LOGIN"I said close it!"Henderson didn't wait for her to move. He lunged across the desk, his arm slamming down to rip the laptop shut."No—" Eva reached out, trying to hold the screen open, trying to keep the ledger in front of her for one more second.His shoulder caught her hard, shoving her back. Her feet lost the floor and her spine hit the wall, the air punching out of her lungs in one sharp gasp.Her hands went to her stomach before she'd even decided to move them.Henderson didn't see it. He slammed the lid down and stood there behind the desk, chest heaving, his tie crooked, one finger pointed at the door."You've crossed a line, Eva." His voice had dropped, flat and official. "I don't care whose wife you are. In this department, I am your superior, and you just used a stolen code to break into restricted archives."Eva pushed off the wall, one hand still pressed low against her waist, and made herself stand straight."You're protecting a thief, Henderson. That file shows money mo
Julian stood completely still in the center of the bedroom long after the door slammed shut, the echo of Eva's words hanging heavy in the quiet air.If I were not your wife, would you have granted me a forced leave right now?He sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, letting the silence press in around him. Her question had found a raw nerve. His whole life, he had solved problems by taking control—of the board, of the family's money, of every crisis that landed on his desk.Now he was trying to control his wife's safety the same way. He sat there a long while, rubbing a hand over his face, forced to sit with what he'd done.----Morning came soft and quiet. Eva stirred under the blanket and found Julian already awake beside her, fastening his watch.Neither of them spoke. He looked at her with something calmer, something that had clearly cost him a night of thinking to arrive at.He knew enough to understand that part of her fury last night had come from more than just him. He chose
Eva stared at Lucien. The bright morning sun in the garden suddenly felt too harsh, too ordinary for the terrifying words he had just said."Stealing," she repeated, her voice barely a whisper. "From Julian.""That's exactly what you told me." Lucien rubbed a heavy hand over his jaw. The memory was clearly costing him a lot to hand over."You had been going through old transfer records. Something to do with the family's private holdings. You said the numbers didn't match. Money was moving out through accounts nobody could explain, routed somewhere it had no business going.""Did I tell you who was doing it?""No." Lucien shook his head slowly. "You said you weren't sure yet. You said you needed more time before you said anything to anyone. You knew that if you were wrong, you would be accusing a family member of something that could tear this family apart."Eva pressed her palm flat against the glass table, steadying her shaking hands. "And three weeks later, I disappeared.""Three we
Julian's phone rang at 4:47 in the morning. He reached for it on the nightstand before he had even fully opened his eyes."This had better be good, Leo," Julian muttered, his voice thick with sleep."I found the name, sir." Leo's voice carried absolutely no apology for the early hour. "The account behind the crest commission. It is registered."Julian sat up completely now. He glanced at Eva sleeping peacefully beside him, careful not to disturb her, and slipped quietly out into the dark hallway before he spoke again. "Who is it?""That is the strange part," Leo said, his voice tight over the line. "It is not a real person's name on record. It is an alias. The account is under the name V. E. Thorne."Julian's jaw tightened. "Thorne? Who is that?""Nobody, sir," Leo explained. "That name doesn't connect to anyone in any database I have run. There is no birth record, no tax history, nothing. Whoever set this account up decades ago built an identity that exists only on paper, specificall
Julian stood in his room early that morning, already wearing his dark trousers and a crisp white shirt. Leo stood across from him, checking a tablet. Eva was downstairs."Sir, you have the regional logistics call at ten o'clock," Leo said, looking up. "And after that, the investment committee is waiting for your signature on the Q3 reports. Should I push the committee back to noon?"Julian didn't look at his phone or the documents on his bed. He reached for his watch and buckled it onto his wrist. "Cancel the logistics call entirely, Leo. And tell the investment committee they will have to wait until tomorrow."Leo blinked in surprise, his pen freezing over the screen. "Cancel it, sir? That call took three weeks to schedule with the overseas directors.""My wife has her first official prenatal checkup at ten," Julian said. His voice was calm, but his tone left absolutely no room for argument. "Everything else can wait. Get the car ready."Leo paused for a fraction of a second, a small
** What Clara Heard**The door barely shut before Victor lost it. He spun around, face red, chest heaving, and grabbed a glass off the dresser. He threw it hard across the room.It smashed against the fireplace. Glass flew everywhere.Beatrice didn't even blink. She stood by the window, arms folded, watching him like he was the one acting crazy."Are you completely out of your mind?" Victor screamed, his voice shaking the walls. "You sat at that breakfast table and attacked his unborn child to his face! Julian was ready to murder you with his bare eyes!""Lower your voice, you coward!" Beatrice snapped back, her voice low but sharp as a knife. "I said exactly what everyone else at that table was thinking.""Julian is already digging into my old files!" Victor stepped closer to her, fists clenched tight. "He stood in the study and accused me of planning his wife's accident, in front of the entire household, Beatrice. In front of Mother. And you just stood there today and gave him a rea







