The General's Daughter: The Mission

Before Lara could knock on the door, a deep, pleasant voice echoed from within.

”The door is open. Come in.”

His voice was not loud. Didn’t need to be. It was the kind of voice that assumed obedience.

Lara paused for half a second, then pushed the door open and stepped inside. She closed the door softly behind her. The click sounded too final.

Ares’s study was on the third floor, all dark wood and glass. The city stretched behind him, obscured by trees and greenery which defined the Aurelian Village—a living backdrop.

Sunlight slid across the floor in long gold strips. Everything smelled faintly of leather luxury and something else.

Money had a scent, and power has too.

Ares sat behind the massive desk, sleeves rolled, watch catching the light. He was not working, but waiting.

Just like Mrs. Pattos said.

She nodded once and took the chair across from him.

The leather was soft, sinking just enough to remind her how much it probably cost. Most people would perch on the edge, afraid to wrinkle anything.

But not Lara. She leaned back and got comfortable.

Across the desk, Ares watched her, quiet and measuring.

For a strange second, an old memory surfaced—some museum he’d visited years ago. A painting of a queen on a throne. Chin lifted. Demeanor calm...untouchable. An ethereal beauty.

He blinked the thought away.

”The nanny said you took Shay to a crowded children’s store,” he said. There was no accusation in his voice. No warmth. Just facts laid out like evidence.

You already know what happened. So why ask?

Lara met his gaze evenly.

Might as well just say what you really want to say.

”I took her to the fifth floor of Luxxe,” she replied. ”From what I understand, it’s a high-end department store.”

Her tone was steady and professional. Like she was giving a report, not defending herself.

The light from the windows shifted.

For a moment, her eyes caught it— and the orbs turned green. Not brown but green.

Ares’s focus snagged there.

Strange.

He could’ve sworn they were light brown before.

The color change distracted him just long enough that he almost lost his train of thought.

”The fifth floor is where they dump inventory,” he said. ”Out-of-season stock. Defects. Returns. Things they can’t sell upstairs.”

”It didn’t look like trash to me,” Lara said. ”Not luxury, sure. But solid quality.” Her tone was crisp and nonchalant. ”Those clothes are a right fit for Sandro.”

The way she said the name made it seem as if he was familiar with the boy. Ares learned earlier from Jack that Sandro was a handpicked recipient of a scholarship from the Zuvel Foundation.

The profile was right. A pitiful orphan. That’s what Jack said. He was selected because a company subsidiary that markets children’s educational apps would be launching a new product, and they needed a promotion

Ares studied Lara more closely.

Most people got nervous in this room. Ares thought. They would fidget and avoid eye contact.

Lara did none of that. If anything, she acted like they were equals sitting across a café table.

It was... unsettling. Like he’d forgotten what he was supposed to be annoyed about.

”My point,” he said, voice cooling a few degrees, ”is that it’s crowded. Shay could’ve been hurt.”

He leaned back slowly. ”It’s packed. People shove. Bad things could happen.”

”She was with me.”

”That doesn’t make her untouchable. I saw the video. She almost got shoved by a fat brat.”

”Then you should’ve seen how I protected her,” Lara said, locking eyes with him like she was daring him to blink. ”One of your bodyguards covered Shay. It wasn’t her who got hit. It was that kid who got shoved.”

”Shay has been sheltered all her life...”

”Yeah,” Lara cut in, voice slicing clean through his. ”And how’s that working out for her?”

The room went still, like the air itself didn’t want to move.

”Locking her in a mansion doesn’t make her safe,” she said. ”It just makes her scared of everything outside the gate.”

Ares didn’t speak.

Lara kept going anyway.

”Treating her like porcelain? Like she’ll crack the second life touches her?” Her voice dropped, rougher now. ”That’s how you raise a kid who can’t stand on her own. Kids need scraped knees. Noise. A little chaos. That’s how they grow teeth.”

The silence that followed was thick and heavy.

The corner of Ares’ mouth twitched. How audacious of her to cut him mid-sentence and lecture him.

He stood. Slow and deliberate.

The chair dragged against the tiled floor.

It was a soft sound but it felt like a gun being cocked.

”Oh?” His voice was low, calm in that dangerous way. ”Now you’re giving me parenting lessons?”

Crap.

Lara pushed to her feet, too. She hated looking up at anyone. Hated feeling small.

So she met him eye to eye across the desk. Not boss and employee. Not father and governess.

Two people were squaring off.

Like rival generals deciding whether to call a truce or start a war.

The weight of it hit her all at once. What was she doing? He wasn’t some random guy on the street.

He was Shay’s father, and she was just a mere dignified nanny.

Her spine loosened a fraction.

She dropped her gaze. ”I spoke out of turn. I’m sorry, Ares.”

He circled the desk. Unhurried. Predatory.

He stopped right in front of her.

Even in heels, she had to tilt her chin to meet his eyes.

”It’s good you know that,” he said, voice iced over. ”You’re her governess. Not her mother. Don’t forget your place.”

The words landed clean and sharp. Like a blade pressed to skin, but Lara didn’t flinch.

Because he wasn’t wrong.

She’d crossed a line.

”I understand,” she said evenly. ”It won’t happen again.”

A beat passed. Then another.

The tension eased.

”Good.” He sat back down, loose now, like the storm had already passed for him. ”Still... you handled that clown pretty well.”

The compliment came so casually that it almost felt like it had slipped out by mistake.

Lara blinked.

Ares didn’t strike her as the type who praised anyone.

”Thank you,” she said, slower than usual, as she was trying think why would he compliment her.

Then she remembered.

The flamboyantly dressed man. The charming smile. The so-called scout hovering too close to Shay.

”Sarah grabbed his card,” Lara added. ”She wants to talk to you about letting Shay take the role. She said it’d be good for her to get some exposure.”

Ares didn’t answer.

She took the card from her pocket and slid it across the desk.

His fingers stopped just short of touching it. He threw Lara a complicated look.

Sarah didn’t have the slightest clue that the name card was stolen, and neither did Ares.

Ares picked up the card. It bent slightly between his fingers as he kept staring at the name printed on it.

Why is it him?