LOGINCHAPTER 61
The sun was beginning to dip low in the sky, casting long golden shadows across the park. Samantha’s laughter rang out, pure and carefree, as she ran after a bright orange butterfly. Her little feet pattered over the soft grass, the pink fabric of her dress fluttering behind her like wings. Her curls bounced with each step, and her wide grey eyes sparkled with delight.Amelia sat on a weathered wooden bench under the old oak tree, her phone in hand but her attention only half on the screen. She glanced up every so often to watch Samantha play, feeling a gentle smile lift her lips. The fresh air was crisp with the scent of blooming flowers and freshly cut grass, and children’s laughter mixed with the distant hum of conversation.Suddenly, Amelia’s smile faltered. She looked up properly—Samantha was nowhere in sight.Her heart stopped for a second, a cold knot twisting in her stomach.“Samantha?” Her voice trembled as she calledCHAPTER 61 The sun was beginning to dip low in the sky, casting long golden shadows across the park. Samantha’s laughter rang out, pure and carefree, as she ran after a bright orange butterfly. Her little feet pattered over the soft grass, the pink fabric of her dress fluttering behind her like wings. Her curls bounced with each step, and her wide grey eyes sparkled with delight.Amelia sat on a weathered wooden bench under the old oak tree, her phone in hand but her attention only half on the screen. She glanced up every so often to watch Samantha play, feeling a gentle smile lift her lips. The fresh air was crisp with the scent of blooming flowers and freshly cut grass, and children’s laughter mixed with the distant hum of conversation.Suddenly, Amelia’s smile faltered. She looked up properly—Samantha was nowhere in sight.Her heart stopped for a second, a cold knot twisting in her stomach.“Samantha?” Her voice trembled as she called
CHAPTER 60 Eva stood in the quiet corridor of the Russo‑Lezandro estate, her heels echoing softly on the marble floor. Outside, the gala’s music hummed through the open doors, laughter and clinks of champagne glasses drifting like ghosts through the night. She pulled her phone from her clutch, looking again at that fragment of a photo she’d snapped earlier — the flash of Alyssa and Rylan on the balcony, lips close, hidden from the cameras. Her heart had clenched hard when she realized what she might have seen, but the moment was over before she could confirm. Now, alone in the corridor, the image replayed in her mind. *They’re hiding something.* She whispered to herself, pressing the phone screen until the image blurred before tapping it away. Footsteps approached behind her — soft, controlled. Eva turned to see her mother, Mrs sky, emerging from a side room, arms folded, expression flat. “You look troubled,”
CHAPTER 59 *Alyssa’s POV*The early morning air felt crisp as the car pulled away from my apartment. Dawn was still stretching her fingers across the skyline, the city lights blinking out one by one. My suitcase sat in the backseat, wheels spinning quietly on the leather floor. I sat beside Marcus’s goodbye text in my pocket: Be safe. I had sent one back: I will be. But the quiet hum of the engine didn’t calm me. Not entirely.I was headed out of the city with Rylan Russo, my boss, the mafia heir, the man whose world I only glimpsed in flashes of glances and tension. The trip was framed as corporate: a key client in a neighboring country, meetings, dinners, the familiar shutter‑click of business suits. But lately nothing that involved him felt normal.Rylan’s driver dropped us at the private terminal of the airport. The building was sleek glass and steel, everything polished and exact. Rylan stepped out first, adjust
CHAPTER 58The dim light of the café flickered as the door slammed open, a cold gust sweeping in with the figure that stepped through. Alyssa’s breath hitched as the silhouette moved closer—tall, confident, and unmistakably familiar.“Ruby?”The woman’s eyes glinted with something sharp and dangerous—years of bitterness, envy, and a darkness Alyssa had never truly seen before. Her lips curled into a mocking smile.“Well, well, if it isn’t little miss perfect,” Ruby hissed, voice dripping with venom. “Didn’t expect to see me here, did you?”Alyssa’s heart pounded harder, confusion and fear crashing through her like a wave.“Why... why are you here?” Alyssa managed to ask, her voice barely above a whisper.Ruby laughed—a harsh, cold sound that made the hairs on the back of Alyssa’s neck stand on end. “I’ve been watching you. Always watching. Sending those lovely little messages that kept you up at night? Yeah, that was me.
CHAPTER 57Alyssa stared at the photo in her hand—one Amelia had snapped earlier of Samantha playing by the garden. Her daughter’s soft golden hair shimmered under the sun, falling in loose curls around her shoulders. But it wasn’t just the hair. It was the curve of her chin. The arch of her brow. The way her smile tilted slightly to the left.Something about it stirred unease deep in Alyssa’s chest.Amelia, who has just arrived for a few days to pick up somethings was stairing at her in curiosity.“I just… I don’t get it,” she murmured, voice barely above a whisper. “Marcus said something strange last night. About knowing what I went through in school.”Amelia, sitting beside her, frowned. “What do you mean strange?”Alyssa swallowed hard. “He said... he knew about what happened to me back then. The assault.”Amelia’s eyes widened. “But, you never told him, did you?”“No,” Alyssa whispered. “I never told anyone
CHAPTER 56The garden lights glowed under the velvet night sky as I stumbled through the hedges, tears blurring the pathway ahead of me. I could still hear the voices behind me, the whispering condolences, the pointing looks, the blow of my past revealed under crystal chandeliers. My dress, that deep emerald gown, felt like a costume now, extravagant, exposed. Marcus finally found me at the fountain’s edge, the water silver in the lamplight, mist curling around us. “Alyssa,” he called gently, stepping closer with concern in his eyes. “Please talk to me.”I turned to face him, grief and anger mingling in my chest. I felt raw. Vulnerable. “I can't,” I whispered, voice trembling. “I can’t do this. Not here. Not now.”He reached for me, hesitated, then pulled me into his arms. “You don’t have to do it alone,” he said softly. “I’m right here.”But I jerked away. “Stop pretending, Marcus!” I cried. “You brought me







