LOGIN[Elena]"Your brother will be here any moment. I’ll be leaving now," Asher said, handing me a glass of warm water.I took a small gulp and set the glass down, my fingers trembling slightly against the bedside table.My gaze lingered on him longer than it should have. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this Asher—the same man who once turned his back on me—was the one who brought me to a hospital and stayed until I woke up.I didn’t even know how to feel about it. Gratitude? Confusion? Anger? It was all muddled together in my chest, pressing like a knot. So, I just nodded. A small, hesitant nod.Before I could stop myself, the words slipped out of my mouth."Thank you," I muttered under my breath.His brow creased—barely—but I caught it before he smoothed it over.He gave a short nod, and for a moment I thought that was it—that he’d walk out the door without another word. But then his footsteps shifted, slow and deliberate, and he started walking toward me instead.
[Raphael]I am Raphael Thorne, for heaven’s sake.One of the richest men in Boston. I could find anyone, get any information within seconds. But why was I right here for more than ten miserable hours, not having a clue where my only sister was?My mother was losing it. She knew something was wrong. She kept calling and I kept ignoring because I had nothing to tell her.I swallowed hard, jaw clenched, pacing the length of my living room with my phone pressed to my ear.I’d sent every one of my men out, but none had come back with anything solid. Every update was the same useless line. No sighting. No lead. Nothing.The footage I’d requested from the area had been wiped clean. Not missing. Not corrupted. Wiped. That made everything worse. Whoever did this was smart and deliberate.And then there was her phone. Left in her car.Someone had taken my sister. There was no other explanation.But who?Who the hell would dare?I’d promised her I wouldn’t dig into her past. She wanted to move o
[Elena] Everything hurt. That was the first thing I felt. A dull, burning ache spread through every inch of me, like I’d been dragged across the road and left under the sun for hours. My eyelids felt heavy, my throat dry, and when I tried to move, pain shot up my arm and I froze. What the hell happened? A faint beeping sound echoed somewhere close—slow, rhythmic. The air smelled sharp. My fingers brushed against something thin and cold. My head felt heavy, pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. Where… where am I? I blinked, forcing my eyes open, and for a second the light burned. Everything looked blurry, washed out, like I was underwater. White walls. A monitor. I swallowed hard as I stared from one corner to the other. This...this is a hospital? My stomach dropped as I tried to make sense of what was going on or what the hell I was doing here. And then—movement. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone sitting beside the bed, slumped in a chair, his elbows resting
[Asher]I’ve never driven like a madman like this in my entire life.If I thought I’d ever known fear before, this—this was worse. It wasn’t the kind that made your hands shake or your stomach twist. It was the kind that grabbed your throat and refused to let go.The moment I spotted the hospital sign glowing in the dark, I swerved into the lot, the tires screeching as I slammed the brakes. I barely waited for the car to stop before jumping out and yanking open the back door.I didn’t care that people were staring.All that mattered was the weight of her—Elena—limp and cold against me, her breathing shallow like each one might be her last."You’ll be okay," I whispered, though my voice trembled. The words felt useless. Empty. "You’ll be fine, I promise."But my mind was a riot.What the hell was she doing there?How did she end up in the middle of the road—alone—looking like a car had run her over and ended up running off.The first doctor I saw turned just in time to hear my voice. "
[Vienna]I watched as Asher’s body went still, and that made me quicken my steps.This was not what I needed now. Not now, when time was already slipping through my fingers.My son was dying—slowly fading right in front of my eyes—and the perfect person to save him was right here under my nose. Yet, I hadn’t done a damn thing because Asher had to come into the hospital at the wrong time and fucking insisted I rest. As if sleep could fix the nightmare clawing at my chest.I swallowed hard, my pulse thrumming painfully as I walked toward the figure lying motionless on the road. For a second, my brain went utterly blank.No. That couldn’t be—I blinked, once, twice, just to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me."Elena?" Asher’s voice broke through the air, rough and disbelieving.And just like that, my stomach dropped.What the hell?How was she here?What in God’s name was she doing in the middle of the road? Didn’t that bastard say he—My thoughts crashed into one another, a
[Asher]"I said I’m fine." Vienna’s voice cracked, low but firm — the umpteenth time she’d repeated those words since I came to the hospital to take her home.I knew she wasn’t fine. Our son had been down for weeks, but Vienna was the one falling apart. She’d become a shadow of herself — pale, restless, eyes sunken from nights without sleep.When my mom called earlier, she’d told me she’d just left the hospital and that Vienna looked worse than ever. I didn’t waste time. I drove straight there, calling Vienna several times on the way, but she didn’t pick up.When I arrived, I caught her outside Doctor Adam’s office. The moment she saw me, she flinched, and I knew she might have gone to ask the doctor why Darian wasn't getting better, even when she kept pretending that he was for reasons best known to her. So I did the only thing I could — I told her to come home with me.Thankfully, her mother had shown up at just the right time, or Vienna wouldn’t have listened. She’s my wife. And i







