ログインEthan awakened slowly, dragging himself upward through the grogginess, awareness returning that didn’t quite fit together at first, his body registering before his mind caught up.Pain.That was the first thing that made sense.It sat low and deep, spreading through him in slow, steady waves, dulled at the edges but still there, still real, still enough to make his jaw tighten as he tried to move.The second thing was the room.Dark.Not pitch black, but close enough. The TV had been shut off.Ethan heard footsteps; someone was pacing.A shadow moved back and forth across the room, steps restless and uneven.Ethan blinked, forcing his eyes to adjust. Despite pain, he slowly turned his head, trying to get a clear look at who was pacing at the far end of the room.“Vince?” he rasped, his voice rough, dragged through dryness and confusion.The movement stopped instantly.Then Vince stepped into the faint light.His hair rumpled, shirt half-untucked, sleeves unevenly rolled—done absentmin
The doctor didn’t speak much, which Ethan appreciated. Every time the man opened his mouth, it came with another prodding hand, another press against something broken.“Hold still,” the doctor muttered, fingers firm along his ribs, pressing just enough to make Ethan suck in a breath through his teeth.“Easy for you to say,” Ethan ground out, his voice low and tight as pain flared sharp and hot along his side.The nurse moved around them quietly, focused, but not invisible.Ethan noticed her the second she walked in.He wasn’t dead.Young, dark hair pulled back tight at the nape of her neck, skin smooth, eyes sharp in a way that didn’t miss much, and a body that didn’t quite fit the clinical setting she stood in. Filipino, maybe? He couldn’t quite place it, but he noticed her all the same.She leaned in, helping the doctor, passing instruments, her movements practiced, just slightly slower when she touched him, just a little longer than necessary.“Let me see your arm,” she said, her
Vincent’s eyes darkened as he read the results, his gaze fixed on the screen a moment longer than it needed to be, as though the words might shift if he gave them enough time.“Just give it to me straight,” Ethan said, his voice rough and strained, every word edged with pain and impatience. “I have to know.”Vincent lifted his head slowly, meeting his gaze, holding it just long enough to make it feel deliberate, before glancing back down at his phone as if confirming what he already knew.He let the silence stretch, not long enough to draw suspicion, but long enough to tighten the air between them, then looked up again and gave a faint, almost careless wink.“In the case of Remington Smith,” he said, his tone measured, controlled, “you are.....He paused for dramatic effect.“... not the father.”Ethan stilled for a heartbeat, the words hanging there, and then the relief hit him all at once, breaking through the tension that had been sitting on his shoulders since he’d woken up in tha
Vince and Ethan took the back exit after switching off their phones. They walked down the back alley, jumped a low wall into a carpark, slunk behind a building, and out onto the next street over. With impeccable timing, a bus was just pulling up, and they jumped on.“You’re late,” said Lorenzo. “I’ve been going outta my mind like a caged circus animal.”“Yeah, well,” said Vince. “It’s been a crazy morning. You’re not my only client with his back against the wall.”He might be dangerous, but Vince didn’t jump through hoops. Let him sweat.“Did you set up that meeting with Marisol?”He shook his head.“If anyone ever answered their phones, I would. Ethan has also gone AWOL. Even the manager at Dirty Angels hasn’t seen them.”Lorenzo glowered.“Are they fucking?”Vince looked at him then.“Fuck no. They hate each other’s guts.”Lorenzo growled.“We know where that road can lead. You said they were getting close.”Vince huffed.“Look, I have no idea. I can barely keep up with who’s on my
Vince punched in Marisol's number one last time, then Ethan's. Dead air both ways. No voicemail, no ring-through, just silence gnawing at him.Lorenzo picked up."Just in a meeting," he lied smoothly into the phone. "I'll swing by, grab you in an hour and a half.""Fine," Lorenzo clipped back.Vince strode into the health club like he belonged there; his sharp suit blended seamlessly with the Botox crowd and their quiet money.Sven waited at the entrance, a towering slab of Viking god, blond beard trimmed precisely, skin glowing fresh-scrubbed, like he'd just stepped from a fjord. That pristine shell hid the filth he unleashed behind closed doors. And those hands... callused just enough from God-knows-what rough work, yet palms silky from endless oil and heat."Good to see you," Sven rumbled, professional mask locked tight.Vince followed him into the massage room, dim lights pulsing low. Sven charged five hundred a pop, and every cent bought paradise.His clothes hit the floor in a h
Vince sat at the breakfast table as if nothing fazed him, the usual morning chaos around him.“How are things at the hospital?” he asked, voice steady.“Always busy,” his wife said.He caught the tired slump in her shoulders, the shadows under her eyes. She looked like she’d aged a year overnight.“We lost a little boy the other day.”Her voice cracked just a little. Her eyes glistened as she tried to suck in a breath and brush it away like it was nothing.Vince stood up, pulled her into his arms, and held her tight against his chest.“You should’ve told me, hon. You can’t keep shit like that bottled up.”“I know,” she whispered into his shirt. “I just hate bringing work home.”“You’re superwoman,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “I don’t know what the fuck I’d do without you.”“Us too,” she said, managing a small smile as she looked up at him.His phone was on silent in his pocket, but it kept vibrating against his thigh like an angry wasp. That nutcase Remy. He was going t
The black mask pressed to Marvin's face like a second skin, the edges cool to his temples, the eye slits narrowing the world to slits of shadow and candlelight.’Waylon stood at a heavy table, a silver tray laden with assorted chemicals, to enhance tonight's events. All designed to help him keep up
The restaurant was a high-class sanctuary. Marvin Vale sat at the long table. To his left, his assistant Waylon sat, keeping him informed of any current happenings. Across from him, the French President leaned toward his wife, murmuring something that made her laugh low. Around them orbited polit
The fashion show unfolded in the city centre ballroom, transformed into a sleek runway arena bathed in dramatic lighting.Elizabeth and Morgan sat front row center, flanked by the evening's designers, sharp-suited creative directors exchanging quiet nods with industry insiders. The air buzzed with
Marisol stared out the passenger window as the city lights blurred past, downtown dissolving into streaks of red and gold. Lorenzo drove in silence, one hand on the wheel, the other resting high on her thigh. Possessive. Unyielding.She did not speak. Could not. The taste of his kiss still burned o







