Leah's POVThe moment I step off the plane, the warm Mediterranean air envelops me, carrying the scent of salt and sun-warmed stone. Greece. A place I had always dreamed of visiting. Now, I finally had the chance. The timing wasn’t ideal, but maybe this was the perfect opportunity—an escape from everything weighing me down.I pull out my phone and stare at the endless list of missed calls—my father, Ethan, Judith, even Cece. I know they’re worried, but I can’t deal with them right now. Talking to any of them would mean explaining, justifying, confronting. I’m not ready for that. Maybe I never will be.Without hesitation, I switch my phone to airplane mode—not that I need to, since I’ve ignored every call anyway—and shove it deep into my bag. For once, I need silence.Outside, I hail a cab, giving the driver the name of the hotel where I had made a reservation. The ride is smooth, the city unfolding around me in a blur of ancient ruins, narrow streets, and flashes of blue sea in the di
Leah’s POVThe rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the shore echoes through my open balcony doors, blending with the soft hum of the city beyond. The morning sunlight filters through the sheer curtains, casting golden streaks across the plush bedding. I should feel relaxed. I should feel at peace.But I don’t.I stretch out on the bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind restless despite my body’s exhaustion. Last night, I had barely slept. My thoughts had been too loud, too persistent, pulling me into a spiral of guilt and uncertainty.Everything about this trip had been so impulsive, so out of character for me. I’ve never been the type to just pack up and leave like this. My father must be livid.My phone sits on the nightstand, its screen lighting up every few minutes with missed calls and unread messages. I haven’t turned it off—I just can’t bring myself to answer. I know my father has called. More than once. I know Ethan must have, too. And I know Cece is probably worried sick.
Ethan’s POVI swirl the amber liquid in my glass, watching the ice cubes clink against the sides. The city stretches out before me through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse, but I barely notice it. My mind is elsewhere. On her.Leah.My phone sits on the table, dark and silent. No messages. No missed calls. Just emptiness.I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve called her. How many texts I’ve sent. She’s ignoring me. She’s never ignored me like this before.I exhale sharply, pressing my thumb and forefinger against my temples. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Leah was supposed to be mine. She was supposed to be by my side, smiling, trusting, believing every word I told her.Everything had been perfect—until it wasn’t.I played my part flawlessly. I gave her everything she wanted, everything she needed. I was the perfect boyfriend, the perfect choice. Steady. Reliable. The man she could count on.And she was mine. Until Dwight came back.I grip my glass tighter at the thought
Dwight’s POVThe airport blurs around me, a chaotic mix of voices, footsteps, and the distant hum of jet engines. I don’t pay attention to any of it. My focus is singular. My steps are fast, my pulse relentless. I move with purpose, my jaw tight, my mind set.Carter is already waiting near the private terminal, his stance straight, expression unreadable. He never asks questions, never pries. That’s why he’s the only person I trust with things like this.“Everything’s set, sir,” he says as I approach. “The jet is fueled and ready. I’ve stocked the cabin with everything you might need—clothes, essentials, the usual.”I barely acknowledge him with a nod, climbing the stairs two at a time. The flight crew offers polite greetings as I pass, but I don’t respond. I head straight for my seat, sinking into the leather with a heavy breath.The engines hum beneath me, vibrating softly, a reminder that the moment we take off, there’s no turning back.I pull out my phone and see one missed call fr
Leah’s POV The soft hum of Athens at night filters through my hotel window, the distant chatter of locals blending with the rhythm of a city that never quite sleeps. Even though exhaustion tugs at my limbs, my mind refuses to quiet.I thought putting an ocean between me and my past would help. That the distance would dull the thoughts, ease the ache. But it turns out, no amount of miles can quench the affection still lingering in my chest.Dwight is still there. In every corner of my mind.I groan, pressing my fingers against my temples as I sit on the edge of my bed. This wasn’t the plan. I didn’t fly to Greece to mope. I came to breathe. To reclaim a part of myself that I had lost somewhere between heartbreak and pretending to be okay.I glance at my phone, searching for something—anything—to pull me out of my own head. And then I see it.Cine Thisio.An open-air cinema, nestled in the heart of Athens. The kind of place that feels like stepping back in time, where the air is filled
Dwight’s POVThe glow of my phone screen is the only light in the dimly lit cabin. I’ve been staring at it for too long, checking and rechecking for updates. The silence stretches, thick and heavy, as the jet cuts through the night sky.Then, finally, my phone vibrates. A new message from Parker.Parker: She stepped out of her suite. Looks like she’s going out. She’s alone.That’s it. No details about where she’s heading. No insight into her plans. Just a confirmation that she’s no longer tucked away inside her room.I exhale sharply, rubbing a hand across my jaw.She’s alone.It shouldn’t matter, but it does.I don’t waste time replying. Instead, I push out of my seat, already unbuttoning my cuffs as I move to the cabin’s small en-suite. I glance at myself in the mirror—tired, tense, but focused. I splash cold water on my face, letting it wake me up. I need to be clear-headed when I see her.Because I will see her.By the time the jet lands in Athens, I’ve already made up my mind. I’
Dwight’s POV"You didn’t have to come," she says. But that's not a plea to leave.She doesn’t tell me to leave.She doesn’t move.For a long moment, we just stand there, locked in some unspoken war. Her pulse beats fast under my fingers, but she doesn’t yank her wrist away. And I don’t let go.Not yet.Leah is the first to break the silence. “I don’t want anyone blowing hot and cold on me, Dwight.” Her voice is quiet but firm, laced with a weight that tells me this isn’t just about tonight.I already know what she means.She’s talking about everything—the way I pulled her back in only to push her away again. The easy camaraderie we had whole we auditioned models. The fun at the restaurant we'd gone to eat at, before she'd blurted out her plans and I'd gone cold on her. She exhales sharply, shaking her head. “I’ve seen it, Dwight. It’s easy for you. You compartmentalize, push things aside, and act like we never existed. Like I never mattered.”A muscle ticks in my jaw. That shouldn’t
Dwight’s POV"You want the truth, huh? How about you start by giving me that?"I frown. "What do you mean?"Leah exhales sharply, arms crossing tightly over her chest. "You left. Days before our wedding, Dwight. No calls, no messages. Nothing." Her voice shakes, but she doesn’t back down. "Do you think that deserves zero explanation?"Her words hit me like a freight train.I left? Days before our wedding?No. That’s not— that’s not possible.A cold wave crashes over me, sinking deep into my bones, sending an unsettling chill through my entire body.I shake my head, my pulse hammering. "Leah… what are you talking about?"She laughs, sharp and humorless. "Oh, don’t do that. Don’t stand there and pretend you don’t know exactly what I mean."But I don’t.I don’t.A strange, hollow feeling spreads through my chest, like a chasm opening beneath my feet. "I left?" The words feel foreign, wrong.She lifts her chin, eyes flashing with anger and something else—pain. "You disappeared, Dwight. No
EPILOGUE Leah's POV I sit quietly by Dwight’s hospital bed, my fingers gently wrapped around his, the steady beeping of the heart monitor grounding me. After two surgeries, he’s finally resting.When I’d been told that Dwight was shot, I had felt my entire world crashing down. I’d cried all the way to the hospital, and it’d taken three men to keep me out of the operating room.But miraculously, he’s alive. Still here. Still breathing. Still mine. And yet, it all feels surreal—the whirlwind of the past few days catching up in uneven bursts. Ethan’s arrest, Gerald’s disgrace, the truth about Glimmr being Dwight’s all along becoming public. But nothing compares to the ache that comes from the one betrayal I never saw coming—my uncle’s.I had trusted him. Loved him. Thought of him as a steady force in my life. But behind all the warmth and concern was a man plotting to control me—using my heartbreak, pushing me toward Ethan, and scheming to seize Veloura for himself. He’d sat there at t
Dwight's POVThe road coils like a serpent beneath my tires, black and endless. Trees lean in on either side like silent witnesses, their twisted branches clawing at the pale sky. Gerald’s directions run through my head again and again, carved into memory. The House of Silence—what a sick, ironic name. My grip tightens on the wheel as I push forward, heart hammering in a rhythm I haven’t known in years.I tap my earpiece.“Parker.”Static, then his clipped voice. “Sir.”“I have done it. Coordinates check out." I tap on my screen, sending a screenshot of the map Gerald had handed me.“Mr. Spencer, wait. I’m pulling in backup. Don’t go in alone. I mean it.”“I don’t have time. He could be doing God knows what to that young woman right now. He needs to be stopped.” I couldn't let them do to her what they'd done to me.“Dwight—”“There’s no time, Parker. You won’t make it before it’s too late.”He curses under his breath. “At least wait nearby. Don’t breach. I’ll be there in fifteen.”But
Ethan’s POVShe looked like porcelain under the low light.Pale, trembling, slick with sweat. Her chest heaved as she lay on the stained cot in the far corner, wrists bound to the headboard with nylon straps, ankles tied tight. Her hair—light brown, maybe even blonde in the right light—was matted against her temples, soaked. And those eyes. Translucent blue, darting like a cornered rabbit, searching for a way out that didn’t exist.“I don’t know what I did,” she sobbed. Her voice cracked like something brittle. “Please, please let me go…”I didn’t move. I just watched her from the shadows, still as a breath held underwater. She tried to sit up, trembling, her arms pulling at the restraints with a sound like Velcro peeling from skin.“I’ll give you everything,” she cried. “My paychecks—every single one. I swear. Just don’t hurt me. My boyfriend… he doesn’t have money. He can’t pay ransom. Please…”God. She was alive. Alive in the way most people forgot how to be. The kind of aliveness
Dwight's POV Gerald Carrington lived in a two-story villa tucked behind a quiet cul-de-sac on the city’s west end. The neighborhood had a curated calm about it — hedges trimmed to military precision, pavement scrubbed of all disorder. Unlike his brother Felix’s sprawling estate with its sweeping gates and Greek statues, Gerald’s home was the kind of place that whispered wealth rather than screamed it. Tasteful. Secluded. Expensive, but not decadent.I parked three blocks down and approached on foot, dressed in dark jeans and a charcoal sweater. No cologne. No jewelry. Nothing that caught the light.Judith had delivered the address an hour ago. She’d also found a layout of the house — a scanned blueprint buried in some renovation permits from two years back. I studied it on the ride over, memorizing the entry points, camera placements, the blind spots between hedges and roof angles.I wasn’t here for a polite conversation.I was here for answers.The backyard was mostly covered — two
DWIGHT'S POVThe office around me — my own private quarters at Glimmr — felt too big, too empty, too quiet. Every tick of the clock on the wall sounded like a drumbeat inside my skull.I couldn't sit still.Couldn't stop moving.Pacing back and forth in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows like a caged animal.My hands itched to do something — to tear something apart, to find Ava, to end whatever nightmare she was living through because of me.Ava had trusted me.Worked for me.Smiled at me, grateful for opportunities and promises.And I had failed her.Just like I had once failed myself, locked in that dark, cold hell three years ago.I dragged my fingers through my hair, jaw locked so tight it ached.Where was Parker?Where was the goddamn call?My phone buzzed sharply on the desk.I lunged for it like a drowning man reaching for a rope.“Talk to me,” I barked, not bothering with hellos.Parker’s voice crackled through, low and urgent.“We hit Ethan’s place. Just finished. He's not
Dwight's POV The tires screeched against the pavement as I pulled out of the driveway, my hand clenching the steering wheel so hard the leather groaned beneath my grip. The night sky stretched endless above me, but I barely saw it. All I could see was Ava's face. Bright, smiling Ava, who was now missing — God knew where — because somewhere, somehow, I'd let my guard down.Not again. I wouldn't lose another innocent to this madness. I swore it.I jabbed the button on the dashboard, calling Parker first.He answered on the first ring. "Boss?""I need you to move," I barked, weaving through traffic like a man possessed. "Ava's missing. Her fiancé called the office — she never showed up back there after leaving my house."A sharp intake of breath. "Shit. You think it's connected?""I know it is." My gut was screaming, every instinct sharpened to a fine, deadly edge. "I need you to pull every favor, use every contact you have. Track her phone, hack into traffic cams, do whatever it take
Dwight's POVIt was dark out. Leah lay half-sprawled across my chest, the silky strands of her hair tickling my skin. Our clothes were scattered haphazardly across the room, abandoned in our urgency. The heavy rug under us cushioned our bodies, still slick and languid from the intensity of our lovemaking. I still couldn't believe the feelings that coursed through me as I'd made love to her. It was better than all the times I had allowed myself to imagine... to fantasize.It had been pure magic. Messy, but perfect. And having her here in my arms filled me with the duty of contentment that had been missing for three years. I could have stayed like that forever. Her breath warm against my skin. Her heart beating in slow, contented rhythms against mine. Her fingers moved idly over my chest, tracing lazy patterns. Every touch sent aftershocks through my nerves, subtle reminders of how close we had just been, how perfect she felt wrapped around me...And then her fingers stilled. She brushe
Dwight's POV The clock on the wall ticked mockingly at me, but I barely noticed it anymore.I sat behind my desk, staring at the documents spread out before me, but none of the words made it past the thick wall of energy thrumming in my veins. It was all background noise. Filler. Nothing compared to the singular, burning thought anchoring me:Leah.Home. Waiting for me.The thought wrapped itself around every nerve ending, making it almost impossible to sit still. I knew it wouldn’t last—this arrangement was temporary. But even knowing that, I couldn't stop the anticipation that practically vibrated in my blood. The pull toward her was too strong, too fierce to deny.I remembered the kiss we shared. God, I remembered every detail. The tentative way I had brushed my mouth against hers. The way she had frozen for a breathless second before melting against me, kissing me back like it was the only thing keeping her alive. That kiss had shattered something inside me. It wasn
Leah’s POVAfter Ava left, the house felt much bigger.Much quieter.And somehow, even though I knew I was safe, the silence made me feel small.I sprawled on the plush sofa in the sunken living room, laptop abandoned beside me, staring out at the endless stretch of green beyond the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. The afternoon sun slanted in golden beams across the polished floors, painting everything in warm, sleepy light.I could still hear Ava’s cheerful goodbye ringing in my ears."Call me if you need anything, okay?"I had promised I would. But really, there was nothing Ava—or anyone—could do for me now.I needed time. Space.Maybe even forgiveness.The soft shuffle of footsteps pulled me out of my thoughts. I sat up just as the house chef—a kind-eyed woman named Marla—approached, wiping her hands on a white apron."Miss Carrington," she said with a polite nod, "would you like anything for lunch? I made a chicken and asparagus salad. Fresh bread too."My stomach gave an unexpe