LOGINElara POVThe bottle shook in my hand. Not because I was nervous. Because I was angry. Furious. After everything, I had done to protect that child, after all the money spent on doctors, treatments, specialists and care. she had the audacity to hide medication from us. And somehow expected nobody to notice. I stared at Celyne. Her face had gone completely pale. Interesting. Very interesting. That wasn’t the face of an innocent person. That was the face of someone caught. “What is that?” she asked quietly. I laughed. “What is it?” “Give it back.” The moment those words left her mouth, I knew I was right. Whatever this medicine was, she desperately didn’t want anyone seeing it. “Not until you explain.” “There is nothing to explain.” “Really?” I held the bottle high
Celyne pov Three weeks. Three whole weeks had passed since the accident. Three weeks since I woke up in that hospital bed. Three weeks since someone tried to destroy everything. Yet somehow life had returned to normal. Or at least everyone pretended it had. The investigation had gone nowhere. No suspects. No answers. No justice. Just silence. Sometimes I wondered if they had truly searched at all. Because I knew what I felt that day. I knew I hadn’t simply fallen. Someone had touched me. Someone had pushed me. Someone wanted me gone. The thought still sent chills through me. Yet every day the mansion carried on as if nothing had happened. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Meetings. Preparations. Check ups. Smiles. The same ro
Elara povThe moment I received Clara’s message, I knew this wasn’t something she would discuss over the phone. Clara was many things. Patient. Careful. Manipulative. But reckless wasn’t one of them. If she wanted to meet in person, then whatever she had discovered was important. Very important. I sat inside the corner booth of a small café across town, hidden from curious eyes. My fingers tapped impatiently against the table. Five minutes later, Clara finally arrived. A pair of sunglasses covered her eyes despite the cloudy weather. She slid into the seat opposite mine and removed them. “You look terrible,” she said. I glared at her. “You didn’t ask me here to discuss my appeara
Alexander povThe footage ended. Yet I remained staring at the screen. Something about it didn’t sit right with me. I replayed it again. And again. And again. The hallway appeared on the screen. Celyne walking alone. Slowly. Carefully. One hand resting against the wall. Then someone appeared. The camera angle wasn’t clear enough to show a face. But it showed enough. A brief interaction. A movement. Then Celyne falling. My jaw tightened. It wasn’t an accident. Someone was there. Someone had been close enough to touch her. Close enough to push her.
Elara PovFear.It was a feeling I hated.A feeling that made my stomach twist and my thoughts spiral out of control.And right now, fear was all I could feel.Celyne was awake.The words kept replaying in my head over and over again.Awake.Alive.Breathing.Everything that was supposed to happen had gone wrong.I paced across my room, running a hand through my hair.How could this have happened?I had been careful.At least I thought I had.Yet somehow Celyne survived.Not only that, Alexander had practically lost his mind when she fell.The image wouldn’t leave me alone.The way he had rushed toward her.The panic in his eyes.The way he carried her in his arms.As if losing her would destroy him.My chest tightened.No.No.No.That couldn’t happen.Alexander was mine.He was supposed to be mine.A knock sounded on the door.Before I could answer, it opened.Vivian stepped inside.One look at me and her brows furrowed.“Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”I remained silent.
Celyne povThe first thing I noticed when I woke up was the silence.Not the peaceful kind.The kind that made your chest feel heavy.The kind that reminded you that something had happened.Something bad.I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the white ceiling above me.Hospital.The smell confirmed it.The steady beeping of machines confirmed it even more.A sigh escaped my lips.The baby.My hand immediately moved to my stomach.The moment I felt it, relief washed through me.The baby was still there.Still fighting.Still holding on.Just like me.I closed my eyes again.Everything hurt.My body felt weak.My head felt heavy.And my memories were scattered like broken glass.The stairs.The blood.Alexander’s voice.Someone shouting.Then darkness.I swallowed hard.This was one of the reasons I never wanted to come back to the Hale mansion.Ever since I returned, nothing had felt right.At first, I thought it was my imagination.The missing pills.The strange looks.The feeling th
Alexander povEverything happened too fast.One second she was standing there.The next she was covered in blood.The image refused to leave my head.Even as I carried her toward the car.Even as the staff scrambled around us.Even as Ryder opened the back door.The image remained.The blood.Her p
Celyne povThe strange thing about getting what you ask for is realizing it doesn’t always feel the way you imagined. Ever since the night in the library, Alexander had done exactly what I wanted. Exactly. He kept his distance. No unnecessary conversati
Damien povIt had been weeks. Or maybe months. At this point, I wasn’t even sure anymore. Time had become strange ever since the last time I saw Celyne. Every day felt longer. Every thought seemed to lead back to her. And every decis
Alexander povThe mansion was unusually quiet.Too quiet.I sat alone in my room, staring at the glass of whiskey on the table.Untouched.My thoughts were elsewhere.On her.Thinking, something is wrong somewhereA frustrated sigh escaped my lips.Did she really think I joined them for dinner?The







