MasukLILA’S POVBy the time Taylor arrived, it was nearly midnight.I was still wide awake.There had been no chance of sleep after that phone call. Adrian had called Luca back to the house, and now the three of us stood in the living room watching Taylor carry in the old document box like it might contain a bomb.In some ways, it did.He set it down on the coffee table with a quiet thud and ran a hand over the back of his neck.“Sorry for being late, sir,” he said. “The box was locked with a passcode. I had to find someone to crack it.”Adrian’s eyes went straight to the metal latch. “We can open it now?”“Yes, sir.”The room seemed to hold its breath.Adrian stepped forward and opened the box.At first, it looked disappointingly ordinary.Papers. Envelopes. Old files. Some brittle receipts. A thick folder with Montero Construction written across the tab in fading ink. I felt my heartbeat drop slightly.Then I started seeing words.Dates.Amounts.Company names.And one name that made my
ADRIAN’S POVThe second Lila went upstairs, I called Taylor.He answered on the first ring. “Sir.”“Lakehouse,” I said without a beat. “I want Chloe found before she gets another chance to run, and I want you to look for that damned box.”“Yes, sir.”“And Taylor?”A brief pause. “Sir?”“Find Jason too.”His tone changed just slightly. “Understood.”I ended the call and stood alone in the study for a moment, staring at the dark window.What Lila didn’t know about that lakehouse was… it did not belong to Jason. It was mine.Years ago, before Europe, before Cognio, that was where I spent most of my time whenever I wanted to disappear. The house sat far enough north to feel like the world had forgotten it. There was a lake, a rough dock, a patch of forest, and enough privacy to think.Back then, I lived there half-feral and quite happily.Fish from the lake. Fruit from the woods. Silence. Code on my laptop when the signal cooperated. Anger sharp enough to turn into ambition. I built hal
LILA’S POVI stared at the note in my hand so long that the words started to blur.I know where Chloe is. Text me when you’re alone so we can talk. — Jason.My heart kept thudding hard against my ribs.If I told the authorities right away, there was every chance Chloe would vanish again. But if Jason really knew something...I looked up.Taylor sat two tables away in jeans and a dark jacket, pretending to read a newspaper. He hadn’t reacted much to the little girl who handed me the note. To him, she had probably looked like what she was pretending to be—just another child wandering through a café, curious about adults.I looked back at the note.Texting Jason meant unblocking him.The thought alone irritated me.But if finding Chloe got us closer to the truth—about her, about the missing box, about my parents—then what exactly was I protecting by refusing?Pride?Pride had already cost me enough in life.I wasn’t stupid. I knew the risks. I would take it only as far as possible withou
ADRIAN’S POVThe numbers in front of me were correct.That was the problem.Usually, once things were in order, it was easy to focus. Things lined up, strategies fell into place, and yet—All I could think of was Lila. I stared at the vendor reconciliation sheet for Ambrosia’s east division and somehow saw Lila instead. I set the file down.This was becoming inconvenient.“Sir?”I looked up. Luca stood across my desk with a tablet in one hand and a thin folder in the other. He had already learned not to comment when my attention wandered. That did not mean he failed to notice.“Yes?”“The written statement did what we wanted,” he said. “Public sentiment shifted again after Margaret and Andrew’s latest performance. The press is treating them less like heartbroken parents and more like desperate people trying to control the story.”“Good.”He handed me the folder. “Monica also wanted you to see this. Their bank record motion is moving. There will be resistance, but we can overcome it.
LILA’S POVThe next morning, Monica arrived with two lawyers and a box full of files.She carried it in herself, dropped it onto the dining table in Adrian’s house, and gave me a look that said today was not going to be gentle.“Coffee first,” she said. “Then heartbreak.”I almost smiled.Almost.The legal team spread papers out across the table with a kind of cold efficiency that made my stomach tighten. Old insurance claims, company transfer documents, probate filings, banking summaries, some things I couldn’t even understand. I stared at line after line of text until the words began to swim.When they talked, it all sounded important, but after ten minutes I felt like a child sitting at the grown-ups’ table, nodding at things I didn’t fully understand.Monica tapped one page. “Here. This is where it starts to get dirty.”I leaned in.“What am I looking at?”“This,” she said, sliding the paper toward me, “is the initial claim timeline after your parents’ crash. Look at how quickly
LILA’S POVThe words landed like a stone in the room.I was still sitting at the breakfast table where Adrian and I had almost—well. Almost something. The warm, fragile moment had shattered the second Taylor said Chloe was missing, and now the air in the room felt completely different.Adrian stood, already all business. “How long has it been?”Taylor answered at once. “Long enough. By the time officers reached the location, she was gone.”Before anyone could say more, Luca came in quickly, tablet in hand.“Sir.”Adrian turned. “What now?”Luca looked at me once before turning the screen toward us. “You’ll want to see this.”On the screen was another livestream from one of those gossip sites.My uncle and aunt.Again.Aunt Maggie’s eyes were red, and Uncle Andrew looked grim and offended in the way men do when they want pity and authority at the same time.“She’s fragile!” Maggie cried on screen. “Anyone would be fragile after this kind of public persecution!”Andrew leaned toward the
ADRIAN’S POVBy the time I got Lila out of the cameras and into the car, the city had already begun to do what it did best.Talk.I could practically feel it spreading through the streets, through office lobbies, group chats, and family dinner tables. My marriage. My wife. Her face. My hand on her
LILA’S POVJason had been silent the entire time. That was what made it so much worse when he finally spoke.“Open it, Lil.”I turned to stare at him. The man I’d thought I would marry had turned at the flick of a switch, and that had never not been jarring. “You have nothing to do with this,” I s
LILA’S POVBefore I knew it, a month had passed.Thirty days of pretending. Thirty days of keeping my head down, counting the hours, swallowing insults, and hiding the biggest secret of my life.And now it was over.I was sitting on the edge of my bed, staring at the clock like I could force time t
LILA’S POVI was curled up in bed with a book when my phone buzzed.For a second, I ignored it. The house had been unnervingly quiet all evening, and I was enjoying every second of it. But the screen lit up again, and when I reached for it, my heart gave a weird little jump.Adrian.It wasn’t a tex







