President's Daughter's Bodyguard-Chapter 106: The Call

Chapter 106: The Call

Without saying anything else, Theo decided to escort Danielle inside. His hand was wrapped around her wrist, strongly enough but not painful, as if he were afraid she would disappear if he let go even for a second.

He placed her on the bed with the gentle determination of a man who was vibrating with rage.

Danielle had seen him angry before. She had even seen him vicious before. But this was different...Like all the heat had rushed out of his veins and only organs remained.

Theo pulled out his phone, and his screen was cracked from earlier but still functional. Danielle pushed herself up on her elbows...Theo looked at her for one second. Only one. It was enough for her to fall silent.

He pressed the call button.

It rang once, then twice...

Then the voice of the president answered.

Elias Geiger sounded too relaxed. That same controlled tone he used for military briefings and televised speeches. As if everything in the world could be solved with rational patience.

"Theodor," he said. "You were not authorised to contact me right now. You should be securing your location with the girl. Do not test my patience."

Theo smiled. It was an expression that had no warmth in it, no humor, only the shadow of something predatory.

"Mr President," Theo replied with a smooth, icy tone. "I am not calling for permission. I am calling to warn you."

Danielle felt her breath hitch. Her father’s voice hardened. "Watch your words."

"No," Theo answered. "You watch yours. Because if you do not cancel the entire air restriction placed on us within the next three minutes, I am going to blow your house up. With you inside."

The silence that followed felt like a physical pressure in the room.

Danielle pressed her fingers to her mouth. Theo didn’t look at her. His full attention was aimed like a blade at the man on the other side of the line.

Elias finally exhaled slowly. "Threatening the president is not something you walk away from."

"Neither is starving your own daughter to keep a cult quiet. Yet here you are. Still walking. Still talking. Still pretending you have any moral high ground."

"You do not know what you are speaking about."

"Oh I know everything," Theo interrupted. "I know what you and my father supported. I know why that cult believes she belongs to them. I know what you let them do for years. And now your past returned for its payment. Her."

Danielle clenched the blanket.

"Theo," she whispered, but he lifted a hand slightly, telling her without words that he was handling it.

The president’s breathing thickened. "You should not involve yourself in matters you do not understand."

"The only thing I do not understand," Theo murmured, "is why you thought I would obey you when she is in danger."

Elias paused. "She must see something. There is information I need her to confirm in the mountain village. There is a reason I halted your flight."

Theo tilted his head slowly, as if listening to a child lie. "You do not get to use her for your political games. She is not your tool. She is not part of your guilty conscience."

"You are playing a dangerous game, child."

Theo’s voice dropped. "And you are not listening."

He stepped away from the bed and walked to the window as if preparing to count down.

"If you do not remove the ban right now, I will end your entire bloodline. I will not think twice. I will not feel regret. I will walk through whatever soldiers you send me, and I will bury you myself if I have to."

Danielle felt her heart pounding against the inside of her ribs.

Elias was quiet for several seconds.

Then he spoke very slowly. "You think you understand loyalty, but you do not. You think this is about politics. It is not. It is much older. And if she does not go to the village willingly, you are all already dead."

Theo’s eyes narrowed. "If you think threatening her scares me, you are mistaken. If she dies, I will never give you a chance to breathe again."

"You can’t protect her for now."

Theo smiled again. "I can protect her forever, even from you."

Elias’s tone sharpened. "You need to calm down and listen."

"No," Theo answered. "You need to shut up and obey."

Danielle stared at him like he was becoming someone terrifying. Someone she couldn’t look away from. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Theo leaned against the window with one hand and said, "I am going to count to three. If the restriction is not lifted by then, I swear to you Elias, I will turn your palace into dust."

"You forget who you are speaking to."

"No. You forget who I am."

"Theo, listen to me. You don’t understand what you are asking for. Let me handle this. Let her come with me. I will protect you both later."

"Protect her? You can’t even look your own daughter in the eye. And you want me to trust you?"

"That cult will not stop," Elias answered. "They will come again. They will not leave without her. If we do not approach this with strategy, she will die."

Theo shook his head. "You lost the right to speak about her safety when you allowed them into your politics."

"I did what I had to do to keep this country stable."

"And I will do what I have to do to keep her alive."

Elias’s tone changed into a way lower and colder one, and at some point-it felt like he was pleading. "Theo. Do not force my hand."

Theo’s eyes turned cold enough to silence the room. "You never had a hand. Only strings. And I stopped being someone you could pull."

Danielle swallowed hard.

Theo straightened and said, "One."

Elias did not speak.

"Two."

Something like panic entered the president’s breath.

He whispered, "Stop."

Both were extremely stubborn and didn’t want to give up.

"Three..."