LOGINPOV - VICTOR School is important. I kept telling myself that. It is the only reason I finally let her leave the house today. If it were just about what I wanted, just about my own feelings, I would have grounded her. I would have kept her right here. Grounding her would keep her safe, away from any danger. Inside these walls, I could control everything. I could watch her. I could make sure nothing and no one could touch her. But I didn't do that. I stood by the window and watched her car pull away. A tight knot of worry sat in my stomach the whole time. I got myself ready for the day's work. My real work. Today, it all starts with one main job. I need to find out who has worked so hard to ruin my good name. Someone set that fire. Someone killed those people. Someone made sure the police and the news pointed right at me. Was the goal to destroy me completely? Or was it something trickier? Was it all just to keep hurting Jack Cole? To make him look even worse by having me, the big ba
POV - KELSEYMy phone was hot in my hands under the desk. I watched the video again. And again. My teeth were gritted so tight my jaw hurt.There they were. Scarlett and Ayden. Up on his shoulders in that stupid cafe, laughing like hyenas. Her stupid dark hair flying everywhere. Him looking up at her like she was the best thing he’d ever seen. They looked like an actual couple. A happy one.Everything about those two was getting on my last nerve. Especially that black-hearted bitch, Scarlett. Who did she think she was, coming in here with her “mysterious” act and taking Ayden’s attention? He used to look at me. Now he looks at her like she’s a piece of candy.I’ve been wanting a fight.. My fingers have been itching for it. All this quiet anger has been bubbling inside me, looking for a way out. She's not going to win this fight against me like previous times but well she hasn’t been in school all morning. Not one class. And guess who else was missing? Ayden. No sign of him either. It
POV - VICTORI watched the scene at my front gate with cold, simmering anger. Jack Cole, red-faced and spitting insults. Him slapping me, a pathetic, weak move from a pathetic, weak man. I took it. Let him have his little moment. It only made him look more foolish.Then, my men moved in from the side, pushing a tall figure forward. My eyes narrowed. It was the boy from last night. The one with his hands on Scarlett. Ayden. Of course. Just as I processed this, the front door behind me opened.Scarlett stepped out. She didn’t look scared. She had that defiant set to her jaw. She shrugged and pointed right at the boy, like she was presenting a gift. Or a problem.I thought I understood. Look what followed me home. Now deal with it.But then Jack Cole turned. He saw his son. His face, already purple with rage, went almost black. “Ayden Cole!” he thundered. His voice cracked across my driveway. “Should you not be in school? Why are you hell-bent on embarrassing me in every fucking place I
POV - SCARLETT I smacked my hand right against my forehead the second I saw them grab him. Idiot! I’d been watching the whole disaster from my bedroom window. Let me rewind. This morning, I was desperate. I just wanted to get to school. Anything to escape this house. The air here was so thick and heavy I could barely breathe. Last night... last night was a crazy mess. The fight with Victor, that angry, hungry kiss right after, and then Jaxon, just sitting there in the dark, seeing and hearing it all. I hadn’t been able to look at him this morning. I couldn’t say a single word. I thought, I have to get out. I got dressed for school, my heart beating fast with a plan. I’d sneak out. How hard could it be? I made it past my door, quiet as a mouse. I tiptoed down the big staircase, my hand on the cool railing. I slipped through the huge, quiet living room. So far, so good. My heart lifted. The front door was right there. Freedom. I reached for the big, shiny handle. “Going so
POV AYDEN I was crouched behind the big landscaping truck, my heart pounding a hole in my chest. The cold from the ground was seeping through my jeans. I watched as my dad’s car pulled up to the iron gates of Victor Blackwood’s fortress. But something was off. Really off. My dad was driving himself. That was weird. He always had Henry, his driver, take him everywhere, especially to important or stressful places. But there he was, alone behind the wheel of his black town car. He looked small and tense inside the big car. He killed the engine and just sat there for a moment, his head bowed like he was praying, or maybe trying not to be sick. While I watched, frozen, my dad’s door opened. He didn't get out right away. He looked around, his eyes darting like a scared animal's. He saw the guards at the gate, two big men talking to each other, their backs partly turned. For a second, they were distracted. That’s when my dad did something I’d never seen him do. He crouched low, alm
POV - AYDEN COLE Walking into school felt like walking into a buzzing beehive. The noise was everywhere. I heard whispers and stupid laughs around every corner. I saw kids huddled together, passing phones around, their eyes wide. I didn't need to ask anyone what they were talking about. I already knew. The video from last night at the cafe had gone viral. It was all over the place by now. Big surprise. Honestly? I didn't even care about that. Let them all talk. Let them all laugh and point. I had way bigger, way heavier things filling up my mind. My head wasn't full of stupid school gossip. It was full of one name, hammering over and over like a drumbeat: Victor Blackwood. And the girl who was with him. Scarlett. I stalked down the main hall like a hunter. My eyes scanned every face in the crowd, checked every corner. People saw me coming and moved out of my way fast. I guess I looked as angry and dark as I felt on the inside. I was searching for one single person. Just her. Scarle







