Novels by Beu. A

MIA’S POVOne of the bodyguards scanned the hallway again.“We have to go now” he’s stepped aside to let me walk through.“How did you make it in time” fear still evident in my voice. Taking deep breaths of assurance.“We were already here ma’am” the other one answered curtly.“Already here?” I frozeMy alarm bells rang. This means one thingHe already knew I was going to be in danger?My mind spiraledWhat more does he know.How does he know this things. How much more of all this do I not know, what exactly did I get into.How powerful is he?Without any effort, the bodyguards lifted the unconscious men and threw them over their shoulders like they weighed nothing.I watched.The three attackers who had nearly broken into my apartment now looked like sacks of grain being carried away into the elevator.I struggled with my words for a bit.This may have been more traumatizing than being poisoned by my mine own sister.“Who are you guy’s”My tone was low but I know they heard me.No re

MIA’S POVDarkness fills my apartment. Complete. Total.The kind that makes the air feel heavier.“Ethan?”“I’m here.”His voice through the phone is the only thing anchoring me right now.“What do you mean someone cut the power?”“I mean exactly that.”My throat tightens.“Like… a blackout?”“No.”His answer is immediate.“Then what?” “The rest of the block still has electricity.”Ice slides down my spine.“So you’re saying”“Your building specifically lost power.” My pulse starts racing.“That’s not normal.”“No.”I move slowly toward the window. Outside, the streetlights are still on. Cars are still passing.The building across from mine glows with warm yellow windows.But my apartment building, dark with an eerie feeling that matched my fearEvery floor.Every window.“Ethan…”“I see it.”Of course he does. He’s probably watching through twenty different cameras.“Should I leave?”“No.”My stomach drops.“No?”“Stay inside.”“Why?”Another pause.Then he says quietly,“Because some

MIA’S POV The hallway outside my apartment is silent again. Jason is gone. But his words linger in my mind like a broken recording. The FBI has been watching your family for two years. And guess who their inside informant is. My fingers tighten around the phone. “Ethan?” No answer. I pull the phone away and look at the screen. Call ended. Of course. He hung up. The timing feels too perfect. Too convenient. Suddenly, my quiet apartment doesn’t feel safe anymore. I lock the door again. Then I check it twice. My heart is racing. Ethan never told me anything about the FBI. Not once. If Jason is telling the truth… That means the man I’m working for The man controlling my life with a ridiculous contract Might also be why my family is under investigation. I press my palms against the kitchen counter. Think, Mia. Think. Jason could be lying. But Jason looked serious. Too serious for one of his usual manipulations. My phone buzzes. Unknown number. Again. I sta

MIA’S POVI don’t go home. Instead, I sit in my car in the parking garage across the street from my apartment building. I stare at the steering wheel like it might give me answers.Thirty thousand dollars. That’s what I owe Ethan now. That's ten thousand less than yesterday. I didn’t even know what I had done to earn it.My phone buzzes. Mom. I let it ring. Then it buzzes again. Lily. Then Jason. I turn the phone face down on the passenger seat. For the first time since I woke up on my twentieth birthday, I don’t answer any of them.The silence feels strange. It’s like stepping outside during a storm and realizing the rain stopped hours ago.I reach my apartment at seven. The hallway outside my door smells like burnt toast. Inside, the apartment is quiet too quiet. Lily didn’t come back. For a moment, I wonder if she cried in the hallway after she left. That thought used to destroy me. Now it just sits there, dull and distant.I lock the door. Then I check the windows, the bat

MIA'S POVI find Ethan in his office at four PM. He's on the phone, standing at the window, and he holds up the same one finger Victoria used this morning. *Wait.*I sit. I wait. I watch his reflection in the glass and wonder how much of what Jason said is true and how much was engineered to make me walk out of here.He hangs up and turns around."The legal team said you were cooperative." He comes to his desk but doesn't sit. "What did Black say to you?""*Jason.*" I correct him. "His name is Jason."Ethan looks at me for a moment. "You're angry.""Was your mother committed?"The air in the room changes, Just a subtle drop in temperature."Yes," he says."By my father.""Yes.""And you've known that since you were nineteen.""Eighteen." He sits now, slowly. "I found the court records when I was eighteen. Forged signatures, a doctor my father had on payroll, testimony from two of his lawyers claiming she was delusional." His voice is completely flat. "She wasn't delusional. She was in

MIA'S POVI sleep better than I have in years. Maybe in two lifetimes.There's something wrong with that. My sister just cried in my apartment and I stood there, dry-eyed, and watched her go. I should feel guilty. I've been feeling guilty about Lily since before I knew how to spell her name.Instead I wake up at six AM, make coffee the way I actually like it, with no sugar, no cream, and sit by my window watching the city start its morning.My phone has forty-two notifications. I ignore all of them.I arrive at Black Industries at seven twenty. The security guard at the front desk is different from yesterday, a younger man who checks my badge twice and looks uncertain."Miss Carter. Mr. Black said to tell you….""Good morning," I say, and walk past him to the elevator.It's a small thing. But I didn't wait to be given permission.The forty-second floor is already busy when I arrive. People moving fast, voices low, energy tight in a way that feels different from yesterday. I find Victo