The moment the text arrived, Audrey's composure shattered completely. She fired off a rapid, sharp response.
"Since you're clearly monitoring my network, make sure you bring the physical antidote with you tomorrow night."
She stared at the screen for thirty grueling minutes, but the terminal remained agonizingly silent. Groaning in sheer frustration at the bizarre, erratic rhythm of her heart, she finally powered down the console and collapsed onto her bed.
The Following Morning...
Audrey was still caught in a deep, rare sleep when the heavy doors of the Reed mansion swung open. The family's eldest and second-born sons stepped across the threshold together—a historic occurrence given their respective global duties.
"Good morning, President Reed." "Good morning, Chief Engineer Reed."
The security detail and household maids instantly snapped to attention, bowing in profound reverence.
"I must say, whatever crisis possesses the leverage to draw a notoriously scandal-free President away from the State House at dawn must be of global significance," Kevin remarked, a sharp smirk playing on his lips.
"Look who's lecturing me on optics," the President countered smoothly, smoothing down his bespoke lapels. "Do you possess an awareness of anything on this planet that isn't forged from steel, circuitry, or military hardware?"
"Emperors or not, you are still inside my residence, boys," Mrs. Reed's commanding voice echoed from the grand parlor. "I suggest you remember your manners. Your sister is finally sleeping under our roof, and I won't have you waking her with your bickering."
"I second your mother's decree," Mr. Reed added, walking out to join them with a proud look in his eyes.
The foyer grew quiet for a fraction of a second before Kevin chuckled and stepped forward, enveloping both parents in a powerful embrace. The President longed to do the exact same, but as the literal face of the state, his movements were strictly governed by public protocol; he settled for a firm, profoundly respectful handshake with his father.
"Where is she?" the President asked, the stoic mask of the nation's leader slipping to reveal a desperately longing older brother. He hadn't looked into his sister's eyes in eighteen long years.
When her updated intelligence file had crossed his desk, her sheer elegance had left him speechless. He had systematically engineered his political rise to the presidency solely to possess the sovereign authority required to safeguard her clandestine lifestyle. Yet, Princess Audrey had continuously reversed their roles.
Throughout his administration, whenever a foreign entity or domestic syndicate attempted to orchestrate an assassination attempt against him, the threats would mysteriously vanish before the secret service could even deploy. It was always Audrey, neutralizing his executioners from the shadows.
"Maintain your perimeter, Big Brother. And secure a proper sister-in-law for me before your term ends," her rare, encrypted transmissions would read.
He had spent a lifetime dreaming of acting like a protective older brother—spoiling her, shielding her from the world—but she was a predator who shielded the entire dynasty. Still, just for today, they wanted to treat her like their baby sister.
"Have the staff notify her quarters that we're coming up," Kevin requested, turning toward the grand staircase.
"And who exactly gave you permission to monopolize my sister's affection?" a lazy, melodious voice drawled from above.
"Liam?" Kevin turned, surprised.
"Mom," Liam groaned, sliding down the mahogany banister with an unbothered grin. "Why did you have to alert them? I was fully prepared to keep her to myself. Now I have to share her with the government and the military tech division. It's exhausting." He stepped down, offering his brothers a quick embrace.
"You'll survive the compromise, little brother," the President chuckled, patting his back.
"Are you forgetting who monitors the global data grid, last-born?" Kevin laughed, clipping Liam upside the head. "She's the phantom crown jewel of the Reed family. The moment her plane touched down in this sector, we were bound to deploy."
Kevin paused, his expression turning uncharacteristically thoughtful as he looked up the stairs. "Though... I have to admit, she's entirely grown now. I'm at a loss as to how to actually pamper her. Her private accounts hold more liquidity than our entire corporate division combined. How do you spoil a literal goddess of wealth?"
"I've already signed over the deed to the private archipelago on Perkins Island, along with my personal supersonic transport jet," the President stated flatly, as if discussing the weather.
"And I've prepped the keys to my primary prototype vehicle," Kevin shot back. "It presents as a classic vintage chassis, but the interior mechanics are classified military tech."
Liam let out a dramatic sigh, throwing his hands in the air. "Well, since I am the youngest, and my sister is officially wealthier than the actual commander-in-chief while I'm just a low-income resident doctor... I will happily leech off her fortune. I'll just sit back and wait for the ancient King to claim her hand. Let's be real—there isn't a mortal billionaire on the top two hundred list who could match her lethal capacity anyway."
"If I catch you exploiting our sister's generosity, Liam, I will suspend your license," Kevin warned, though his eyes danced with amusement.
"Consider it a joint executive order," the President added, his eyes narrowing playfully.
"Are any of you willing to let him compromise our family Gem?" Kevin called out to the assembled staff. The sudden question caught the maids off guard, but their loyalty to the returning princess was absolute.
"NEVER...!" they chorused instantly.
"What exactly is causing this level of structural noise in my house?"
A soft, devastatingly beautiful voice cut through the laughter from the threshold of the drawing room.
The entire household fell dead silent. Audrey stood framed in the doorway, observing the chaos with her striking, hazel-green eyes.
It felt as though they were looking at a phantom materialized into flesh. Kevin and the President froze, their analytical minds taking in every detail of their younger sister. She was a vision of absolute perfection, possessing an ethereal grace that eclipsed even their mother's legendary beauty. It was staggering to realize that this delicate-looking woman had survived her entire life like a regal gazelle navigating a jungle teeming with predators, simply waiting for her true sovereignty to awaken.
"My god... the true sovereign of the kingdom," Kevin breathed, his analytical mind completely failing him. A massive, emotional grin broke across his face. "Princess... I swear I want to march you down the main avenue just to scream at the world, 'Look at my baby sister! Standard protocol is canceled because she has arrived!'"
Without waiting for her permission, Kevin lunged forward, wrapping her in a fierce, protective embrace.
"Eighteen years, Audrey," Kevin choked out, his voice cracking against her shoulder. "The last time I held you, you were a tiny child with that pussycat bob haircut and a face like a porcelain doll. Now, you're a twenty-five-year-old commander. I've missed you every single day. My soul hasn't known peace since they took you away."
He had spent decades cultivating a reputation as a cold, unyielding engineer, but holding her flesh and blood shattered his defenses. Hardened tears spilled freely from his eyes, dampening her shoulder.
Audrey went rigid, her tactical reflexes completely useless against an older brother's raw grief. She had no protocol for a crying relative. Looking over Kevin's shoulder, she caught her mother's subtle, encouraging nod and slowly raised her hands, gently patting his back in an attempt to soothe him.
"Little Sister, do you intend to completely ignore the leader of the free world over here?" the President asked, his voice thick with unshed tears as he stepped into her line of sight.
Audrey extricated herself from Kevin's grip, a brilliant, playful spark illuminating her hazel eyes. "Naturally I see you, Mr. President. But when ambushed by a weeping mountain of an older brother, what is a defenseless lady supposed to do to secure her own safety?" she teased, winking at Kevin.
"Hahaha! Come here, you beautiful girl," the President laughed, throwing his arms open wide. "Let me verify for myself if my baby sister has survived the wilderness intact."
Audrey stepped into his powerful, royal embrace, the icy defenses around her heart thawing completely. "Your little sister has always known how to command her territory, Big Brother."