登入YVONNE'S POVThe east stairwell was chilly. The lights buzzed above. There were no cameras—I had checked months ago when Arthur wanted to fuck me between meetings, and I was worried about evidence.Now I was grateful for the blind spot.Helen followed me in, the door closing behind us with a deep click. I turned to face her, leaned against the fence, and waited.She was restless. Picking at her nails. Her eyes darting around the empty stairwell like she expected someone to appear. Her bottom lip caught between her teeth.I recognized all of it. The nervous energy. The fear. The desperation.I had worn that same expression for three years."Okay," Helen said finally. "Five minutes. Thank you for—for hearing me out.""You have four minutes left."She flinched. "Right. Okay. I just—Yvonne, I know this is awkward. I know we don't really know each other. But I think—I think we might have more in common than you realize."I said nothing. I just watched her."Holly treats me like shit," Hel
~YVONNE'S POV~I could feel eyes on me.Sarah glances over. Brad looking in my direction. Marcus staring.'Why are they all looking at me?'Because Vanessa had stared at me, because Arthur's ex-assistant who'd been mysteriously absent for two weeks had come back the same day critical files went missing.Because they all thought I was weak enough, desperate enough, stupid enough to have taken them.I kept my expression calm, board and even.Arthur's jaw clenched. "Very well. We will do this the hard way. Security will begin the search in thirty minutes. No one leaves. No one touches their desks until they've been cleared. Understood?"Murmurs of agreement around the room."Good." Arthur looked at Holly, then at his mother, some silent communication passing between them.Then they walked out together. A Klein family united. The door closed behind them, for a moment, no one moved.Then the room exploded."This is bullshit...""I have dinner plans....""They can't just lock us in here...
~Yvonne POV~By 2 PM, everyone had been summoned to the main conference room.There was no explanation, just a mass email from Holly Sinclair: 'Conference Room A. 2:00 PM, mandatory attendance, no exceptions.' I walked in to find the room already packed, every chair filled. People standing along the walls, the energy was tense, crackling with whispers and assumption.I found a seat near the back, pulled out my phone, pretended to check emails while I listened."I still can't believe they lost the files," Sarah was saying to Brad two seats over. "Billion-dollar investment files just... gone.""That's what happens when you mishandle responsibility," Brad said, not bothering to lower his voice. "Holly's been so focused on her engagement and dating Arthur that she's getting sloppy with actual work.""Someone said Helen left them on her desk and they just disappeared," another voice chimed in. "Like, who does that with confidential documents?""Holly should have been supervising her assis
~YVONNE'S POV~The office was chaos.People opening drawers, checking filing cabinets, and searching through piles of documents on desks and credenzas.I walked slowly through the floor, pretending to look but not really caring.'A billion-dollar deal. If Klein Corp doesn't finalize it...'The thought made something dark curl in my stomach. What would happen if those files just... disappeared? If that deal fell through?Arthur would lose a massive investment. Richard Klein would be furious, the Sinclair merger might collapse and holly would be blamed for her assistant's incompetence.I touched the necklace at my throat and felt the tracker warm against my skin.'What would Liam say? Would he tell me to find them? To help save Klein Corp?' No. Liam would tell me to let it burn.I was making my way toward the break room—plainly to search, actually just to get away from everyone—when I saw Holly coming toward me.She had that same sweet smile, but her eyes were dead."Yvonne," she said
~YVONNE'S POV~The conference room was already half-full when I arrived at 9:50 AM.The Sinclair merger meeting wasn't supposed to start until ten, but apparently everyone had decided to show up early. Or maybe they had just heard I was back and wanted a front-row seat to the spectacle.I walked in carrying my tablet and notepad, keeping my expression unconcerned even though I could feel every eye in the room turn toward me.The whispers started immediately."—that's her—""—can't believe she actually came back—""—heard she was in the hospital—"I made my way to my usual seat in the corner—the assistant's chair where I had sat through hundreds of these meetings, taking notes while Arthur held court.Sarah from Marketing was sitting three seats away. She looked at me, then quickly looked at her phone, her lips curving into a smirk. Across the table, Brad from Sales was whispering something to Michelle. They both glanced my way and laughed.My phone buzzed in my pocket.I pulled it o
~YVONNE'S POV~The executive floor was quiet when I stepped off the elevator, early morning—most people wouldn't arrive for another hour.But I could hear voices coming from Arthur's office, murmuring, soft laughter.My stomach dropped.I walked slowly down the hallway, my heels clicking on the shiny floor. I passed my desk—exactly as I had left it two weeks ago, past the conference room, past the break room.Toward Arthur's office.The door was closed but not latched, slightly ajar. I could hear them more clearly now, a woman's voice, breathy and giggling.And Arthur, that low murmur he used when he was—No.I stood outside the door, one hand on my stomach, the other gripping my bag.'You're just doing your job, reporting for duty. It doesn't matter what's happening in there.' But it did matter, because even though I hated him, even though I knew exactly who he was, some small part of me had still hoped—I grabbed the door handle."Good morning, sir," I said, pushing it open. "Sorry,
~LIAM POV~She began to wipe away the blood, starting at my wrist and working her way up. The towel was warm, the clash soothing against the raw skin.I watched her work, enchanted. She was detailed. She cleaned the dried red spots from my fingers, working around the split knuckles with a gentlenes
~LIAM'S POV~The elevator ride to the penthouse was nauseating.My stomach stirred with every mechanical lurch, and I couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or the fact that I could still smell her on my clothes from earlier.Vanilla and something floral. It stuck to my shirt like a blame.I looked do
LIAM (Third Person POV)The amber liquid burned on the way down, a scorch mark against the back of his throat that he welcomed. It was the only thing real right now.The only thing that wasn't her.Liam sat in the darkest corner of Rush & Division, a club in River North where the elite came to pret
~YVONNE POV~He didn't wait to see if I obeyed. He just walked toward a set of double doors on the far side of the room.I took my bag and ran after him, my shoes making noise on the smooth floors.We entered a library. It was the only room I had seen so far that felt like it had a pulse.The walls







