The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 555

555 Prison Break

“What’s wrong?” Quinn asked softly, noticing the sudden chill that crept across Julius’ face.

He forced a tight smile, quickly ending the call and slipping the phone into his pocket. “It’s nothing,” he said, though the tension in his voice betrayed him.

Quinn was still in her first trimester, and Julius knew any intense surge of emotion could be dangerous for both her and their unborn child. Until he understood exactly how Joaquin had managed to slip away from his confinement in Celosia, there was no benefit in panicking. It was better to keep quiet for now.

“Your meeting’s over, right? Shall we head back?” Julius suggested, steering the conversation away from the troubling news.

“Yes, it’s done. Let’s go home,” Quinn replied, casting a brief, concerned glance at his pale, drawn face.

Throughout the drive, Quinn sensed Julius’ mind drifting far ahead of them, leaving only a hollow shell beside her. She wondered if it was that call that had shaken him so deeply. What could have unsettled him this badly?

She had seen Julius distracted before, but never haunted like this. His eyes carried the weight of a man bracing himself for something dreadful on the horizon.

Was the Whitethorn Group in jeopardy, or was this fear rooted in something far more personal?

He wasn’t ready to talk yet, and Quinn refused to push him. She wanted him to share the truth willingly, not have it dragged out by her worry.

Once home, Quinn slipped into the master bathroom, while Julius retreated to his study and redialed the number that had shattered their evening.

“Explain how Joaquin escaped,” Julius demanded, his voice low and steady, but edged with steel.

“Several guards took heavy bribes,” came the grim reply. “Joaquin feigned a sudden illness and was transported to the hospital. He vanished from the ward. There’s no record of him leaving Celosia, yet we’ve found no trace of him anywhere inside the country.”

Julius clenched his jaw tightly, a vein throbbing at his temple.

“Keep searching. The absence of an exit record doesn’t mean he’s still here,” Julius ordered.

With Joaquin’s skills, stealing a stranger’s passport and slipping across a border would be child’s play.

He berated himself for the oversight. He had assumed that a prison full of charges would keep Joaquin tangled up in legal battles, never anticipating that the man would choose to flee, trading a courtroom for the dangerous freedom of a fugitive.

In Julius’ mind, the next move played out like a dark chess opening. Joaquin would come for Quinn. That certainty settled over Julius like an icy grip.

He knew Joaquin never forgot a grudge. Quinn had humiliated that ruthless old man, using cutting-edge AI to conjure images and a voice mimicking his late wife, luring him into the trap that landed him behind bars.

The moment prison doors opened, Joaquin would hunt her down—that much Julius was sure of, as solid and unyielding as steel.

So Julius made a vow to himself: he would protect Quinn from any retaliation. If that meant raising a weapon against the man who had given him life, then so be it.

“The instant Joaquin’s location is confirmed, coordinate with the police. Bring him in—dead or alive, no matter the cost,” Julius said, his voice low and resolute.

“Understood,” came the reply.

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