LOGIN(POV - SCARLETT) The small space of the closet feels like an oven, too hot and too tight. His warm breath fans my face, too close. His hand is wrapped around mine, his other arm is tight around my waist, holding me there. It’s all too much. It leaves no room to think. It is oddly, stupidly distracting. But even as it distracts me, I’m not thinking about him. My mind betrays me, flashing to Victor. To how, in a dark and private space like this, I would simply lean up and kiss him. How his hands would feel, so much bigger and knowing. How his mouth would claim mine. But this boy is not Victor. He can’t ever be Victor. And that’s why this whole conversation makes a hot, sharp anger spike in my chest. This boy is grilling me like a cop. Asking for my papers, my history. Treating me like a criminal, a liar, just like his powerful father probably does. I feel the old, strong walls inside my heart slam up, higher and harder than ever before. No one gets in. No one. Suddenly, I can’t sta
(POV - AYDEN COLE) Of course. I should have figured it all out right from the start. It’s all I can think about. My dad’s angry words are on a loop in my head. Victor Blackwood had a wife named Scarlett. A wife who died. And then, out of nowhere, a young, pretty girl shows up with him, with that same rare name. Not a cousin. Not a friend. A niece named Scarlett. That’s more than weird. That’s mighty suspicious. My mind is a mess. I don’t know what to believe. My dad lied to me. He lied to everyone about his leg. But what if he was lying for a good reason? What if he was trying to protect us from something real? From her? These thoughts are buzzing in my head like angry bees as I walk into school. My feet move on their own. I don’t see the other students. I don’t hear the morning bell. I’m just walking, lost in my own confused world. I head to my locker. That’s when I notice it. A small crowd of kids gathered down the hall. They’re whispering, pointing, and laughing. It’s a mean
(POV - VICTOR BLACKWOOD) The inside of the building was dark and smelled like old dust. My heart was still pounding in my ears. I had to move fast. I had to think like a cop. Where would the manager’s office be? Probably near the front. I walked down a short hall. The first door had a dirty sign that said ‘MANAGER’. I tried the handle. It was unlocked. I slipped inside and closed the door softly behind me. The room was small. A messy desk. On the wall behind it was a small TV screen, split into four black-and-white squares. A security system. Below it was a metal box. I went to it. My fingers, still a little shaky, found the latch and opened it. Inside were four small SD cards, each in its own slot. The videos from the cameras outside. I pulled them all out. I put them in the pocket of the police jacket. My proof. Or my death sentence. I had to see what was on them. But I couldn’t do it here. I needed a computer. I needed to be alone. I left the office and walked back toward the
(POV - VICTOR BLACKWOOD) This was the place. This dark, quiet street. This old building with the broken sign that always squeaked in the wind. I knew every crack in the sidewalk here. I had been here that night. The exact night they said I was driving a big truck, trying to kill Jack Cole. But I wasn’t anywhere near a truck. I was right here. This place was my only hope. My only real chance to prove where I truly was when all the lies happened. But now, my only hope was completely covered with police. It was like watching ants swarm over something sweet. Blue and red lights flashed again and again, turning the whole world into a scary, spinning movie. Cops were everywhere. Talking, pointing, shining bright lights on the ground. My safe place, my proof, was now their crime scene. They had taken it over. I had parked my bike two full blocks down. I walked back slowly, my hands in my pockets. I tried to look like just a curious man. Just another person in the big crowd of people who
(POV - VICTOR BLACKWOOD)My head was a loud, messy place. Nothing felt normal. Everything had gone completely wrong. And on top of all the trouble, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.I kept imagining her naked body next to mine. My hands running across her perfect skin. Her voice, filled with pleasure, moaning in my ear. The way her body had moved against mine, over and over, all through that one night.Fuck.I slammed my fist on the kitchen counter. I had to stop thinking about that. It was over. It was a mistake. Right now, I had a much bigger problem.There was a new story in the city. A story about a fake man named Victor Blackwood. This Victor was causing riots. This Victor had tried to kill Jack Cole with a truck.I knew it wasn’t me.If I wanted to kill Jack Cole, believe me, I would do it. But I would be smart. I would not get in a big truck and crash it in the middle of the day. That was a stupid, messy plan. If I did it, I would do a clean job. No one would ever know it wa
The elevator doors slid shut behind me with a soft, final sigh. I stepped out into the hall, the quiet hum of the building all around me. I straightened my cuff, a simple, ordinary motion. Then I looked up, and my heart jolted hard against my ribs, a painful, sudden drumbeat of pure alarm. Ayden. My son was standing right there, frozen like a statue in front of my office door. He was just… waiting. His eyes, wide and shocked, met mine. For a single second, I saw just my boy standing there. Then his gaze immediately darted down. Down to my legs. He saw it instantly. There was no slow realization. His eyes took in the whole picture in one terrible flash. No crutches leaning against the wall. No careful, painful limp. Just me, walking perfectly fine, standing tall. The big, bulky white cast on my leg looked ridiculous now, like a stupid joke, a clear lie against my unhurt skin. Shit. It was so easy to see the truth all over his face. It wasn't just about what he was seeing now. He’d







