LOGINI met her gaze, letting her see everything. “I would have wished it was,” I said, my own voice quiet. “You were his wife. You deserved everything. But it isn’t. Before Valentine, there was Voices Beyond Borders. There was other work. This came from me. From my accounts. It’s clean.” She searched my
Alicia's POV The engine settled into a rhythm I hadn't realized I’d been missing. For days now, every drive had been a frantic sprint toward the next crisis. This morning, there was only the envelope on the passenger seat, its corner tucked against the scuff on the leather I’d made last month. The
"The vendor contract," I said. "Walk me through the reasoning." He did. His logic was solid. One variable was misweighted. I corrected it. He noted it. No argument. Leo respected precision. After twenty minutes I noticed he had stopped writing. "What," I said. "Nothing." He glanced at me. "You s
Edward's POV The laptop was open before the corridor outside had fully woken up. I had been lying there for twenty minutes before I admitted I wasn't going to sleep again. Another five after that before I reached for it with my left hand. The sling held my right arm against my chest in a way that
Alicia's POV The apartment smelled like coffee and garlic from whatever Elena had made earlier. I dropped my bag by the door. Walked to the kitchen. Filled a glass with water. Drank it standing at the sink, looking out the small window at the building across the street. Elena was on the couch wh
She was inside. Neither of us moved. The air in the room felt thick and waiting. I was still staring at her. Exhaustion clung to her, pressing into the lines around her eyes, the tension in her shoulders, the way her jaw tightened slightly. She glanced at the monitor, then at the IV in my left a







