Se connecterMichael’s POVAs laid in bed later that evening, Henry’s words replayed in my head on a vicious loop.I lay flat on my back, staring at the ceiling, the faint streetlight from outside cutting through the curtains and casting pale light across the room.Ashley hadn’t believed me when I lued i was fine when she'd came to check up on me, but she had let it go.Nick had been quieter. He always knew when I needed silence instead of comfort.Now the house was still. Henry’s music had stopped an hour ago and his door hadn’t opened again.I turned onto my side and reached for the drawer of my bedside table.My fingers wrapped around the cool wooden frame before I even fully decided.I pulled it out and a picture of Fernando stared back at me.The photo was old, taken before everything collapsed. He looked happier there, less haunted.His dark eyes were intense even in stillness, his jaw strong with that arrogant half-smirk he always wore like armor.I sat up slowly, resting my back against th
Michael’s POVDinner that night was silent but heavy in a way.Ashley had made pasta and the smell filled the dining room warmly. Nick poured drinks while I set the plates down.Henry walked in last. He dropped into his chair, already wearing his headphones.I watched him for a moment but he didn’t notice me staring. He laughed softly at something on his screen then Ashley glanced at me carefully while Nick kept eating.I exhaled slowly.“Henry” I called but there was no response.“Henry” He looked up this time, one headphone sliding halfway off his ear.“What?”“Take those off” I told him.He frowned slightly. “Why?” he asked.“Because we’re eating together" I replied.“I’m eating” he raised an eyebrow as if i didn't already know that.“That’s not the point.”He rolled his eyes but removed the headphones fully and dropped them beside his plate. The phone remained upright.“And the phone,” I added calmly.He stared at me.“Seriously?”“Yes.”“It’s just a video.”“And this is dinner.”
Michael’s POVThe knocking continued relentlessly.Theo and I stood frozen by the door, the air between us thick with tension.“Hello!” Cynthia’s voice called through the door again.Theo and I didn’t moved. We simply stared at each other.His hand was still braced against the door near my shoulder. His body still close enough that I could feel the faint heat radiating from him.The silence between knocks stretched long enough for me to notice details I had been trying not to notice.His breathing had steadied, the irritation from earlier had softened into something guarded.A bit of dark hair had fallen slightly over his forehead, still faintly damp from his shower. His jaw was cleanly cut, sharp enough to look dangerous even at rest. A small crease formed between his brows when he concentrated, like it did now.His lips were slightly parted, fuller than I had registered before.I hated that I noticed that.My pulse beat steadily in my throat.Outside, another knock came then it beca
Michael’s POVThe second Theo’s hand left my mouth, I shoved him back.“You don’t get to silence me in my own home,” I snapped.His jaw tightened, irritation flashing openly now.“I just kept you from making a mistake.”“What mistake? Talking to a woman that's looking for you?” I demanded. From outside, her voice was loud enough to be heard.“Theo!” she called, her tone sharp. “I know you’re in there! You think you can hide from me?”There was something cutting in her voice. She was definitely drunk.Theo exhaled through his nose, his shoulders stiffening.“She sounds pleasant,” I muttered.“Don’t,” he warned.“Don’t what?”“Don’t antagonize this.”“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it.” I took a step toward the door. “I’m actually curious.”His head snapped toward me.“Michael.”“What? She’s clearly looking for you” I said coolly. Another knock came through, harder this time.“Theo!” she shouted. “You coward! Don’t pretend you’re not here!”I looked back at him and he looked… different. Just
Michael’s POVFor a full thirty seconds after Theo told me he had cameras, I couldn’t hear anything except the pounding of my own heartbeat but I refused to let him see that.Shock is weakness and Theo thrived on that so I straightened, lifted my chin and lied.“I wasn’t in your house.”Theo’s expression didn’t change. If anything, it softened like he was observing something mildly disappointing.“You’re not very good at this,” he said calmly.“At what?”“Deception.”He pulled his phone out again and unlocked it with deliberate slowness, like he had all the time in the world then he stepped closerToo close.He angled the screen toward me again with a clear footage of multiple angles in different rooms.There I was, moving through his hallway, pausing outside his office and sneaking toward the back door.My stomach twisted. He had more cameras than I thought.“I don’t know who that is,” I said evenly.Theo blinked then he looked at me again.“You don’t know who that is?”“No.”He turn
Michael’s POV By early afternoon, I was in my home office staring at the glow of three monitors in front of me. Papers were scattered across my desk which involved shipping logs, dock schedules, customs registries, and business directories.If Theo was receiving a shipment tonight, I would find it.I had to.I leaned back in my chair and cracked my knuckles before leaning forward again, my fingers flying over the keyboard as i put in his name.He had too many companies. It was the perfect camouflage for something illegal.I clicked through port registries first to checm the eastern docks, commercial harbor and even private marina entries but there was nothing, no shipment listed under his company name scheduled for tonight.That didn’t mean anything. If he was smart, and he was, he wouldn’t use his own name.I opened another window and cross-referenced recently registered shell companies.I looked at cargo manifests flagged for “miscellaneous industrial equipment" but there was stil







