LOGINJulian locked the study door behind him, his suit jacket already tossed onto the leather sofa. The reporter's words from the conference center were still ringing like a loud alarm in his ears.Hotel meeting.He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Sophie before he could even draw a breath. The line connected on the third ring."Julian?" Her voice came out careful, guarded."Did you shop that footage to the press?"Silence on the other end, just long enough to answer the question before she said anything."I don't know what you're talking about.""A reporter cornered me today, Sophie. In front of my wife. He asked about a hotel meeting. The same meeting you set up with a phone propped against a lamp." His voice stayed low, controlled, dangerous in exactly the way she remembered from the night she'd threatened him. "If that footage reaches a single outlet, I will bury you so thoroughly even your name won't survive it.""I didn't send it to anyone," Sophie said, and something in t
The conference center buzzed with the particular energy of people pretending not to check who else was in the room. Julian guided Eva through the crowd with a hand at the small of her back, nodding to familiar faces, stopping twice to shake hands with men who smiled too wide and watched Eva a beat too long."You didn't have to come," Julian said quietly, leaning close. "You could have stayed home and rested.""I've been resting for days now. I needed air that wasn't estate air."He almost smiled at that.A reporter's badge caught Eva's eye first — a man weaving through the crowd with a recorder already in hand, aiming straight for them before anyone could intercept him."Mr. Castellan, a quick word for Metro Daily?"Julian's expression smoothed into something polished and practiced. "Make it quick.""There's been talk," the man said, recorder lifted, eyes sharp, "about tension in your marriage following the photo scandal a few weeks back. Some sources suggest your own personal conduct
By the time Eva and Julian returned to the estate that evening, Eva's body felt heavier than it had that morning. The drive home had been quiet, with Julian glancing at her now and then from behind the wheel without asking too many questions. She knew he was worried, but she was grateful he didn't press her for answers.As soon as they entered the bedroom, Eva set her handbag on the chair beside the bed and walked over to the small desk near the window. Julian watched her for a moment before turning toward the door."You should rest," he said."I will.""Do you want anything?"She managed a tired smile. "Milk."He nodded and left. Eva waited until his footsteps had faded down the stairs before sitting down and opening her laptop.She searched every version of the name she could think of.V. E. Thorne.Nothing useful came up.There were old company records, a few shipping reports, and several businesses that had used the name Thorne at different points, but none of them connected direc
"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







