MasukThe address on Matthew's tablet led to an abandoned private clinic on the outskirts of the city.For fifteen years, the Veylin family had searched for answers about the children who disappeared on the night of October 17. Now, with every secret beginning to surface, Elena feared that finding Isabella might destroy what remained of her family.She stood beside Adrian in the back of the black SUV, clutching the photograph of the young woman to her chest.“Do you think she'll recognize me?” Elena whispered.Adrian glanced at her.“How could she not? She has your eyes.”“But what if she hates me?”He was silent for a moment.“Then you'll have to give her the same thing you're giving me.”“What's that?”“Time.”Elena looked at him, her eyes filling with tears.Adrian had spent fifteen years believing she had abandoned him. Even after learning the truth, he still struggled to call her Mother without feeling the pain of everything he had lost.Yet he was the one comforting her now.Before El
The name escaped Elena's lips like a prayer.“Isabella.”For fifteen years, she had buried that name alongside the memories of the most terrifying night of her life. She had convinced herself that the faint cry she remembered hearing after giving birth was nothing more than a dream created by exhaustion and medication.But Ricafort had just confirmed what her heart had always feared.There had been another baby.A little girl.And she might still be alive.“Mother?” Adrian whispered.Elena stared at him, unable to hide the terror in her eyes.“I gave birth to four children that night.”Matthew stopped applying pressure to Ezekiel's bleeding shoulder.“Four?”Ezekiel gritted his teeth against the pain.“Apparently, our family keeps getting bigger.”“Not now, Ezekiel,” Matthew muttered.Despite his injury, Ezekiel forced himself upright. His gaze remained fixed on Ricafort, who was still holding Elena at gunpoint.“You knew about Isabella,” Ezekiel said. “You knew she existed, and you k
Elena stared at the document lying on the marble floor.Her signature.Her handwriting.Her name.It was all there, beneath a statement authorizing the temporary separation of her third newborn child from the Veylin family.But the words beneath her signature were even more horrifying.I, Elena Veylin, willingly relinquish all maternal claims to the third child born on the night of October 17. I acknowledge that the child will be placed under the protection of a designated guardian and that his identity will remain concealed until further notice.Elena shook her head violently.“No. I never agreed to this.”Adrian's gun remained pointed at her.“Then explain why your name is on the document.”“I don't know!”“You expect me to believe that?”“Adrian, please. Look at me!”He laughed bitterly.“Fifteen years, Mother. Fifteen years of wondering why I wasn't good enough to be loved. Fifteen years of watching my brothers receive everything I was denied. And now you want me to believe someon
The old Veylin estate had not changed.The iron gates still stood beneath the towering trees, their black paint peeling with age. The garden that Elena once loved had become a wilderness of thorns and dead flowers. Even the marble fountain where Alexander had proposed to her remained in the center of the courtyard, cracked and dry.Yet nothing frightened Elena more than the silence.She stood outside the gates, clutching the letter against her chest.“I'm here,” she whispered. “Please, let my son be alive.”A black vehicle approached from behind her.Ezekiel stepped out first, followed by Matthew, who had insisted on leaving the hospital despite the doctors' warnings that Alexander's condition remained critical.“You shouldn't be here,” Elena told them.Ezekiel adjusted his coat and looked at the estate.“Neither should you. But someone threatened my brother, and I'm not going to stand by while another member of this family disappears.”Matthew checked his weapon.“We have officers po
The photograph trembled in Elena's hands.For several seconds, she couldn't breathe. The man reflected in the warehouse window had Alexander's eyes, the same sharp jawline, and the same unmistakable scar near his left eyebrow.But Alexander had only ever told her about two sons.Ezekiel and Daniel.So who was the third?“Mom?” Ava whispered. “What is it?”Elena couldn't answer. She stared at the photograph, searching for something that might explain the impossible.Isla took the phone from her trembling fingers.“Someone was watching us?”Matthew immediately turned toward the warehouse entrance.“Security!”Two officers hurried over.“Check the surrounding area. Nobody leaves without being identified.”The officers rushed outside, their footsteps echoing through the corridor.Ezekiel remained beside his father as the paramedics prepared to transport Alexander to the hospital. His father's breathing had become shallow, and the sight of blood soaking through the bandages made Ezekiel's
The warehouse fell into a suffocating silence.Elena stood with her gun raised, her trembling hands betraying the courage in her eyes. Across from her, Ricafort wore a smile that made her blood run cold.“You still haven't told them which of your children you actually gave birth to.”His words struck Elena harder than any bullet could.Ezekiel froze beside his father, who lay bleeding on the concrete floor. Matthew pressed both hands against Alexander's wound, desperately trying to stop the blood from spreading.“Someone call an ambulance!” Matthew shouted.“Already done!” Ezekiel yelled back, never taking his eyes off Ricafort.But Elena couldn't move.“Tell them, Elena,” Ricafort continued, taking a slow step toward her. “Tell your precious children the truth. Or should I do it for you?”“Shut up.”“Why? Are you afraid they'll discover that everything you told them was a lie?”Elena's eyes filled with tears.Ava stood near the entrance, her face drained of color. She looked from Ele
The moment Isla stepped out of Ezekiel’s black Maserati, she felt the weight of the chains she’d just fastened around her own neck.Cameras flashed like lightning, reporters screamed her name like vultures circling fresh prey. Maddox, ever the professional, was already pulling her along the crimson
Rain pounded the glass walls of the towering Veylin skyscraper, blurring the city lights below. At the top floor, Ezekiel sat in his leather chair, legs spread, fingers drumming against the mahogany desk. The predator in him was calm, calculating. He wasn’t in the mood for games tonight—he was here
Morning came like a slap to the face—sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the chaos of the night before. Torn sheets, discarded clothes, the lingering scent of lust and something more dangerous… possession.Isla woke alone, unsurprised. Ezekiel Veylin was not the type
The car ride back to the penthouse was thick with unspoken tension, but it wasn’t the kind that chilled Isla to the bone. It was something more volatile—something hot, charged, electric. Ezekiel sat beside her, one arm draped lazily across the backrest, but his jaw was tight, his muscles coiled lik







