President's Daughter's Bodyguard-Chapter 98: When He Was Sold

Chapter 98: When He Was Sold

Frank searched the villa like a man chased by ghosts.

He went into every room, window frame, shadow that could hide a footprint was checked twice.

Sometimes he knelt, touching the floor as if the dust could whisper to him. He muttered to himself about angles and footprints and rifles that didn’t belong in this part of the world.

It was a very weird situation; all three did nothing wrong, but somehow wanted to blame each other.

And so just like that, the wind pushed the curtains in and out like tired lungs. Danielle hugged her arms, still feeling Theo’s hold on her, that fierce, unshakable strength he had wrapped around her like a shield.

Was he being truthful with her? Was he really honest? She couldn’t tell, and this didn’t let her mind rest until Theo walked out from the corridor after checking every corner again.

He was still shirtless, tense, still wired like every muscle inside him refused to calm.

His eyes calmed down when they found her, but his body stayed ready just in case.

Frank lifted a ruined rifle from the ground. "They were trained," he said. "Not local or military. Maybe hired or owned."

Theo nodded slowly. "They were testing us. Testing the perimeter. Testing me."

Frank swallowed. "We need to leave before they come back."

Theo answered calmly, "We will leave when I say we leave. Not when they decide." Then he turned to Danielle. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, though her throat still trembled. "No. You got to me before anything happened."

Theo stepped closer and touched her cheek with the back of his fingers. It was gentle enough to melt the breath in her chest. "Good."

Frank disappeared deeper into the house, muttering something about checking the tunnel. That left the room strangely quiet.

Danielle waited until it was only the sound of the wind and the soft drip of broken glass falling from the window frame. Then she asked the question that had been growing inside her like a shadow.

"Theo...Tell me something. Those men tonight... They were not normal criminals. They felt organised. They felt like people who knew you."

Theo’s jaw tightened. "They probably knew what I was capable of."

"And how do they know that?" she asked gently.

He turned away for a moment. Not out of anger but because he seemed to be fighting something inside himself.

When he faced her again, his eyes were darker and honest in a way that made Danielle’s breathing calm down.

"Because of my past," he muttered quietly. "Because of the things my father forced me to do."

She stepped closer. "Tell me."

His breath left him like someone had cut a string inside. "You want the truth?"

"Yes."

Theo took a seat on the arm of the ruined couch as if the story was too heavy to tell standing. Danielle sat beside him, not touching him yet, but close enough that he could feel her presence.

"When I turned thirteen," Theo began, "my father discovered something about me. He discovered I could obey without questioning. He discovered I did not fear death. So he sold me."

"Sold you to who?"

"To presidents," Theo said. "To kings. To foreign ministers. To anyone who paid him enough. They called it political exchange. They called it strategic bonding. But it was nothing more than slavery dressed in expensive clothing."

Danielle covered her mouth. "Theo..."

He kept speaking. "I learned thirteen languages because they wanted me to blend into every country. I learned to shoot and disappear before I was allowed to go to school like a normal kid. My father put trackers in my clothes. He placed me in palaces, in embassies, in underground rooms. He forced me to do missions that were not meant for people my age."

Danielle could feel her entire body growing cold.

"They would reward him for my success," Theo continued. "Money or power....Protection. And when I grew older and stronger, the foreign ministers paid me directly. They wanted my loyalty because my father could not control me forever. So they gave me properties in their countries. They gave me accounts. They gave me access to private networks. I own houses in nearly every region because they wanted a place for me to stay when I served them. And when I stopped serving them, they still feared me. So they kept paying me."

Danielle blinked hard. "That sounds like a nightmare."

"It was...But it made me rich. Rich in a way that feels cursed." His eyes lifted to her face. "I run illegal businesses because I needed ways to stay ahead of those who wanted to chain me again. Weapons, security, intelligence networks. In return they leave me alone. They use me when they need something done quietly. They protect my name. They protect everything I built."

Danielle’s fingers curled on her dress. "So the attacks tonight were connected to them?"

"They were connected to something," Theo assured. "Maybe an old enemy. Maybe someone who wants to punish me. Maybe someone who wants you."

Her body shivered at the thought.

Theo placed his hand on her cheek again. "You looked uneasy tonight. Not only because of the attack. Something else scared you. Something about your father."

She shut her eyes for a moment. "I keep thinking about him. About how he would have to die. About how much I never understood him but still love him."

Theo brushed her cheek with his thumb. "I will not hurt him in front of you."

Her eyes opened slowly. "You promise?"

"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "I promise you I will not touch him. Not even if he deserves it."

She breathed shakily. "Then let him stay alive."

Theo hesitated, but only for a second. "If we keep him alive, it will be dangerous. For us and for you....For everyone."

"I know...But I cannot lose him..."

"There is a way. But it will require something extreme."

She leaned closer. "What way?"

"We will have to fake his death..."

"What?"

"We will hide him on an island that belongs to me. No one goes there. No one looks there. He would live. But to the world he would be gone. Including you. Including the man who killed him. Including your enemies."

Danielle stared at him in shock. "You... you would do that for me?"

Theo took her hands in his. "I would do worse if it meant saving you."

Before she could respond, Frank ran back into the room with fear in his eyes.

"Theo," he gasped. "You need to see this. Someone left a message in the garden."

Theo stood. "What message?"

Frank swallowed hard. "A warning....And it has Danielle’s name on it."