Mag-log inJason POVMr. Asher was already furious enough to personally tear River City apart, and I wouldn't have been surprised if seeing that photograph resulted in him trying to commandeer a military vehicle."Are the Wyatts definitely connected to the property?" I asked."Yes."There was no hesitation in Mr. Stait's answer this time. He took the phone back and explained that they'd established connections through the property's control structure, vehicles and personnel associated with the Wyatt branch. Jasmine's photograph had now given them something even more important: confirmation that Adrian was physically being held at the location."So they kidnapped their own family.""That's what the evidence indicates."I looked toward Amber. Mrs. Wyatt had allegedly ordered her poisoned, and now we had photographic evidence that her own grandson had been left unconscious inside a warehouse connected to the family. Adrian had refused to abandon Amber when his father pressured him to leave Asher Co
Jason POVAdrian was her grandchild.That fact kept circling through my mind.Whatever disagreements existed between them, whatever Adrian had done during the Heir Trials, he was still her grandson. Yet someone had created a fake work trip, removed him from his wife and baby and hidden him somewhere in River City while Clara continued believing her husband was away on business.Then there was Amber.Her own blood.Mrs. Wyatt had allegedly gone even further with her.Someone had arranged access to Amber's hospital routine, compromised her food and used a nurse who had already earned our trust. Amber had been given a powerful sedative, botulinum toxin and aconite, while another part of the plan had apparently included a syringe containing penicillin—a substance capable of killing me because of my allergy.That wasn't anger.It wasn't a family argument that had gone too far.It was an operation.And that left one explanation that made more sense than the others.The Wyatts hadn't suddenl
Jason POV Everything inside me stopped. "What?" Emory turned toward me. I put the call on speaker. "Say that again." "We found Adrian," Jasmine repeated. "Alive?" A pause. Too long. "Jasmine." "We believe so." I closed my eyes for half a second. "Where?" "River City." That made no sense. "They took him out of River City." "No," Jasmine said. "That's what they wanted everyone to believe." I looked toward Emory. "What about the work trip?" "Fake." Noah took over. "We've been going through the surveillance information with the team. Once we knew what to look for, we started tracking movements connected to Adrian's family instead of trying to follow the supposed travel itinerary." "And?" "They never left River City." I gripped the phone tighter. "None of them?" "Not the people we're tracking," Noah said. "There are records designed to make it look as though some of them moved around, but the physical surveillance doesn't match." Jasmine came back onto the call.
Jason POVEmory found me sitting beside Amber with my head resting against the back of the chair and my hand wrapped around hers.I wasn't asleep. I didn't think I remembered how to sleep anymore.Every time I closed my eyes, something else happened. Someone disappeared. Another piece of my childhood turned out to be a lie. Another person who was supposed to be family became connected to something monstrous. Amber's heart did something it wasn't supposed to do, one of the children needed me, or a phone rang with another piece of information that somehow made everything worse.So when Emory walked into the room and stood beside the monitors without immediately speaking, I prepared myself for another disaster."What?"He looked at me."Good morning to you too.""Emory.""Amber is improving."For a moment, the words didn't register.I stared at him."What?""She's improving."I looked immediately at Amber as though I expected her to open her eyes because he'd said it.She didn't.The ven
Jason POVIt was difficult to accept how easily a lifetime of supposed connections could disappear once you were forced to see them for what they really were.You could spend years calling someone family. You could build memories around that word, make excuses because of it, forgive things you would never forgive from a stranger and convince yourself that some invisible connection existed simply because blood said it should. Then one day, you discovered that while you had been thinking of them as family, they had never thought of you the same way.I believed that was part of the reason my anger toward Mr. White ran so deep.I still had to consciously remind myself to call him that.Mr. White.Not Father.For most of my life, I'd believed he was my biological father. He hadn't raised me—not really—but that hadn't erased the connection in my mind. Even after everything that happened between us, some part of me had continued seeing him through that old definition. He was the man whose bl
Jason POVEmory pushed my wheelchair toward the neonatal unit, but by the time we reached the doors, I was impatient enough to consider getting up and walking the rest of the way myself. One look from him stopped me."Don't.""I didn't say anything.""You looked at your legs.""I have legs.""You have legs that managed three steps after two weeks of recovery and then decided they'd accomplished enough for the month."I glared at him. "You're annoying.""And you're still in the wheelchair."Unfortunately, he had a point.A nurse let us through after checking with the neonatal team, and the moment we entered, I realized I wasn't the first member of my family to visit.Grandmother was sitting between the two bassinets with Iris on one side and Rose on the other. Iris was leaning over Baby A with an expression of complete concentration, while Rose had both hands resting on the edge of Baby B's bassinet, whispering something to him as though they were having a private conversation.Grandmo
I didn’t cry. I didn’t shake. I didn’t look back, or mourned the life and the years i will never get back, lost forever. I just went home, time to pack and say goodbye to my old life. The penthouse doors opened with biometric recognition the moment I stepped inside. Floor-to-ceiling glass. Marb
We moved quickly through the hallway. Adrian walked behind me, gun raised, covering the corridor while I forced Henry Watson forward. The mansion was quieter than expected. Too quiet. Which meant either the guards were regrouping… or Jason was already on his way. I glanced over my shoulder.
Jason POV Marcus nearly slammed the brakes. “She shot the camera!” I leaned back slowly. Marcus looked at me. “What the hell was that?” I ran a hand over my face. “She said hello husband before she shot it.” Marcus stared. “…Okay.” Silence filled the car. “…What does that mean exactly?”
Family drama. Honestly, I was getting tired of it. I shifted slightly in the chair, letting the ropes around my wrists rub just enough to make the guards think I was uncomfortable. In truth, they had tied them loosely—political kidnappers rarely knew how to do proper restraints. Across from me,







