LOGINJASON.I knew something was different the second I stepped into the house.Usually, when I came home after work, Sophie would already be waiting near the door with endless stories spilling out of her mouth before I even had a chance to take off my shoes, and Karen would be somewhere in the living room with her laptop open, papers spread across the coffee table, or her phone pressed to her ear while discussing another detail connected to the investigation.Tonight, the house smelled of garlic, butter, and herbs. Soft music drifted from the kitchen. The lights were warm.Everything felt... lighter.I loosened my tie and followed the scent, finding Karen standing at the stove while stirring something in a saucepan. Her hair was tied back loosely, and she was wearing one of my oversized shirts over a pair of leggings. She looked beautiful, but that wasn't what caught my attention.It was her expression.Over the last few weeks, especially since the investigation into Victor Hale began, th
KAREN.For a second, I considered asking my assistant to take the call instead or to ask the investigators to drop a message, but something urged me to answer."Karen Andrews speaking."A calm female voice answered immediately."Ms. Andrews, good afternoon. My name is Agent Carla Webb with the federal investigative task force handling the Victor Hale case."I nodded. “Good afternoon, Agent Webb.”"Yes. I apologize for contacting you without prior notice, but there have been significant developments, and I thought you'd prefer hearing them directly."I slowly sat back down."I'm listening."There was a brief pause before she continued."Thomas Reef has agreed to cooperate fully."I closed my eyes for a moment.Thomas Reef.The trusted executive who had spent years quietly embedded inside A.A. Biotech."What did he say?" I asked."Quite a lot," Webb replied. "He confirmed that Victor Hale placed him inside A.A. Biotech several years ago. Mr. Reef wasn't simply gathering information. He
KARENI sat behind my desk with my laptop open, several reports spread across the polished wood surface, and a cup of coffee that had long gone cold beside me, but my eyes kept drifting back to the folded letter lying near my hand.Lena's letter.No matter how many times I read it, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was holding something much bigger than a simple confession or warning. Every sentence seemed heavier now, carrying meanings I hadn't noticed the first time. It felt like a thread sticking out from an expensive sweater, one careful tug away from unraveling everything.I leaned back in my chair and exhaled slowly.No.This wasn't something I should sit on alone.If there was even a small chance that Lena had uncovered something connected to Hale's case, then I needed someone who understood the legal implications better than I did.I picked up my phone and grabbed my handbag.Almost thirty minutes later, I walked into the offices of our legal director."Karen?" My attorney s
KARENThe air at the office had felt quieter when I arrived that morning.The past few weeks had been calmer than I expected, which should have been a good thing, but instead it made me uneasy. After months of court appearances, investigations, media attacks, and rebuilding the reputation of the company, silence felt unnatural. It was like standing in the middle of a field after a storm had passed and wondering if another one was gathering somewhere beyond the horizon.My assistant followed me inside carrying a stack of documents."These need your signature before noon," she said, placing them neatly on my desk. "And this arrived with the regular mail."She handed me a plain white envelope.There was no stamp from a company, no logo, and no return address. Only my name was written across the front in neat handwriting.I frowned."Who delivered it?""It came through the postal service. That's all I know.""Alright. Thank you."She nodded and quietly left, closing the door behind her.F
RICHARDI woke earlier than I normally did that morning, though I couldn't honestly say I had slept particularly well. The past few weeks had left a lingering restlessness in me that seemed to follow me into bed every night and wake up with me every morning, making sleep feel less like rest and more like a temporary escape that never lasted long enough.For a while, I remained stretched out beneath the covers, staring absently at the pale ceiling above me while the first traces of daylight slipped through the gaps in the curtains. Seattle was slowly waking up outside my apartment, and I could already hear the distant murmur of traffic beginning to build beneath my windows.Eventually, I reached for my phone on the nightstand and unlocked it, intending to skim through my emails before getting out of bed. There were the usual notifications waiting for me—market summaries, messages from colleagues, and updates from financial newsletters I barely remembered subscribing to—but one headline
KARENI hadn't realized how quiet the living room had become until the sound of the clock ticking on the wall suddenly seemed louder than everything else.The cheerful atmosphere from dinner had slowly faded into something softer and calmer, as against how nervous I felt within me and I sat beside Jason on the couch, trying not to fidget beneath Diane's steady gaze.She had been watching us for the past few minutes. Not in a cold or judgmental way. More like she was studying a painting she had finally decided to understand.Then she turned toward Jason."I actually wasn't prepared for this," she said quietly.Jason glanced at her. "Prepared for what?"Diane smiled faintly, but there was something close to sadness hidden in it."To see you being a father to someone else's child."The room grew silent again.Jason didn't answer. He simply sat back against the couch, his hands clasped loosely together as he listened.Diane let out a small breath."When I first heard the news, I refused t
KARENI did not sleep well, and I had known from the moment I lay down that I was not going to.The second I turned off the bedside lamp and settled into the sheets, my mind had already started moving in circles, cold and sharp and relentless. Sleep never stood a chance against that kind of thinkin
KARENBath time with Sophie was something I always looked forward to, especially on the days before the storm which had hit my company.On this particular evening, Sophie had decided with complete certainty that she would not be leaving the bathtub.Not now.Possibly not ever.She sat in the middle
LENA.I knew Richard had called Karen.Not because he had told me. Richard never confessed to things directly when he could avoid it. He preferred silence because silence forced other people to fill the gaps themselves, and most of the time those gaps became worse than the truth. But after years of
KARENI stood by the office window long after the call ended, staring down at the city without really seeing any of it.Cars crawled through the evening traffic below like slow streams of light, people hurried along sidewalks with their heads bent against the wind, and somewhere far off, a siren ec







