Mag-log inFernando's POVThe drive was painfully quiet. Mortis sat still, one hand resting casually on his thigh while the other tapped rhythmically against the door. His expression remained as unreadable as ever, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.I sat beside him, staring out of the passenger window.Ordinarily, silence never bothered me but today, however...It felt heavy.Every instinct I'd spent decades sharpening kept whispering the same warning, something isn't right.I discreetly adjusted the gun hidden beneath my jacket then Mortis finally smiled."We're here."I looked through the windscreen and Instead of an abandoned warehouse or Marlo's businesses, we had stopped outside a modest family restaurant.The sign hanging above the entrance was old but clean.Families were already seated inside, children laughing over pancakes while elderly couples quietly drank tea.I frowned."This is your meeting place?"The driver switched off the engine then Mortis smiled. "It'll be fun" he said.My
Theo's POVThe second those words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back.Silence swallowed the room and Michael didn't move, he didn't blink. He simply stared at me, the disbelief on his face cutting deeper than I had expected.My heart lurched painfully.Idiot.What had I just done?I had spent the entire morning trying to hide what I knew, trying to convince myself I could keep pretending until I figured out what to do. And then, because I had let my emotions get the better of me, I had blurted out the one thing I had promised myself I would never reveal.I looked away first. The shame of it burned hotter than my anger."Theo."Michael's voice was far too quiet.Slowly, I forced myself to meet his eyes again and his expression had changed. The shock was still there, but now it had been joined by suspicion."How do you know that?" He asked.I swallowed.My throat suddenly felt dry."I......It's not important" I replied. His eyebrows knitted together."Not important?"I shoo
Fernando's POVNick was looking at me as though I were a loaded gun that could go off at any second. Perhaps he wasn't entirely wrong.I held his gaze for another few moments before turning away.There was no point continuing the conversation. Nick had already made up his mind about me, just as I had made up mine.Nothing either of us said now would change that.I had barely taken two steps when I heard another voice."What's going on here?"I looked up to see Ashley walking into the hallway with her arms folded, her eyes moving suspiciously between Nick and me.She had clearly sensed the tension before either of us had spoken.Nick straightened immediately."It's nothing" he replied. Ashley raised an eyebrow."Really?"Neither of us answered then she looked from me to Nick again."You two looked like you were about to kill each other" she pointed out.I chuckled lightly."That's a bit dramatic" I said.She gave me an unimpressed look."With you? It really isn't" she shot at me.She
Michael's POVTheo's voice still echoed through the room."Sit down!"I stood there for several long seconds, unable to believe what had just happened. He had never spoken to me like that before, not once.We have definitely had moments where we were angry at each other and had shouted at the other, but there was something about the way he spoke this time that was very different from those other times.The silence between us grew heavier with every passing moment. Theo stared at me, and I could tell from the regret in his eyes that he hadn't meant to lose his temper but that didn't erase what had happened.I slowly straightened my posture."Theo, I don't appreciate being spoken to like that" I said, my voice was calm.He swallowed hard. He absolutely knew how much I hated being yelled at and for him to do the same thing was disheartening. "Michael..."I lifted a hand, stopping him before he could continue."I came here because I was worried" I said. He attempted to sah something, pos
Fernando's POVThe moment I stepped out of Henry's room, I quietly closed the door behind me and rested my hand against the wooden surface for a second.A smile tugged at the corner of my lips.It wasn't a complete victory, not yet but it was progress.For the first time since I'd returned to this town, my son hadn't looked at me with nothing but resentment. He had let me into his room, he had spoken to me and he had even admitted that he wanted us to be a family again.That alone was enough to make my chest feel lighter.I walked slowly down the hallway, replaying every word of our conversation.For years, I had convinced myself that Henry hated me.How could he not? I had disappeared from his life. Michael had been the one who raised him.Michael had been there for birthdays, scraped knees, school events, sleepless nights and every milestone I had missed. I had no right to expect Henry to welcome me with open arms.And yet, something had shifted. I could feel it.There was finally a
Theo's POVI didn't want to see Michael, not after what I'd watched. Not after those cursed hidden cameras had shown me exactly what I never wanted to witness.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw them together.Fernando's hands on Michael, Michael kissing him back, not resisting, not pulling away. Kissing him as though years of separation had never existed.Hearing Michael's moans as Fernando drove his dick inside him.It replayed over and over in my mind like a punishment and I clenched my jaw."No..he manipulated you" I muttered to myself.That had to be the truth.Fernando had always known how to get inside Michael's head. How to make him doubt himself, how to make him forget the pain he had caused.Michael wouldn't willingly betray me, he couldn't.The Fernando I knew was calculating, manipulative, patient. He had probably waited for the perfect moment when Michael felt vulnerable.That was the only explanation I was willing to accept because the alternative meant Michael had chose
Micheal’s POVThe antiseptic smell of the hospital was suffocating, seeping into every breath like a sterile poison. I sat in a stiff plastic chair in the waiting room, its edge biting into the back of my legs. Henry was curled into a trembling ball against my chest, his small hands clutching my
Archer's POV I slammed the door behind me as I stepped into my mansion, the echo moving through the grand, majestic hall like the wave of my fury. Every heavy footstep I took toward the living room made my anger simmer hotter, and by the time I sank onto the leather couch, it was a raging storm i
Fernando’s POV I didn’t remember the drive home. Not really.My head throbbed with a dull ache as the car rumbled down the private road leading up to my estate. I sat slumped in the backseat of the bulletproof black car, blood dried stiff on the collar of my shirt, crusting the side of my neck.
Michael’s POV I didn’t sleep well. Not because I couldn’t—but because I wouldn’t let myself.The quiet hum of Ashley’s apartment felt louder than ever. I sat curled up in the farthest corner of her walk-in closet, the same place I had hidden while Fernando stood in the doorway and poured his hear







