard and fast—no warning, no mercy—as I collapsed over the toilet.

And Jaxson was witness to my world shattering.

Chapter 14

Jaxson

She looked like she’d been awake allweekend.

When she’d answered her office phone, I typed a quick message to Ben to have him bring me a brand-new phone for her. If she wouldn’t let me in on what was going on, I could at least fix one thing.

I stood, watching her face as she spoke to whoever was on the other line.

The moment her face turned so pale it was damn near translucent, I moved.

I didn’t even think. The second the phone hit the floor, I was on it—scooping it up, pressing it to my ear like I could send a bullet through the line.

But the person on the other line wasn’t the only person that had spoken. Just before it fell, I’d yelled out her name.

“Savannah?”

She didn’t answer. Didn’t even flinch. But someone heard me. Because the bastard on the other end of the line didn’t hang up.

The silence was sharp—taunting. Not dead air. A presence.

Then, the faintest sound. A snicker. Low. Cruel. Confident.

“Have my wife call me.”

Click.

Gone.

The line disconnected, but the words stayed—etched into my skull.

Bruce.

No doubt now.

I stood there, the weight of the phone in my hand suddenly heavier than it should’ve been.

He’d found her. It was either the headlines with her face flashing across them, or someone else.Alex.

Thatpolished ghost of a man didn’t just recognize her at the gala—he led Bruce straight to her. While we’d been hunting them...They’d been hunting her. And they did a damn good job.