TENSION RISE

Bab terbaru

• HEIRESS REBORN    DIVIDE AND CONQUER:

  POV: ALINA The thing with liars is they never expect to be lied to better.I lean back in the car, legs crossed, phone in one hand, fake memo in the other. Margot made sure it looked real. Old Cross Industries letterhead, internal phrasing, Elena's clipped tone. No actual date, no actual signature—just enough to feel dangerous."Sasha Moore has become increasingly erratic. We should consider distancing her from Nathaniel. She no longer serves the family's long-term goals."I stare at it for a second, then forward it from an untraceable account. Sasha will open it. Of course she will. She's been spiraling since the leak. She’s clinging to Nathaniel harder than ever, acting like Elena’s silence means protection. But Sasha’s not stupid. Just desperate.Desperation is easy to manipulate.Theo texts me two minutes later: Sent. Delivery confirmed.Vivian’s voice cuts into my focus. “We’re almost there.”I glance up. The board meeting. One of those charity vanity things Cross Industries fun

• HEIRESS REBORN   THE UNRAVELING

  POV: DAMIENShe’s sitting by the window when I walk in. Her back is straight, arms crossed, like she's trying to hold herself together by force. The way you do when you’re one deep breath away from shattering. I don’t knock. I don’t ask. I just close the door behind me and stand there."You think this is strength," I say as I throw the paper in front of her. It's a picture of Sasha dragging her luggage out of Nathaniel's penthouse She doesn't flinch. Doesn't turn around. Just keeps looking out like the skyline's whispering something more important than me.“It is to me.”"But it's not. It's punishment. You're still punishing yourself."That gets her. She shifts a little but still doesn’t look at me."You’re hurting yourself, Alina. I see it. Every damn day."She lets out a bitter laugh. "Don’t call me that.""I will. Because that’s who you are to me. Not this mask. Not this war."She finally turns. Her face is calm but her eyes, those eyes are drowning. "Don’t do that. Don’t act like

• HEIRESS REBORN   JEALOUSY HAS TEETH

  POV: NATHANIELI see her before I even walk in.She’s standing by the mezzanine rail, laughing at something Damien says, head tilted just a little like she’s listening closely, like she trusts him. It grates on en because I recognize that tilt That tilt, it is the same way Alina used to lean in when she still believed I gave a damn. That stupid little angle, like she’s letting herself fall without looking.It says I trust you.Damien’s hand is on her lower back. Just there. Just resting. Light, like it belongs there. And she doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t shift away like she does with me.She lets him touch her.And I know it’s not about sex. I know that. I’ve had sex with women who couldn’t look me in the eye afterward. Kaia... she smiles at him. Easy. Calm. I’ve never seen her calm. Not with me. With me she’s always tense, clipped, sharp as hell. But now? She’s soft. Relaxed. Like whatever armor she wears around me doesn’t exist with him.That’s what bothers me.Not the hand. Not the prox

• HEIRESS REBORN   PANIC PROTOCOL

  POV: SASHAI haven’t felt this calm in weeks.I’m lying on the chaise by the window, legs stretched out, wine glass in one hand, my other hand lazily scrolling through muted stories on my phone. Sunlight’s filtering in soft through the blinds. The house is quiet, and for the first time in a while, I feel like maybe everything’s going to level out.I know the world is burning right now, but at least… for now… I am at peace No new gossip blogs. No passive-aggressive texts from Elena. No weird glances from Nicholas. Not today.Today, I feel… okay. Just okay. And okay is good.It is better than good. It's perfect.I tilt my head back and close my eyes, letting the quiet in. Maybe this nightmare is winding down. Maybe that first envelope was some twisted prank. A threat, sure, but nothing followed it. Maybe they got bored. Maybe they’re done.Maybe I’m not the target anymore.I let the glass rest on my stomach. My phone drops to the side of the cushion.For a second, I feel peace.And th

• HEIRESS REBORN   CRACKS IN THE ICE

  POV: ELENAThere’s something wrong with her.It’s not the way she speaks. It’s not the way she looks. It’s her eyes. That stare. That blank, sharp, cutting stare. The kind of look people develop after they’ve walked through hell and made a home there.Kaia.Vivian Lane’s assistant, supposedly. That’s how everyone introduces her. That’s how she signs her emails. That’s how she floats into these rooms—quiet, helpful, polite when needed. But tonight… no. Not tonight.She looked at me like she was remembering something. Like she already knew who I was, inside out, down to the pieces I’ve spent years burying. And she wasn’t smiling. She wasn’t pretending.She was cold.She was in control.And for the first time in a long time, I felt watched.I’m pacing my home office after the gala. Shoes still on. Dress unzipped halfway down my back. I haven’t even removed my makeup. I look perfect on the outside. But my hands keep twitching.I pour a drink. I don’t sit.I tried to text Nicholas and he b

• HEIRESS REBORN   THE WHISPER CAMPAIGN

  POV: ALINAThere’s something about watching people cling to power when it's already rotting in their hands. It’s sad. But more than that, it’s pathetic.Elena Cross is hosting a gala. Again.I hear about it through one of Margot's old sources. Some washed-up city councilman she used to babysit legally. Apparently, Elena wants to "reclaim her presence," as if anyone's begging for it. Her political donors are disappearing. Her name doesn't command the room anymore. And this gala—some charity event for underfunded boys’ schools, of all things—is her weak attempt at relevance.She's grasping. Hard.I sit across from Margot in the Ashen penthouse conference room, fingers lightly tapping the table as I stare at the invitation. Gold-trimmed. Desperate. Margot's already looking at me like she knows what I'm about to do."Don't look at me like that.""You haven’t said anything yet.""Exactly."She waits. Quiet. That’s her power move. No pressure, just silence. Makes me fill it in."We hit her