•Juliet’s POV•"I'm sorry, Miss Ryder, but we're doing all we can to ensure we find your son," said the officer, a chubby man dressed in a navy blue police uniform with a silver badge pinned firmly on his chest, his cap slightly tilted to one side and the buttons on his shirt straining at the seams. He stood opposite Vera, Eric, and me, his expression apologetic but tired."You can’t tell me that,” I said, shaking my head, disbelief thick in my voice. “My son hasn’t been found, and you're telling me you're doing all you can?""Ma’am, please try to understand," the officer said, his voice calm yet edged with practiced firmness. “We’ve run a few checks, and according to the new information we got from Eric, we’re now focusing our efforts on locating Mrs. Bianca.”I sniffled, my throat burning as I opened my mouth to speak, but Vera gently took my hand.“Jules,” she said softly, “it’s already getting late. Let the cops continue the search. We’ll come back first thing in the morning.”I t
•Edward’s POV•My heart broke as I stared at Juliet’s state, the way she cried and the pain she was in. It hurt me deeply to see her like that. I could only wish I could wipe her tears and make her feel better, but she wouldn't let me come close to her.She must still hate me so much that she didn’t even want me around. I brushed my hand through my hair, thinking of what to do. The situation had turned far worse, especially now that it was getting dark, and the moonlight had begun to shine through the sky.“Miss Ryder, I promise you’ll find him,” the woman tried to console Juliet. But as she got into the car, Juliet didn’t say a word, and Vera did the same. Soon, the car pulled out of the estate.“Where could Mrs. Bianca be?” I asked the woman. She looked at me and let out a deep sigh.“As the old woman said, Mrs. Bianca doesn’t really go anywhere besides the school and home. She’s a loner. Mrs. Bianca used to be married years ago, but after her husband divorced her, she’s been on her
•Juliet's POV•"Don't worry, Jules. I'm sure you'll find him," Vera said, trying to console me. But her words only made my chest tighten more. My throat felt like it was closing, and I couldn’t even speak. My head spun with panic.Where could Jace be?The question throbbed in my mind like a drumbeat, loud and relentless. I gripped my phone with shaking fingers and dialed Mrs. Bianca’s number for what must’ve been the fourteenth time."Where could she be that she’s not picking up?" I muttered through clenched teeth."Maybe she’s not with her phone, Jules. You need to calm down," Vera said gently. "I'm sure Jace is still at school. Maybe Eric made a mistake—""Calm down? Vera, I can't be calm!" I cried out, my voice breaking as my eyes shot toward Eric, who was gripping the steering wheel tightly. His knuckles had turned white as he maneuvered swiftly through the thick traffic."Eric can't be wrong," I said, trying to breathe past the lump in my throat. "If Jace was at school, he would'
•Edward POV•A wave of emotions almost knocked me off balance as I stared at Juliet's disoriented expression. I still couldn't believe what she was saying. How could Jace not be in his school? This was strange, too strange. And the fact that I had gone there to see him before coming to work only made it seem as if I was the one who had taken him."I think we need to ask the school. See if anyone there saw someone take him out," I said, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest. I don't think I'd ever been this worried in my life.Juliet looked up at me, anger and pain etched deep into her face. "Edward, how could you do this to me?" she cried, her voice trembling. The look in her eyes sent a chill through me, like she truly believed I had something to do with Jace’s disappearance.Vera stepped forward, gently placing a hand on Juliet's shoulder. "I don't think Edward took Jace." she said calmly. "We need to go to Jace's school. If he's not with Edward, maybe he’s still in the building
•Juliet’s POV•"I could pay a million dollars just to see the look of defeat on James’s face when the lawyer informed him that we want him in court," Vera said, laughing with dramatic flair.I smiled faintly. "I'm just glad he didn’t try to fight his way through it or make things more difficult than it already is," I murmured, picking up the blue file on my desk."Isn’t that strange though?" Vera tilted her head, her expression laced with curiosity. "Mr. Braden told him you filed a lawsuit, and he just... acted like it was nothing."I looked up, thoughtful. Her words stuck in my mind like a splinter, but I didn’t want to give them power. "I’m not sure that’s the case here. James thinks he can buy his way through anything. He probably believes the law bends to his money.""Oh, the dickhead," Vera scoffed, folding her arms. "I just hope we win this case. That would be the perfect reminder he can’t win at everything."I laughed softly, but the sound died quickly. A creeping unease settle
•Edward’s POV•I stared at my phone screen, which had been blaring with calls for the past few days. Raya had been calling me constantly, and the few times I had answered, she pleaded for me to take her back.But I ended the call without a word. I didn't want to have second thoughts about it. I had made up my mind. I looked at the phone in disgust and turned away, sipping from the mug in my hand."Aren’t you going to pick that?" Josh said, picking up a slice of bread to take a bite. When I didn’t answer, he leaned closer to take a peek at the screen. "Raya? Why don’t you want to pick her call?"I didn’t answer him. I didn’t want to tell him either that I’d broken up with Raya. I knew he would make a joke out of it, and I wasn’t ready for that. I picked up the phone, ended the call, and blocked Raya from calling me."Did you just block her?" Josh asked, and I wondered how he knew I had done that from where he was sitting. "Is there something you aren’t telling me, bro?"I took a spoonf
•Juliet POV•I sighed, collapsing back into my chair. “I’m getting a lawyer and probably taking James to court, if he doesn’t let Jerry and Dora come back to me.”Vera stared at me, her brows furrowed in concern, as if she were carefully threading thoughts together before speaking. “Jules, this is serious, and I’m scared that taking James to court isn’t the best idea. What leverage do we even have? I’m sure Jerry and Dora needed that hundred million badly.”I bit my lower lip, her words sinking deep into the pit of my stomach. She wasn’t wrong. Something about James felt... calculated. Ruthless. Like he was always two moves ahead.“I know, Vera,” I replied quietly. “But right now, that’s all I can come up with. I need Jerry and Dora to launch the store in China. Without them, our plans could crumble. And James doesn’t just want my designers, he wants my entire company. It’s best I’m prepared, just in case.”“You’re right, Jules,” Vera said with a solemn nod. “But promise me, once all
•Juliet POV•I stormed out of the elevator and walked hastily toward the exit of the building. Eric, who had been sitting by the reception, stood up quickly and rushed to keep up with me.“Miss Ryder, I think we should…” he began, slightly panting. But I didn’t let him finish. I stopped abruptly in my tracks and turned around to face him.“Eric, I need you to get me one of the best lawyers you know in New York,” I said through gritted teeth. “James Grigs wants to play with fire? Then so be it.”“Miss Ryder, I don’t think getting a lawyer is the best thing to do right now,” Eric said, his voice slightly shaky. “I think we should have a meeting with the staff in case James tries something reckless.”I looked into Eric’s eyes and saw fear. Real fear. But that wasn’t what I needed right now. Fear was exactly what James wanted me to feel, and I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.“Get me a lawyer, Eric,” I snapped, my voice sharp with anger. “And I’ll have that meeting with the staff.”He
•Juliet POV•Dressed in a carton-colored blazer and a fitted black skirt, I leaned to Jace's level, placing a soft kiss on his forehead. "Baby, I'm sorry, but Mommy won't be able to follow you to school today."Jace pouted. "But why, Mommy?"I stared at his innocent gaze, masking my worry with a gentle smile. "Because Mommy has something urgent to do at work. So Aunt Vera will take you to school."I looked up at Vera, who looked like she was holding back tears. She bit her lower lip and nodded. "Don't worry. Do what you have to do. I'll take care of Jace.""Thank you, Vera," I said hastily, rushing out of the room. My heart thudded painfully against my chest. It had been a long time since I felt this level of dread. I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, and if I didn't pull myself together, I'd collapse before I made it to the company.Eric opened the door for me the moment I got to the car. Instead of taking the back seat like I usually did, I pulled open the front passe