登入"Get ready," Julian said, already dressed and waiting at the bottom of the stairs when Eva came down that morning.She blinked. "Where are we going?""The hospital."Eva felt something loosen in her chest for the first time in days. "You read my mind.""Were you going to ask?""I wanted to," she admitted. "But I don't know which hospital. The one my parents mentioned..." She shook her head, I don't even know how true that was. Julian's expression didn't shift with surprise. Don't worry, "I've already looked into it."---How did you know the key belonged to a hospital?" Eva asked once they were in the car.Julian turned the small silver key over in his fingers before answering. "I don't know for certain," he said. "I'm making the most reasonable guess."Eva frowned."I've seen keys like this before. They're usually for old storage lockers."He glanced at the tag."Locker 214.""It isn't a bank. Banks don't label lockers like this anymore. "And it isn't a train station. Whoever sent
Eva opened the drawer again.The photograph lay beside the silver key, exactly where she'd left them.She looked from one to the other, a knot tightening in her chest.Keeping the photograph from Julian had felt almost reasonable. She hadn't understood it herself. But now there was the key.Two secrets no longer felt like caution. They felt like the beginning of a lie.Before she could change her mind, she picked up both items and headed for Julian's study.---Julian looked up when she knocked, surprise flickering across his face when he found her standing at the door. Eva rarely came looking for him first."Can I come in?" He nodded.She crossed the room without another word and placed a faded photograph on his desk."I should have shown you this days ago."Julian looked at it. He studied the photograph in silence, his expression growing more serious with each passing second."Where did you get this?"It was delivered in an envelope. No sender. "When?"The night after grandmother's
Eva woke to the sound of helicopters.She frowned, climbed out of bed, and walked to the window.The moment she pulled the curtains aside, her breath caught.The crowd outside the Castellan estate had doubled overnight.Satellite vans line the street in both directions, a helicopter circling somewhere overhead, its rotors a distant, persistent thrum. Security barriers strained against a wall of bodies and cameras that had turned overnight from a handful of curious reporters into something closer to a siege.This wasn't gossip anymore. This was national news.---By the time Eva reached the drawing room, it had filled with people she'd never seen before — Men and women in sharp suits stood around the table, tablets in hand, speaking over one another as papers were passed around."Mrs. Castellan shouldn't make any public appearance," a woman said, introducing herself as the head of corporate communications. "The attention will only get worse."A lawyer shook his head. "If she hides now,
Mrs. Harris set the morning papers on the breakfast table without a word. She usually greeted everyone before disappearing into the kitchen.Today, she didn't.The silence drew every eye to the folded newspaper before anyone reached for it.FROM THE DEAD TO THE ALTARJULIAN CASTELLAN'S MISSING FIANCÉE RETURNS AS HIS WIFEEva's fork stopped halfway to her mouth.Beneath the headline was a photograph from Grandmother Isabella's birthday party.Beside it sat an older photograph, faded with time."Five years younger."The same face.Julian reached for the paper first."His expression hardened as his eyes moved across the article.""What does it say?" Eva asked.He didn't answer immediately, which told her more than any response could have.She reached for her phone instead."Notifications flooded the screen before she could unlock it."News alerts.Articles.Messages.The story had already spread far beyond a single newspaper.Wait... wasn't she declared dead?Is Castellan Group hiding somethi
Beatrice removed her earrings in front of the mirror, each motion sharp enough to betray the fury she'd held back all evening.Then She dropped one earring harder than she intended. It skidded across the polished wood."You embarrassed me," she said.Victor said nothing."No." Beatrice turned, eyes blazing. "You embarrassed this family."He began removing his jacket, unhurried, refusing to match her energy."Your Nephew challenged your judgment," she continued. "In front of ministers. Judges. Business partners. And what did you do?"Victor continued folding his jacket."You lowered your head."Victor finally looked at her. "Because you were wrong."Beatrice laughed, sharp and disbelieving, like the words physically couldn't have come from him. "So now you're taking Julian's side?""I'm taking the side that keeps this family standing.""Weak," she said, stepping closer. "That's what you've become."Victor didn't argue. "Maybe. Or maybe I've lived long enough to know the difference betw
Nobody moved as the stranger crossed the room, He accepted a glass of champagne from a passing waiter without breaking stride.The waiter handed it over automatically......as though his hands remembered before his mind did.Nobody greeted him. Nobody asked him to leave either.The silence stretched louder than anything the orchestra could have played.Grandmother Isabella crossed the floor herself, spine straight, expression carved from stone."You weren't invited," she said.He smiled, "I wasn't aware birthdays required invitations for family.""You're no longer family."His gaze drifted slowly around the room, past the chandeliers, past the portraits lining the far wall. "Funny. The house still has Grandfather's portrait hanging exactly where it always did. The walls seem to disagree with you."Grandmother Isabella's jaw tightened. "You never arrive without a reason.""No." His voice softened, just slightly. "I came because today would have mattered to him."Eva's gaze shifted from







