MasukThe car cut through the increasingly quiet streets of the night. City lights flashed past the windows, but Naomi didn’t see any of it. Curled up in the back seat, she wrapped both arms around herself, still trembling from head to toe. Every few breaths caught in her throat before breaking into stifl
Naomi stumbled back against the wall, gasping for breath, able only to stare with wide eyes.The man who had slapped her seized her again, yanking her close as a shield. “Don’t come any closer!”Liu looked at him without blinking. “Let her go.”“Or what?”Liu moved so fast Naomi barely saw it.In on
BANG! BANG! BANG!The pounding on the apartment door felt like a hammer striking directly against Naomi’s chest. Her fingers trembled as she held the phone to her ear, waiting for the call to connect. But before anyone could answer, she heard the sound of metal being forced from the outside. The doo
Naomi said nothing more. She walked to her unit, pushed open the apartment door, and stepped inside. Before closing it, she noticed Liu still standing in the hallway, watching until the door was fully shut and locked.The room was small, cramped, and far from comfortable, yet tonight it felt like th
“Thank you,” Naomi said, bowing her head slightly to Liu, who had escorted her home that night. Her voice was soft, nearly swallowed by the whisper of the night wind slipping through the corridor of the old apartment building where she lived. The hallway lights glowed dimly, casting long shadows acr
“I don’t need the details,” Brandon shot back. “I’ve seen enough of the pattern you play. You’re still preying on the weak just to squeeze money out of them.” He leaned back in his chair, his gaze resting on Falcon, relaxed yet cutting. “That’s… pathetic.”The room fell silent again.Juan didn’t int
To Josh, the man beside him—his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows after ditching his blazer and loosening his tie so he could move freely—looked impossibly cool. Daven made every game seem simple. Unlike Josh, who still fumbled here and there, yet found pure joy in playing.If only they could do
Tightness spread through his chest, regret seeping in sharp as thorns. If time could turn back, he would never have let her go. He would never have cast Althea aside so easily, never allowed her to be crushed beneath the shadow of his obsession with another woman. But time didn’t bend. And what he h
Chris leaned back. “That’s what we’re working on. Our team is compiling a complete dossier. But you can see how slick Harold is. Even the authorities have trouble tracking him down.”“He can’t hide forever,” Daven cut in. “Every move leaves a trace. I won’t sit idle until he pays for this.”“I won’t
“I actually hate hospitals,” Althea admitted as she stepped out of the car. The place always tugged at painful memories. The birth of Josh had been different—joyful, of course—but otherwise hospitals squeezed her chest. She would never forget how her mother had taken her last breath from blood loss.







