Austyn left the room quickly.
Deborah stared at the closed door.
Austyn fled the room and didn't stop walking until he reached the end of the hallway.
He held up the cigarette in his hand and took a long sniff.
Then he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
The past three days had been a whirlwind.
Things were moving so fast, even he had trouble catching up.
He forced himself to prioritise and focus on Sean Santoro first.
He was the biggest threat.
The final showdown was less than twelve hours away.
Austyn inhaled the unfamiliar scent of citrus air freshener in the hallway.
It reminded him he was twelve thousand kilometres away from home. Four words uttered by Deborah brought him here
His Flesh And Blood
That day in the ward, Austyn was about to leave.
He had promised Kira he would be back for dinner and he was running almost four hours late.
But Deborah's words stopped him dead in his tracks.
""You have a son."
She told him the boy's name was Aiden, Aiden Connelly.
But his real name should be Aiden McCarthy.
He was six years and four months old.
He was supposed to be sitting in a classroom right now, but Santoro abducted him on his first day of primary school.
Deborah had to do what Santoro asked if she wanted to get her son back alive.
He ordered her to return to Stamford, get close to Austyn and find a way to kill him..
A life for a life, he'd said.
Austyn stood rooted to the spot as Deborah came clean, sobbing.
Santoro had given her an impossible task.
She wanted to save Aiden more than anything in the world, but she had no idea how to kill a man.
Nor did she want to.
She didn't finish her medical studies, but she'd memorised the Hippocratic Oath.
'Primum non nocere'-'First, do no harm.
She thought about calling the police, but she had no idea where Santoro was hiding.
She had to play along because she couldn't afford to antagonise the man.
Ever since she returned to Stamford, she had not had a good night's sleep.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she would have the same nightmare of seeing Aiden lying in a pool of blood, with all his limbs hacked off.
She often screamed herself awake.
She couldn't bring herself to commit murder.
Nor could she watch her son die.
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Deborah had to stall, to play for time.
Luckily, Santoro didn't set a fixed deadline.
He wanted Austyn to suffer first before he died.
He instructed Deborah to destroy Austyn's marriage and reputation, and then left it up to her to devise a plan.
That was why she tried so hard to insinuate herself into Austyn's life.
He was as considerate as seven years ago, but she could tell that he no longer loved her.
Santoro had warned her about Kira's existence, but Deborah never thought the woman would have so much influence over Austyn.
He refused to get back together with her and wouldn't even consider keeping her on as a mistress.
Deborah was at her wits end.
Then Sebastian threw a wrench into the works by taking her away.
Henry McCarthy's faithful henchman told her the old master would see her as soon as he returned from a business trip.
Deborah was desperate.
She didn't need the complication right now.
She spent the night trying to escape, but Sebastian left two men to watch over her.
When she heard the sound of urgent footsteps and men shouting outside the shed, she was thrilled.
It must be Austyn!
That was when she made the decision.
If he could find her in less than twelve hours, he must be more resourceful and powerful than she imagined.
Maybe he could help her.
He could protect her and her son.
just needed another chance to talk to him, to make him believe her.
So she grabbed the steak knife and slit her wrists,
It was a calculated risk.
Her medical training told her if she slit her wrists horizontally instead of vertically, she would
bleed a lot but she wouldn't die.
Austyn would never abandon her in a state like that.
Her plan worked.
When she felt the reassuring warmth of his arms and the concern in his voice, she let herself
pass out.
When she came to, he was still by her side.
'I didn't want to take my own life,' she sobbed. 'But I saw no other way out. Santoro has my boy, but I couldn't bring myself to do what he asked. I'd rather kill myself before I'd hurt you!' Austyn had not said a word throughout.
His silence unnerved Deborah.
She made a clean breast of everything-how Santoro took her son, how he put her on a plane back to Stamford, how he ordered her to seduce Austyn and destroy his reputation...
She
got her hopes back up when Austyn didn't leave.
He would be mad, of course.
Anyone would be when they found out they were being lied to..
But he would also be disorientated.
To discover that he had a son who was already six years old!
No man could remain calm to a piece of news like that.
Even if he no longer had any feelings for her, he would have to get involved for the sake of his
Austyn was an alpha wolf.
He would protect a member of his pack
'You can hate me all you want,' Deborah beseeched him. 'But please don't turn your back on your son. He's just a little kid. He's too young to die!"Text content © .
Austyn stood still like a statue.
When he finally moved, he walked to the door of the ward, locked it and came back to stand in front of Deborah Tell me exactly what Santoro asked you to do." They hatched the plan to fake Austyn's death that very night..
The three of them-Austyn, Deborah and Kai-boarded the first flight out of Stamford in the morning.
The flight took forty hours with three layover stops.