LOGINJason did not sit this time. He remained standing, arms crossed, eyes fixed somewhere past the walls. He wasn't looking at us—he was looking through the years.“My father remarried when I was three,” he said flatly. No emotion. Just a log entry. “When my brother Oscar was born…”A pause. Not hesitation. Calibration.“I was sent away.”John Stait frowned slightly. “Sent where?”Jason’s jaw tightened. “To live with extended family,” he said. “I was five.”The way he spat the words made it clear that "family" was just the legal cover.“I was never called by my name,” he continued. My chest tightened; the room felt suddenly smaller. “No letters. No phone calls. No contact.”Silence spread through the room like a cold front.“If I tried to ask…” His voice hardened, the first crack in the ice. “I was beaten.”No one moved. No one interrupted. We weren't just listening to a story; we were hearing the internal workings of the ring.“I was made to clean. To work. Small jobs, they said. To earn
Amber POVWe arrived at the base , the ride was silent, you could feel the tension in the air. The base was under heavier security than before. Gates opened in stages, checkpoints doubled, armed guards posted at every entrance. Whatever had begun in that courtroom had already changed the atmosphere here.John Stait got out of the car, and after speaking with the guards for a few minutes we were in.Now i got why he said we had to ride with him.Emory Watson met us personally at the entrance, he just showed the guard his intelligence ID and he was in. Without ceremony, Mr. Stait handed Jason and me high-clearance access badges. Mine still smelled like fresh laminate. Jason glanced at his, then clipped it on without comment.Emory Watson received a regular clearance pass.That made Jason smirk.It was small, quick, and deeply satisfied.There was definitely something going on between those two. Some silent rivalry made entirely of professional pride and mutual irritation. Watching Jaso
Amber POVI looked at Emory Watson carefully.He was controlled in the way only people used to carrying ugly truths ever were. No wasted movements. No unnecessary promises. No attempt to charm us into agreement. That, at least, I respected.So I asked the only question that mattered.“Can you guarantee our safety?”My voice did not shake.“Ours,” I clarified, “and our family’s.”Jason went still beside me. John Stait looked away first.Emory did not. He met my eyes directly and answered without hesitation.“No.”The word hit harder because it was honest.“We cannot guarantee anything.”A pause. Then, quieter—“But we will do our absolute best to make sure nothing happens to you.”Not comforting. Not polished. Real.I valued that more than reassurance.Emory glanced down the corridor once before continuing.“The threat has escalated.”Every instinct in me sharpened.“What changed?” I asked.He looked from me to Jason. Then back again.“I do not believe the Becker family was ever truly
Amber POV Amber sighed and looked from John Stait to Emory Watson with visible disbelief.“How,” she asked calmly, “is the evidence I just handed over not enough to keep them behind bars?”Neither man answered immediately.So she continued.“I presented one of the bombs that was placed at the university. The one I deactivated in the warehouse where I was forced to play their little game.”Her voice remained level, but every word carried weight.“I gave you videos and digital footprints placing the entire Becker leadership, including Emilian, in locations where top-secret information was sold to foreign countries.”Emory’s expression did not change, though his attention sharpened.“I proved corporate espionage committed against multiple companies on their estate. I traced what they stole, what they copied, and which secrets they sold.”Amber stepped closer.“I also included a list of men and women, heirs from minor houses, who were taken hostage by the Beckers. Children used as levera
Amber POVThe courtroom doors opened again.This time, no one whispered.No one moved.The entire room seemed to understand instinctively that whatever entered next would change everything.The judge stepped inside.He was not alone.Several high-ranking military officials accompanied him, their uniforms immaculate, their expressions unreadable.The atmosphere shifted so sharply it felt like the air itself had tightened.As he passed our row, the judge glanced at me and gave the smallest nod.Recognition.Confirmation.Then he continued toward the bench.Behind me, chairs creaked.Someone from the Becker table stood halfway before sitting again.The Vinny family had gone completely still.Even Jason, beside me, grew quieter.The judge took his place.Set down the file before him.Looked across the packed courtroom.Then removed his glasses with deliberate calm.“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.”His voice carried easily through the room.Measured.Final.“I am afraid this case wi
Jason POVAmber was late to the trial.That alone was enough to unsettle me.Amber was many things—brilliant, reckless, impossible, dangerous—but rarely late when something mattered.And this mattered.The courtroom was already filling.The Becker family sat at their table looking far too pleased with themselves.Relaxed.Comfortable.As if they had already won before a word had been spoken.The Vinny family was there as well.Of course they were.Watching from the gallery with carefully neutral expressions that fooled no one.No one attended a trial like this out of idle curiosity.They were there for the outcome.Or to protect their interests in it.But what concerned me most was not them.It was the state attorney.He looked anxious.Not the ordinary tension of a major case.Something sharper.The look of a man who knew time was slipping away.I checked my phone again.No message from Amber.No call.Nothing.Then Lucas Bowman, the lead prosecutor, broke from his table and walked d
We didn’t warn them. We simply arrived. Jason walked at my side. The children stayed close, Marcus just behind us — calm, immovable, inevitable. The moment we entered the company lobby, the air shifted. Whispers followed us. Phones were lowered. Eyes widened. “Call the board,” I instructed t
We drifted into lighter topics after that — Molly’s upcoming clothing line debut, fabric choices, venue rumors, guest lists. It felt almost normal. Almost. Then another call came through. Grandfather. “Molly, I’m sorry — I have to take this. I’ll call you back.” Her teasing hum was the la
High above them, the balcony doors remained slightly open. Madam Sun stood in the shadows, one hand resting lightly against the carved stone railing. She had not meant to watch. And yet— There they were. Jason, bare-chested, having clearly abandoned formality the moment he stepped upstair
The door swung open.Oscar didn’t hesitate.He shoved forward immediately, trying to push past Jason.“Where is she?” he demanded.Jason didn’t move.Didn’t stumble.He absorbed the force like it was expected and blocked him with one arm.Oscar was furious.Not irritated.Furious.His eyes were wil







