Mag-log in74. The Only Thing Left To Give"Sir, this could have been our chance," Sam said, the moment they stepped inside."We could have labeled Mr Voss unstable. Had you take over the company. Everything else follows from there."Liam stopped walking.His hands found his pockets.Right.It could have been exactly that. An opportunity handed to him without effort, without planning, without any of the careful years he had spent positioning himself for exactly this kind of moment.And he had walked away from it.His jaw pressed together."You may leave, Sam," he said. Quiet. Final.Sam opened his mouth. Thought better of it. Bowed and left.The room settled into silence.Liam walked to the mini bar. Poured a glass of whiskey. Took a sip. Then another.His mind went back to the Voss manor. To the corridor. To the shape of his brother folded against the doorframe, knees drawn up, shoulders shaking.Lucien.Calling her name in the dark like it was the only word he had left.Liam took another mouth
73. Ashes and WhiskeyIt was morning again. Thin gray streaks of dawn spread across the sky, bleeding softly through the city as if the world itself was still deciding whether to wake up or not. Sasha stood at her window, hands resting quietly on the windowsill, eyes focused on something only her could see. Her eyes were dull, almost as if the life in them had a quietly packed up and fled overnight. A knock. Simple yet heard."Come in" Sasha said, voice hoarse. She reached for the glass of water on her bedside table. She took a sip. Fiona walked in. "Miss" she said, her eyes doing a careful sweep of the room before finally settling on Sasha. She looked...thin. Frail in a way she hadn't been a week ago. "What do you have?" Sasha asked, not sparing Fiona a glance. "I got every information about Miss Winters, including her family", she paused. "However, there's nothing that could be used against them".Sasha looked at Fiona. She didn't say anything. Fiona inhaled slowly. "Here's
72. You never once looked..."The foundation looks stronger now," Mr. Fisher said, leaning back slightly in his chair with that particular satisfaction of a man who had bet on the right thing. "Less likely to collapse under pressure."Lucien glanced at the projection on the screen. Then, almost without thinking: "Things usually hold better when the right person is finally handling them."The room received it as a professional observation.Heads nodded. Someone from the design team made a note.Dahlia's fingers paused over the documents in front of her.Just for a second. Just long enough.She didn't look up. Didn't react visibly. She turned the page and kept going, her voice smooth when she spoke next, redirecting the conversation back to the coastal landscaping timeline with the kind of calm that took years to build.Lucien realized, about four seconds too late, exactly how that had sounded.He looked at his own notes and said nothing.The meeting ran another forty minutes.Mr. Fishe
71. The Things Left UnsaidKimberly's voice came from the kitchen before Dahlia even reached the bottom of the stairs."There's food on the table. Don't you dare skip it."Dahlia stopped on the last step. Looked at the dining table. A plate covered with a cloth to keep it warm, a glass of juice beside it, and a small note in Kimberly's handwriting that just said eat.She sat down.She ate.Not because she was hungry. Just because it was easier than standing there deciding whether she was.The apartment was quiet in the specific way it gets when someone has made an effort to keep it that way. Kimberly was moving around the kitchen slowly, not clattering anything, not putting on music. Just being there. Present without pressing.Dahlia stared at the food and chewed and tried very hard not to think about anything.She failed.She had not slept properly.Not even close.She had lain in the dark with her eyes closed and her mind running laps around the same few images on repeat. Lucien's f
70. Two travellers, One lie...Two sleek cars screeched to a deafening halt opposite each other, the sound of tires against asphalt cutting through the silent night.The car doors opened.Sasha stepped out.Liam stepped out.Liam stood beside his car, a lazy smirk resting on his face. He brought a stick of cigarette to his lips and Sam appeared immediately to light it up for him.He took a slow drag. Exhaled. Then looked at Sasha.Sasha stood there, hands clenched tightly at her sides as she watched him. Her makeup was slightly smudged under her left eye. She hadn't noticed. Her coat was buttoned wrong at the top, one side higher than the other.She had left the house in a hurry and it showed.Liam noticed all of it.He took another drag. "You're on the run, Sasha.""And you're oddly not surprised at all," Sasha forced the ghost of a smile."Lucien will still find you," Liam said. "No matter how far you run."Sasha looked at him. "And here you are. Running with me."Liam's brows shift
69. What doesn't work anymoreThe mansion lights were on.Every single one of them.Lucien saw it from the gate and something in him went very still. Not surprise. Just the particular kind of resignation that comes from knowing exactly what you're walking into.Jace fell into step beside him the moment the car door closed."She dismissed the staff at nine," Jace said, voice low and quick. "All of them. Camille refused to leave so she's in the kitchen. The others are outside.""The knife?" Lucien questioned. "Kitchen knife. She took it from the rack before Camille could stop her.""How long?""Almost two hours now."Lucien didn't slow down. His hand pushed the front door open and the warmth of the house hit him, too bright and too still, the kind of quiet that comes right after something breaks."She's been calling your name," Jace added from behind. "On and off."Lucien said nothing.He already knew what this was.He had watched Dahlia fall apart upstairs, quietly, with her face in h
25. The bathroom glowed in shades of muted gold, steam curling lazily above the marble tub where Diane lounged like a queen in half-shadow. The soft ripples on the bathwater did not match the tension sharpening her gaze.Greta stepped inside, hands clasped, shoulders slightly bowed."Madam Voss… w
19. A fiancée's furyThe Voss manor was now quiet, the tension of the night's events still clinging to the air. Lucien stepped into the mansion. It was quiet as well, save for the low hum of air conditioner hanging at all corners. He settled into one of the sofas and took out a stick of cigarette.
17. A kiss unintended. At the patio where Diane was with her circle of ladies, Greta rushed in, panting. Her actions disrupted the loud gossip, earning harsh scowls from them. Diane looked at her, her eyes turning cold. "What's wrong?" Greta looked at the women, then lowered beside Diane and whi
18. Marked and Dismissed. The party came to an abrupt end due to the pool incident and guests began to leave one after another. Headlights flashed against each other at the parking lot, like water in a fountain. Cameras kept flashing, trying to get hold of the remaining tea of the night.In a dark







