Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 612

Chapter 612

Tristan’s voice rose and fell with deliberate control.

From the terrace above, Sydney heard every word. She knew he was not bluffing. He had come prepared. Her life rested squarely in his hands. Anyone who wanted to save her would have to play by his rules.

But she wanted Julian to live as well. Julian, herself, and their child all had to walk out of here intact.

The harsh courtyard lights threw Julian’s face into sharp relief. Sydney caught the hesitation in his eyes. Then, as if he sensed her gaze, his focus snapped back into place.

This time, she did nothing. No words. No gestures. She simply held his gaze.

Nearby, Caleb watched in silence. Something seemed to fall into place for him.

Raymond pressed his tongue against his cheek and fixed Tristan with a cutting look. “Plenty of people want Jules dead. You are not even high on the list. Touch him, or touch Sydney, and I can make you disappear without a sound.”

No one doubted him. As the fourth Hutton heir, he had the means.

This turn of events lay outside Tristan’s plan. Jeremiah had not yet brought Sydney back to reunite with the Hutton family. Even so, all three Hutton siblings had appeared, clearly ready to intervene. They already knew who Sydney was.

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If the Huttons had not shown up, he could have succeeded and slipped away. In Jouleston, once Julian fell, his people would scatter. Now, whether he won or lost, there would be no clean exit. The Huttons would not stand aside.

Still, Sydney remained in his grasp. He kept his composure and said coolly, “The Hutton family really does sit high and mighty. Too bad for me I have nothing to lose. Let’s talk inside.”

Julian broke eye contact and turned to him with practiced calm. “We’ll talk. Maybe I can offer terms you’ll like.”

Tristan needed time as well. He did not refuse.

They moved toward the living room together.

Diana lingered at the rear and murmured a brief instruction to her people. Then she

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together soon.”

She sounded like a steady, gentle older sister.

For reasons Sydney could not name, the last of her panic drained away. She looked at Diana, warmth gathering in her eyes, and nodded hard. “Okay.”

She trusted them. She trusted herself as well. A sliver of uncertainty remained, but Julian and Diana grounded her. No matter how this ended, someone would catch her. It was a sense of safety she had not known in ten years of living on edge.

Everyone went inside. The courtyard fell quiet again. Only Nathan and the others remained posted beyond the walls.

The bespectacled man scoffed when he saw her calm. “You really think having the Hutton family here means you and Julian walk out alive?”

Sydney did not answer. Her hand shifted over her abdomen. “My stomach hurts.”

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