Chapter 4

Hailey

The courtroom emptied like a dying tide. One by one, voices dropped to whispers, then to silence. Chairs scraped, and shoes clicked against the marble. And then there was only me.

I sat at the prosecution’s table, hands fisted against the polished wood, staring at the scattered papers that meant nothing now. Once, this table had been my throne, my battlefield, my shield. But today, it was a coffin.

“Attorney Bruce?”

A security guard hovered near the doors, his voice unsure. “The courtroom’s closing soon. You’ll need to…”

“I’ll leave when I’m ready,” I snapped, though my voice cracked.

He hesitated and then disappeared, leaving me alone. I stayed because walking out meant facing them. The reporters, the cameras, and the endless questions I had no answers to. Beyond them lies my father.

The thought made bile rise in my throat. One mistake, one man… Everything I had built collapsed.

Zeke

I whispered his name like a curse, my nails biting crescents into my palms. He had stripped me, humiliated me, and played me like I was a pawn. The city would celebrate his victory tonight while I drowned in shame.

But I wasn’t broken, not yet. I would make him pay.

The buzz outside grew louder, muffled through the heavy doors. Reporters shouted his name, and questions flew like knives.

“Mr. Massimo, how does it feel to walk free again?”

“Do you have a message for your enemies?”

“Are you untouchable?”

Their voices stabbed me deeper than any blade. I pressed my face to my hands, shaking. For the first time in years, I let the tears fall. They were quiet and endless, until they soaked through my sleeves.

By the time I lifted my head, the sunlight through the high windows had faded to gold. Shadows stretched across the courtroom, swallowing me whole.

I must have drifted to sleep at some point, because when I woke, the room was empty and silent. Evening had crept in. The lamps glowed dim.

The silence pressed down on me. I gathered my files, clutching them to my chest, and forced my legs to move.

Outside, the air was cool and sharp. The courthouse parking lot stretched wide, lit by scattered lamps. My heels echoed too loud, too lonely on the empty pathway.

That’s when I saw it.

A note…

Tucked under my car’s windshield wiper, the paper was stained with something dark. At first, I thought it was ink, but no, the copper tang hit my nose before my fingers even touched it.

Blood.

The letters scrawled across it were jagged and deliberate.

“This is only the beginning.”

Beside it, a rose. Black petals, edged with crimson. A knot formed in my gut, and my heart raced. Casting my eyes across the darkness, I asked, "Who's that?"

There was nothing but the cold hum of streetlights.

“Zeke,” it came out of my mouth as a whisper. It had to be him.

I ripped the note away, my hands trembling, and shoved it into my car. Every corner of the parking lot felt alive with eyes, but when I looked… nothing was there.

By the time I pulled into my driveway, my hands were still shaking. The lights in the house glowed warm, too warm. My chest clenched as I pushed open the door.

My father was waiting. He sat in the living room, his posture rigid and his expression unwavering. Beside him was Mr. Moore, his longtime adviser, a snake in a pressed suit.

“Sit,” my father said coldly. I didn’t move… “dad, i…”

The crack of his hand against my cheek stole the breath from my lungs. The room tilted, and my skin burned.

“You ruined everything,” he hissed, a scoff on his lips. I tasted copper in my mouth, my eyes stung, but I refused to let them see me cry.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” His voice rose, thunder shaking the walls. “Your reputation is ashes. You’ve dragged this family through the mud. Do you know the number of years it took me to put that man in jail?”

I whispered, my voice cracked, “I tried.”

“That’s all you ever say. Give stupid excuses when something goes wrong.” He muttered, pulling a cigarette from the pack, “Your sister would never. Sometimes I wondered if you’re actually a Bruce.”

I forced a laugh, hollow and bitter. It was always Vivian, every minute, every second, until my dying breath; he would call her. “Go ahead, say it. I was never enough.

“You’re not my daughter anymore.” His words tore me apart. I stayed, my chest hollowing out.

Mr. Moore slid a file across the table. “As of this morning, your supervisor has agreed… you’re terminated. No firm will take you, not after this.”

What?

No, this can’t happen, no! They had stripped me of everything: my career, my father’s name, and my identity. And he sat there, cold and unyielding, proud of his judgement.

I laughed out loud, sharp and ugly. My heart is racing against my ribs. “You must be so proud of yourself. Congratulations, you finally broke me.”

My father’s eyes didn’t flicker; the words did nothing to him.

“I wish I was never born into this family,” I spat, the tears I had been trying to hold streaming hot down my face. “All I ever did was try, and it was never enough for you.”

I turned, storming up the stairs before my legs gave out. The sobs came once my door shut, muffled against my pillow. My whole body shook, the sound torn raw from my throat.

And then, silence engulfed me. The air shifted, carrying the faint scent of smoke and leather. Then I realized I wasn’t alone. My heart stopped; in the corner of my room, a shadow moved.

A man sat in my chair, relaxed, with one leg crossed over the other. In his hand, a rose. I froze. “Evening, counselor.”

Zeke Massimo stood. His smile was slow and dangerous. His eyes glinted in the dark like he owned every inch of me. My breath caught, that rose... “What are you? How did you?”

“Shss…” He raised the rose, twirling it between his fingers. “You’ve had a rough day; I thought I’d personally pay my respects.”

I stumbled back, my spine hitting the door. “Get out.”

“Funny,” he drawled, “you know, you’ve been rejecting my presents all this time, tossing them in the trash.”

He touched his chest; his eyes flicked shut. “Ouch, i’m hurt…”

I glared at him, wiping the tears off my eyes. Hatred filled my eyes; he was the reason for everything. If I wasn’t the defendant, this would not have happened. I paused; the glowers were making sense. He was the one who had been sending it all this while.

“So I came to offer it to you.” His eyes diverted at every corner of my room as if he was searching for something. “You know what your father said about you.”

The worst cut, he knew somehow; he knew everything. How? Was he spying on me?

My chest heaved. “You ruined me.”

“No angel,” he motioned towards me, his movement predatory. The rose dangled from his fingers like a noose. “I’ve set you free.”

I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. “Stay away from me.”

He stepped closer and closer until the rose in his hand brushed my lips.

“Don’t lie to yourself,” he murmured. “Your world was already burning; I just lit the match.”

My knees trembled in

rhythm with my hammering heart. Hate and heat tangled until I couldn’t tell them apart.

Zeke smiled, slipping the rose into my hair, his fingers wiping my tears, then grazing down my temple.

“This,” he whispered, “is only the beginning.”