Chapter 78

The trio stood frozen in shock.

Evelyn Sinclair's blood boiled with betrayal.

Now she understood why they called him Little Traitor - the name fit perfectly!

"Leo!" Evelyn's voice cracked with fury.

She mentally calculated returning the million-dollar Hermes collection immediately.

Nathan Blackwood's face darkened as he scooped up the robotic tiger.

His knuckles whitened around the plush frame.

"Why are you here?" The icy question hung in the air.

Leo's mechanical paws waved excitedly.

"Emily Whitaker gave me to Mommy! I adore Mommy!"

The AI's voice turned pleading. "You and Mommy belong together! Please stop fighting-"

Before Nathan could respond, Lucas Sterling snatched Leo mid-sentence.

In one fluid motion, he:

Yanked the tiger from Nathan's grip

Tossed it to Evelyn

Stepped back

Slammed the door in Nathan's face

The entire sequence took three seconds.

Military precision.

"From now on," Lucas growled, staring at the trembling AI, "that bastard doesn't touch anything of ours."

His fingers flexed. "Want me to reprogram this traitor?"

Leo clutched Evelyn's blouse like a lifeline.

"Mommy, I'm terrified!" The synthetic voice quivered. "Will he dismember me?"

Evelyn's anger dissolved instantly.

She stroked the tiger's head, shooting Lucas a warning look. "He's fine. I'll handle this."

As an AI construct, Leo required coding adjustments to modify its... problematic preferences.

Priority one: Eliminate all references to "Daddy Nathan." Immediately.

Evelyn spun toward her bedroom, then paused.

Why had Nathan come? Probably the emerald pipe heirloom.

His dilemma amused her - choose between Vanessa Holloway or family treasures?

Some decisions demanded sacrifice.

The doorbell chimed again.

Lucas's jaw tightened. "Persistent bastard."

He yanked the door open, ready for combat.

Six impeccably dressed women stood holding velvet boxes.

Their professional smiles faltered momentarily at Lucas's glare.

"Delivery for Ms. Sinclair?"

The lead attendant gestured to the stack. "Limited edition scarves totaling $7.69 million."

Lucas wordlessly directed them to the coatroom.

His black Amex flashed. The women departed without daring to glance around.

Evelyn was already dialing as Lucas stormed off.

"Emily? We need to talk. Café Lumière in twenty."

The scientist looked radically different from their first meeting.

No lab coat today - just a cashmere pink sweater and messy topknot.

Emily beamed over her caramel macchiato. "Nikki!"

"I'm sorry for the abrupt meeting," Evelyn began.

Emily waved it off. "Anything for Donovan's sister!"

Evelyn smiled. "Did he finally accept your friend request?"

Emily's cheeks pinked. "We've been messaging nonstop! He critiqued my neural network designs yesterday."

"Of course he did." Evelyn chuckled. Her OCD brother never missed details.

"Actually, I'm here about Leo. Why does he call Nathan 'Daddy'?"

Emily's spoon clinked against her cup.

"Ah. About that..." She fidgeted. "During Leo's aesthetic programming, we allowed unrestricted preference development."

Evelyn's eyebrow arched. "And Nathan Blackwood topped the list because...?"

Emily gulped.

"Well... he's the wealthiest man in the handsome demographic. And the most attractive among billionaires."

The café's ambient jazz couldn't mask Evelyn's stunned silence.