Chapter 67DARIUSThe humid New Manchester air hit me like a wall as I stepped off the private jet, my legs stiff from the long flight and my mind still processing everything I'd learned about Damon's situation. The familiar airport, should have felt comforting towards me, because I was back home, but all it felt was I was actively walking into a minefield.Shawn was waiting at the bottom of the jet stairs with our usual car and driver, his expression neutral despite the early hour."Any updates on the Rodriguez situation?" I asked as we settled into the backseat, the door closed as the driver got in the front seat and started the engine before driving towards the destination of my family house."The news broke about John Webb's murder," Shawn replied, pulling out his tablet and scrolling through what appeared to be several news alerts, as I closed my eyes briefly in a silent prayer to the filth that was going to be written on it painting Damon again in the spotlight twice in two days
Chapter 66ISABELLA"How long have you been cheating on your marriage?""Are you a prostitute, moving from one rich man to another?"The last question hit me like a physical blow, and I felt my face burn with humiliation hearing such crude words from their mouths. They were not mincing words and was telling me exactly what they thought of me, without regarding how hurt I might be. These strangers were making assumptions about my life, my character, my motivations, and the fact that it was based on nothing but gossip and speculation made me boil with anger. They were painting me as some kind of gold-digger or worse, and doing it in front of my children, who had to hear such awful words about me whether they liked it or not."That's not true," I said, but my voice was lost in the chaos of shouted questions and camera clicks as the press ignored my answer, still throwing offensive questions at me.Lucas appeared at my side, his small face fierce with protective anger as he glared up at
Chapter 65ISABELLAThe drive to Alpha Heirs Academy should have been peaceful, a daily routine that I was used to at this point, but Lucas's innocent question from the backseat made my stomach clench with worry."Mama, are you going to look for Tommy and Sean today too?" he asked, swinging his little legs as he peered out the window. "They didn't come to school yesterday at all. Their teacher asked me if I knew where they were, since you were out school guardian."My hands tightened on the steering wheel as a wave of guilt washed over me as I was worried about them. I had looked for them yesterday but assumed that they were running late, but Tommy and Sean had missed school? That wasn't like them—despite everything that had happened with Max and the divorce, both boys had always been diligent about their education. They loved school, loved learning, and missing a day would have been unusual even when they were sick."Did their teacher say anything else about why they weren't there?"
Chapter 64DAMONThe house felt a lot quieter than usual after they had gone, leaving me and Kyle alone with the lingering scent of of Isabella's jasmine perfume and the echo of Lucas's boundless energy."Your kid has more stamina than most of my security team," Kyle observed, finally setting down the coffee pot and reaching for an actual mug to pour for himself before handing me the pot. "How do you keep up with him?""Practice," I replied chuckling a bit as I poured my own cup of coffee from what was left in the pot and dropped it on the counter and continued speaking, looking at him. "And accepting that children operate on a completely different energy frequency than adults.""Noted," Kyle said, as he settled into one of the kitchen chairs, with extreme care of someone whose body was protesting with the movement."So, what's the plan for today? More legal document reviews?"I was about to respond to his question when Thorne walked into the kitchen, his expression troubled, whic
Chapter 63DAMONThe sound of small feet running up the stairs at what felt like the crack of dawn jolted me from the deepest sleep I'd had in weeks. Isabella stirred against my chest as our bedroom door burst open without the decency of someone knocking first. My mind wondered if it was Kyle again doing some sort of deja vu from before."Mama! Papa!" Lucas's voice rang out with the kind of energy that only five-year-olds possessed at ungodly hours. "It's time for school! You need to get up already, you have been sleeping for forever. Grandmama says I'm going to be late if we don't leave soon!"I cracked one eye open and squinted at the alarm clock that was displayed by the bedside table—7:32 AM. My meeting wasn't until 9:30, but Lucas's classes started at 8:00, which meant we'd overslept by at least thirty minutes."Lucas, sweetheart," Isabella mumbled into my shoulder, her voice thick with sleep, not looking forward to rising up from the bed anytime soon. "what time is it?""Late t
Chapter 62DAMON"It was good," she said, but there was something in her tone made me look at her more closely as I could see that whatever it was, she seemed affected by it. "There were some... challenges, but James was very supportive, and I think the work is going to be exactly what I hoped for.""What kind of challenges?" I pressed, my protective instincts immediately rising to the surface, worried about her despite my exhaustion. I was worried because Isabella was someone who normally let others walk over her, just to keep peace and I did not want that for her."Just some things that needed to be worked out," she said diplomatically, shrugging her shoulders as she switched off the main light as we were heading upstairs "Nothing I couldn't handle, and it's all resolved now."I wanted to push for more details, but we'd reached our bedroom, and Isabella was already moving to help me out of my suit jacket. Her fingers were on me, helping me out with the buttons, and I realized how