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They let us go to the hospital under police escort. "If he dies," Chen said as we climbed into the back of her car, "you're both looking at manslaughter charges." Jamie didn't respond. He stared out the window with dead eyes. I reached for his hand. He pulled away. The hospital was chaos. News vans lined the parking lot. Reporters rushed the car when they saw us, shouting questions through the windows. "Mr. Whitmore, did you drive your son to suicide?" "Lilith, how does it feel knowing you destroyed a family?" "Is the affair worth a man's life?" Chen muscled us through the crowd and into the emergency entrance. A doctor met us in the hallway. "How is he?" Jamie's voice cracked. "Stable. We pumped his stomach in time." The doctor consulted his chart. "He ingested approximately thirty sleeping pills mixed with alcohol. Another hour and he wouldn't have made it." "Can we see him?" I asked. "Family only." "I'm his father." The doctor glanced at Chen, who nodded. "Five minutes
Detective Chen separated us the moment we arrived. "Standard procedure," she said, leading me into a gray room with a table and two chairs. "Mr. Whitmore will be questioned separately." I sat down. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. "You're not under arrest," Chen said, sitting across from me. "But I need you to understand the seriousness of these allegations. Aiden Whitmore claims you and his father have been harassing him for weeks. Threatening messages. Following him. Attempting to extort money." "That's insane. He's the one who—" "Let me finish." Chen pulled out her phone and slid it across the table. "He provided these." I looked at the screen. Text messages. Dozens of them. All from my number to Aiden. *Stay away from Jamie or I'll destroy you.* *You don't deserve him.* *Transfer $50,000 or everyone finds out what you did.* "I never sent these," I said. "They're from your number." "Then he faked them somehow. Cloned my phone, I don't know. But I never wrote those messa
Jamie answered his phone on the fourth ring."Richard, I can explain—""Explain what? That you're screwing your son's girlfriend? The photos are pretty self-explanatory." The voice on speaker was sharp, furious. "The board wants you out. Today.""You can't make that decision alone.""I'm not alone. I've got seven votes already. Emergency meeting at nine. Don't bother showing up."The line went dead.Jamie's phone immediately rang again. He declined it."How bad is it?" I asked."Career-ending." He scrolled through his messages, face hardening with each one. "Half the board wants me removed. The other half wants a full investigation. Either way, I'm done.""Can they actually fire you? You built that company.""I'm CEO, not owner. And morality clauses exist for a reason." He looked at me. "They'll use this to push me out, install someone cheaper, claim they're protecting company values."My phone wouldn't stop buzzing. Unknown numbers. News outlets. Someone had already leaked my name."
Aiden was still holding my phone when I walked through the door."You left this on the table," he said, his voice pleasant. Too pleasant.I forced myself to walk slowly. "Thanks. I didn't realize.""I know." He turned the phone over in his hands. "It kept buzzing while you were gone. Someone really wants to talk to you."My throat closed. "Probably just spam.""Probably." He held it out to me. "You should check. Might be important."I took the phone, fingers numb. The screen was locked. I couldn't tell if he'd tried to open it, couldn't tell if he'd seen anything."Who was it?" I asked, keeping my voice steady."I didn't look. That would be rude." His smile widened. "Privacy is important in a relationship, don't you think?""Of course.""Good. I'm glad we agree." He moved closer, wrapped his arms around my waist. "Did you have a nice walk?""Yes.""See anything interesting?"My heart hammered. "Just the lake.""The lake." He nodded slowly. "Beautiful, isn't it? The way the water refle
Aiden insisted on giving me the grand tour."Dad renovated last summer," he said, pulling me through the cabin. "Wait until you see the master bedroom. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the lake."His hand was warm in mine. Trusting. I wanted to rip it away.Jamie followed behind us, silent as a ghost. I felt his presence like a brand between my shoulder blades."You'll take the guest room on the second floor," Aiden continued. "Right next to mine. Dad's on the first floor because of his back."Convenient. Separate floors meant separate worlds. Meant I wouldn't have to hear Jamie breathing through the walls.Except I'd still know he was there. Beneath me. Close enough."It's beautiful," I said, because Aiden was waiting for a response."Right?" He grinned and kissed my temple. "I'm going to make us drinks. Dad, help Lilith with her bags?"He disappeared downstairs before either of us could object.The silence crashed in.Jamie picked up my suitcase without a word and headed for the
I woke up to an empty bed.For one blissful second, I thought maybe I'd dreamed it. That Jamie was still tucked safely in the spare room, that last night existed only in my subconscious where it belonged.Then I saw the indent in the pillow beside mine. Smelled his cologne on the sheets. Felt the ache between my thighs that had nothing to do with sleep.Not a dream.A disaster.I grabbed my phone. Seven missed calls from Aiden. Twelve texts.**Aiden:** *Good morning beautiful***Aiden:** *Dad finally made it to Chicago. He looks exhausted.***Aiden:** *Said the hotel thing was a nightmare but someone helped him out.***Aiden:** *You awake?***Aiden:** *Babe?***Aiden:** *Starting to worry. Call me when you get this.*The timestamps ran from six in the morning until twenty minutes ago. While I was still asleep. While Jamie's scent was still on my skin.I typed back with numb fingers.**Me:** *Sorry. Overslept. Long night. I'm fine.*The response came instantly.**Aiden:** *Thank god. T







