Chapter 51 Achilles’ Heel
The living room felt cavernous after everyone left.
Veyra stood by the window, watching the last of the family members disappear down the hallway. Harold had stopped at the door, his hand still on the handle, his back still turned.
Dorian was beside her. His arms were crossed. His gray eyes were fixed on the floor. He looked tired. Heavy.
"Why won’t you move out?" Veyra asked. "You heard what Harold said. Less conflict. Less tension. Less drama."
Dorian was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Moving out would make you vulnerable."
She frowned. "Vulnerable how?"
He turned to look at her. His eyes were serious.
"If we move out, you become my Achilles’ heel," he said. "Anyone who wants to hurt me will target you. You’ll be outside the security of the estate. Easier to reach. Harder to protect."
Veyra’s stomach tightened.
"I don’t want you to become a weakness," Dorian continued. "If you fall into the hands of the wrong people, you become a weapon. A nuclear weapon. They would use you to destroy me. To destroy the entire Thorne family."
The words hung in the air.
Veyra had never thought of it that way. She had only seen the estate as a prison. A gilded cage. She had not seen it as a fortress.
"I understand," she said quietly.
Dorian nodded. He turned back to the window.
Harold was still standing at the door.
He had not left. His hand was still on the handle. His face was still turned away.
"I heard what you said," Harold said. His voice was quieter now. Less angry. "About her being a target. About the security."
Dorian said nothing.
Harold sighed. He turned around. His face was tired. Wrinkled.
"Your reasoning is sound," he said. "I acknowledge that. If moving out puts her at risk, then she should stay."
Veyra blinked. She had not expected Harold to agree.
"I’m not happy about it," Harold continued. "I don’t like her. I don’t trust her. But I understand the logic."
He looked at Dorian.
"We will all exercise patience. Until the baby is born. After that..." He shook his head. "We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it."
He sighed again. A long, heavy sound.
Then he walked out. The door closed behind him.
Dorian’s phone buzzed.
He pulled it out of his pocket. Looked at the screen. His jaw tightened.
"I have to take this," he said.
He walked toward the door. Then he stopped. He turned to look at Veyra.
"Li Wei will be your personal bodyguard from now on," he said. "He stays with you at all times. You don’t go anywhere without him. You don’t do anything without him. Is that clear?"
Veyra nodded. "Clear."
Dorian looked at her for a moment longer. Then he walked out.
The door closed.
Veyra stood alone in the living room. The silence pressed against her ears.
Li Wei appeared in the doorway.
He was tall. Broad. His face was calm. Professional. He walked toward her and stopped a few feet away.
"Mrs. Thorne," he said. He held out a small white card. "My business card. My personal number is on the back. Call me anytime. Day or night."
Veyra took the card. She looked at it. His name. His title. A phone number.
"Li Wei," she said. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"How good are you? At fighting? At protection?"
Li Wei’s expression did not change. "I am a Sanda champion. Five years in the Special Forces. Rigorous specialized combat training."
Veyra stared at him.
Sanda. Chinese kickboxing. She had seen matches on television. The speed. The power. The precision.
And Special Forces. Five years. Combat training.
She had been walking around with a living weapon and had not even known it.
"You’re serious?" she said.
Li Wei nodded. "I don’t joke about my qualifications."
Veyra felt a surge of excitement. She had struck gold. A bodyguard who could fight. Who could teach her to fight.
"Can you teach me?" she asked. "Some moves? Self-defense?"
Li Wei hesitated. "I would need Mr. Thorne’s permission first."
"Of course," Veyra said. "I’ll ask him when he returns."
Li Wei nodded. He stepped back. He took up a position by the door. His eyes scanned the room. The windows. The hallway.
He was already working.
Veyra sat on the sofa and waited.
The clock on the wall ticked. The minutes crawled. The room grew darker as the sun set.
She thought about what Dorian had said. About her being his Achilles’ heel. About her becoming a weapon in the wrong hands.
She did not want to be a weakness.
She wanted to be strong. Capable. Someone who could defend herself. Someone who did not need to be rescued.
Li Wei could teach her. If Dorian said yes.
She looked at the clock again. It was almost midnight.
Dorian had been gone for hours. She did not know where he had gone. Who he was meeting. What he was doing.
She tried to stay awake. Her eyelids grew heavy. Her head nodded forward. She jerked it back up.
No. She would not fall asleep. She would wait for him. She would ask him about the training.
The clock ticked.
12:15 AM.
She yawned. Her eyes watered. She blinked hard.
12:20 AM.
Her head nodded again. She caught herself. She stood up. Walked to the bathroom. Splashed cold water on her face.
The shock of it woke her up.
She dried her face. Walked back to the living room. Sat on the sofa again.
She would wait.
She heard it at 12:35 AM.
A car engine. Low. Rumbling. Growing louder.
Veyra shot off the sofa. Her heart jumped. She ran to the balcony doors. Pushed them open. Stepped out into the cool night air.
The estate gates were opening. Headlights cut through the darkness.
She leaned over the railing. Her hair blew across her face. She pushed it back.
The car was black. Sleek. Dorian’s car.
It pulled into the driveway. The engine cut off. The headlights died.
The driver’s door opened.
Dorian stepped out.
He looked up.
Their eyes met across the garden.