MasukElijahThe interior of the North Tower site office smelled of damp drywall and expensive desperation. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass, watching the black sedan that carried Scarlett disappear into the gray morning traffic of Velaris. My reflection in the window looked like a man who had just survived a high-speed collision only to realize he was still trapped in the wreckage."Mr. Griffin?" Julian’s voice was tentative, cautious. He was standing by the mahogany conference table, clutching a stack of structural reports like a shield. "I... I have to apologize. I had no idea there was such a—" He scrambled for the word. "—volatile history between the two of you. If I had known Beckett Holding Group was a restricted entity for you, I would have flagged the partnership during the initial vetting."I turned away from the window, my jaw aching from the sheer force of clenching it. "It wasn't restricted, Julian. It was... unexpected.""She seemed more than just surprised, sir," Julian
The morning of the principal’s arrival was draped in a thick, silver mist that rolled off the Velaris Bay, clinging to the skeletal steel of the new arts center. It was the kind of atmosphere that muffled sound and heightened the senses—a quiet, heavy tension that seemed to vibrate through the soles of my boots as I stood on the newly poured concrete of the observation deck.Julian was already there, pacing near the edge of the site with a thermal carafe and two porcelain mugs. He looked more formal than usual, his posture rigid."He’s on the bridge," Julian said, checking his watch for the third time in five minutes. "He took the early red-eye. He wanted to see the site before the sun was fully up.""He’s dedicated, I’ll give him that," I said, adjusting the lapels of my trench coat. "I just hope he’s as practical as the blueprints suggest. I don't have the patience for a visionary who doesn't understand drainage systems and zoning setbacks."Dara was a few paces behind us, leaning a
Scarlett Velaris City is not what I expected. it was a lot better than anything my imagination had cooked up. My arrival had been delayed by nearly a week—legal loose ends at the home office and a marathon session with my father to ensure the transition was seamless. He had stepped back into the CEO chair with the ease of a king reclaiming a throne, allowing me the mental space to focus on this new horizon.As the private car glided across the Grand Velaris Bridge, Dara leaned her forehead against the tinted glass, her mouth slightly agape."Okay, I take back every cynical thing I said about construction dust," Dara whispered. "Scarlett, since when did this place turn into the new rising city?"I was equally stunned. Below us, the city was a sprawling tapestry of shimmering glass towers and lush, vertical gardens. Massive cranes moved like prehistoric birds against the sunset, punctuating a skyline that felt alive, vibrating with an energy I hadn't felt in Willow Creek for years
Elijah "Mr. Griffin, we have it. The encryption finally cracked ten minutes ago." I looked up from a stack of divorce filings as Sarah, the head of my cybersecurity team, burst into my office. She looked like she hadn't slept in a week—dark circles under her eyes, her hair pulled into a frantic knot—but there was a sharp, triumphant light in her gaze. "You found the source?" I asked, standing so quickly my chair skidded against the floor. "Not just the source, but the physical uplink they used to bypass the internal firewall," Sarah said, tapping her tablet and swiping a file toward the monitor on my wall. "The person draining the accounts wasn't just hacking us from the outside; they were using a 'ghost' terminal. Every time we tried to trace the IP, it bounced through three different continents, but the original signal was coming from right under our noses. I’ve just sent the full packet to your private email. You should have it now." My phone chimed on the desk. I grabbed it,
Scarlett The humid, floral air of my father’s estate in the countryside was a far cry from the stifling glass corridors of Willow Creek. A month had passed—a month of deliberate, surgical silence. I had blocked Elijah on everything. Every time a new, unknown number popped up on my screen, I deleted it without a second thought. Every time a bouquet of white peonies arrived at the front gate, I had the receptionist at the hotel compost them before they even touched the door. And then I left.I didn't want his apologies, and I certainly didn't want his explanations. The man who had blackmailed a dying legend to steal a company was a man I no longer recognized.Strangely, the only person who had remained a steady presence was Derek Windsor. Perhaps it was a lingering sense of shared betrayal, or maybe I just appreciated the way he had been the one to finally pull the wool from my eyes. We spoke once or twice a week, mostly about the market’s reaction to the merger and his father’s h
Scarlett The phone had rung at 10:00 AM, just as I was finally beginning to see the tide turn in the press."Ms. Beckett? I’m calling from the executive offices at the Windsor Plaza," a clipped, professional voice had said. "We have a series of original notary filings and sensitive Beckett Holding Group documents that were inadvertently filed with the Griffin Tech merger papers.”“Could you please send them by courier?” I had no intent of going back there.“They contain your private tax IDs. We can’t release them to a courier for security reasons. Could you come to the main boardroom to sign for their release?"I had hesitated, my skin prickling with a sudden, localized anxiety. "Can’t you just shred them? I have digital copies.""Protocol requires a wet-ink signature for the chain of custody, Ma’am. It will only take five minutes."Against my better judgment, I agreed. I needed every loose end tied if I was going to leave this city tomorrow.An hour later, I stepped into the Wind
ElijahThe cameras love confidence.I know this because I give it to them easily.Flashbulbs explode in rapid succession as Elise’s hand slips into mine, her fingers curling around my wrist like she belongs there. I let her. I guide her forward with my palm resting firmly at her waist, aware of eve
ElijahMy marriage looks perfect from the outside.From the inside, it’s a carefully staged performance held together by silence, money, and exhaustion.Elise sleeps in silk sheets and wakes up dissatisfied. I sleep in my office more nights than I admit, staring at numbers that no longer add up and
Scarlett I tell myself I’m calm.I repeat it as the car rolls through the familiar streets of Willow Creek, past manicured hedges and towering estates that look untouched by time or heartbreak. I’ve returned to this city dozens of times in my mind over the past two years—sometimes with anger,
Elijah I take the stairs two at a time.The house is too loud when I arrive—voices overlapping, hurried footsteps, Elise’s sharp instructions ringing down the hallway. The smell of antiseptic hits me before I even see the doctor. It’s wrong in this house. This house is supposed to smell like







