로그인Daniel's Pov The hospital room was quiet. The only sounds were the soft beeping of monitors and the hum of the city outside.Rosa hadn't left my side all night."You should sleep," I said."I'm not tired.""You're exhausted. I can see it.""I don't care." She squeezed my hand. "I'm not leaving you.""I'm not going anywhere. The doctors said I'm fine.""You got shot, Daniel. That's not fine.""It's a graze. They bandaged it. I'll be good as new in a few days."She shook her head, she wasn't convinced but she didn't argue. She just stayed.I closed my eyes. I tried to rest but my mind wouldn't stop racing. Marcus. Johansson. The articles, the threats. Everything was spiraling out of control.Rosa's phone buzzed.She looked at it. Her face tightened."What is it?" I asked."Another article." Her voice was flat. "Worse than the others."She turned the screen toward me.The Gosling Affair: How One Woman Destroyed Two Generations.I read the headline. I read the first few paragraphs. My bl
Daniel’s PovMarcus's finger tightened on the trigger."Sign it," he said again. His voice was flat and cold. "Now."I stared at the papers. My pen was still uncapped in my hand. My fingers refused to move toward the signature line."You won't shoot me," I said. My voice came out steadier than I felt. "Dead, I'm worth nothing to your plan. You need my signature, not my corpse.""Don't test that theory."The door burst open behind him."Gosling International, security!" James's voice cut through the room like a whip. Three officers flooded in behind him, weapons drawn.Marcus spun. His arm swung wide. The gun fired once before anyone could reach him.Pain tore through my shoulder. Hot and sudden and blinding. I staggered back against the desk, my knees buckling."Daniel!"James was already moving. Two officers tackled Marcus to the ground. The gun skittered across the marble floor, spinning once before stopping against the wall.I pressed my hand against my shoulder. Blood soaked throu
Daniel's PovWe left and drove to Marcus's office which took twenty minutes.Daniel didn't speak the entire way. His hands gripped the steering wheel. His jaw was tight. His eyes were fixed on the road.I sat in the passenger seat, my heart pounding."What are you going to say to him?" I asked."I don't know yet." His voice was quiet. "I'll figure it out when I see him.""That's not a plan.""It's the only plan I have."I reached over. I took his hand. He didn't pull away."Whatever happens in there," I said, "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere.""Thank you."We pulled into the parking garage. Daniel found a spot near the elevator. He turned off the engine."Wait here," he said.
Rosa's Pov"I'm coming with you," I said, after a few minutes. I had to rethink it. "Alone was never actually an option."Daniel turned to me. His jaw tightened. "Rosa..""I mean it, Daniel." I stepped closer to him. "If this is dangerous enough that Elena wants you unprotected, that's exactly why you shouldn't be unprotected.""She specifically asked me to come alone.""She can ask. That doesn't mean I have to listen."He studied my face for a long moment. His eyes searched mine. Then he sighed."You're not going to let this go, are you?""No." I smiled. "I'm not.""Fine." He reached for my hand. "But if anything happens, if there's any sign of danger, you get out immediately. You don't wait for me. You don't try to be a hero. You run.""Daniel—""Promise me." His voice was firm. "Promise me you'll get out if things go wrong."I looked at him. The fear in his eyes was real. The protectiveness was genuine."I promise," I said. "But nothing's going to go wrong. We're just talking to El
Daniel's PovThe apartment building was rundown, paint peeling from the walls, broken lights in the hallway. We climbed three flights of stairs before reaching Marie's door.Daniel knocked, there was no response.He knocked again. Louder."Marie. I know you're in there. Open the door."Silence."I know it was you. The IP address traced back to your account, you sent that photo. You sent that message. We need to talk."A long pause. Then the door creaked open.Marie stood in the doorway. She looked terrible. Dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was unwashed, her hands trembled at her sides."Mr. Gosling," she whispered. "I didn't think you'd come here.""Clearly." His voice was cold. "We need to talk."She stepped aside. We entered the apartm
Rosa's Pov He took my phone from me. His eyes scanned the screen. His face went pale."I've never seen this woman before in my life," he said."Are you certain?""Completely." He zoomed in on the image. His finger traced the man's face. "Look at the jawline, look at the hair. It's me. It looks exactly like me.""But it's not you.""No." He zoomed in further. "Look at the ear, my left ear has a small scar from a childhood accident. I fell off a bike when I was eight, split the cartilage. This man doesn't have it.""A deepfake.""That's my assumption." He set the phone down. His hands pressed flat against the desk. "Someone went to a lot of trouble to create this. They didn't just find a lookalike. They generated an entire image from scratch.""Who has that kind of capability?""I don't know." His voice was tight. "But I intend to find out."I picked up my phone. I scrolled to Sophie's contact."I'm calling Sophie. She has contacts in tech. She'll know someone who can analyze this.""C







