LOGIN"He also mentioned Vera Sorel has made her attendance at the follow-up conditional on yours," I said, letting the other piece of the weight land between us. "He wanted me to know that." The pen halted in her hand. She took a breath, slow, through her nose, and the line of her throat moved once befo
Edward's POV Phillip arrived at twenty past ten. He settled into the chair across my desk and set his coat on the arm of it. The draft was already in his hand before he opened his mouth. "Signed and filed as of this morning. Your name on the minority position. Clean." He set a single folded page
"I don't know." "You said it to him. Not here." The pause that followed remained too long to be casual. "What are you afraid of?" I didn't rush it. "That I'm seeing it right. And it still falls apart anyway." She shook her head slightly. "That's not uncertainty. That's you refusing to close y
Alicia's POV Elena didn't turn when I came in. She was at the counter, spoon hovering over a bowl she hadn't touched in a while. The kettle had gone cold long enough to feel intentional. My bag hit the floor by the door. She didn't look at it. "You came back wrong." "I came back two days ago."
She turned a page. No emphasis. "They agreed." No one in the room needed more than that. "Rotterdam," George said. "Two families," Alicia said. "Both meetings ran long. Same underlying concern, different language. We answered it both times. Follow-up is scheduled." "Documentation," Catherine sa
Edward's POV The term sheet had been in my inbox since the previous night. Four pages. Clean. Volkov's committee had approved the access deal exactly as the projection had asked for. Southeast Asia. The Gulf. East Africa. The network layer intact. The timeline fixed. Nothing negotiated down. I se
I stepped closer. "You introduced me to Alicia. You knew about her family. Which means you knew what my father did." Philip's expression hardened. "I'm protecting you." "From what?" "From making a mistake you can't undo." The words sat heavy between us. "Talk to Alicia," Philip said. "Not me.
"No. I was just... sitting." “Good. I need to ask you something—and I want you to hear me out before you say no.” I frowned. "Okay." "I want you to come to dinner tonight." A weight settled on my chest. "Dinner?" "At the Valentine Family estate. Seven o'clock." I stood. "Margaret, I—" "Bef
Marie crossed the foyer. Opened the door. Alicia stepped inside. Emerald green dress. Hair pulled back. Flawless. My chest seized. She didn't pause. Didn't scan the room. Just walked in like she'd been expected all along. The room shifted. Conversations faltered mid-sentence. Heads turned.
Alicia's POV The law office was on the fourteenth floor. Glass walls. Thick carpets. Everything arranged to make you think lives didn’t crumble here. Elena sat beside me in the waiting room. Her leg bounced. "You sure about this?" I nodded. "I'm sure." A woman appeared at the end of the hall:







