LOGINIn the end, Lydia gave a faint smile. “No. Of course not.”“Let’s move,” Cale said flatly.They left the suite at a brisk pace. The hotel corridor looked calm, too calm, with thick carpet swallowing the sound of footsteps and warm yellow lights making everything appear normal. Yet that very stillnes
Three knocks sounded at the suite door, soft but clear enough to cut through the tension hanging in the air. No one moved for a fraction of a second. It was as if the entire room had stopped breathing together.Lydia, standing near the table, instinctively turned toward the door. Her fingers were gr
Don Falcon’s office occupied the highest floor of the mansion, overlooking a stretch of city that seemed small beneath the vast glass windows. But that morning, no one in the room dared appreciate the view. The air felt heavy, dense with pressure that came entirely from the man seated behind the gle
“Not if it’s treated immediately.” The doctor looked at Cale calmly. “But she needs complete rest. No stress, no fear, and she must not be left alone.”Lydia raised a brow. “That last part sounds important.”Dr. Weber took out fever medication and wrote an additional prescription. “I’ll give her an
The hotel room door flew open harder than usual. Fast footsteps entered the main suite, followed by a rush of cold air from the hallway before the door could close again.Cale came in first, still wearing the same suit he had left in that morning. His face was unreadable, but the tight line of his j
“Like what?”“Being… warm to strangers.”Lydia chewed slowly before answering. “No. I’m selective.”“Then why me?”“I don’t know,” Lydia said lightly. “Maybe fate?”That answer left Naomi quiet.To shift the mood, Lydia began talking about small, ordinary things. About a woman named Althea who, in h
His jaw tightened—not from explosive anger, but from a slow-rising sense of alertness. “They arrived more than twenty minutes early.”Riana leaned back in her seat. “I’m sure this was intentional,” she said flatly. “The meeting was exposed before we even got here.”“No,” Nathan replied, his tone m
The next morning, Althea and Josh arrived at the prosecutor’s office under tight security. The screening procedures moved quickly, yet the tension lingered. Two attorneys accompanied them. Cameras still waited outside the building, but they managed to slip in without facing blinding lights or relent
Silence settled over the room again. Eli lowered her head even further. She wished her chair could swallow her whole. She didn’t want to hear any more of this conversation—there was no warmth, no kindness, only tension and suffocating pressure.Selena leaned back in her chair. “Fine. Perhaps I shoul
Cale exhaled slowly. “I think… we have no choice but to play along with the game that’s already been forced onto my family.”Aaron’s brow furrowed deeply. “What do you mean, sir?”“You said you have people monitoring Harold’s unusual movements, didn’t you?”“That’s correct, Mr. Cale.” Aaron still di







