LOGINLauren's POVJulian had stepped out to take a call from Tommy – five minutes, he'd said, kissing my forehead, promising he'd be right back. I remember watching the door close behind him and thinking how quiet the room felt without him in it, how the beeping of the monitor was suddenly the loudest thing in the world.I didn't hear them come in until the door was already shutting again.Three men. Scrubs that didn't fit right, masks pulled up over faces that weren't hospital faces. I knew hospital faces. I'd spent enough of my life dealing cards to men who lied for a living to know the difference between someone who belonged somewhere and someone who'd stolen a uniform to get through a door."Wrong room," I said, my heart already slamming against my ribs even as my voice tried to stay calm. "You're in the wrong room.""We know exactly whose room this is." The one in front had eyes like stone, flat and empty. "Vivian sends her regards."I hit the call button before he'd finished the sent
Vivian's POV The call came in at 2:47 in the morning, and I knew before I picked up that something had gone wrong."Talk," I said."The Meridian account. It's gone." Marco's voice was tight and clipped, the way it got when he was trying not to sound scared. "All of it. Forty-two million, wired out in six transfers over the last three hours."I sat up in bed. The silk sheet slid off my shoulder and I didn't bother pulling it back up. "Gone where?""We're tracing it now, but–""Don't tell me you're tracing it. Tell me where it is."Silence on the line. That silence told me everything."Vivian, there's more. The Kowloon shipment got flagged at customs. The Prague safehouse was raided two hours ago, four of our people are in custody. And the Alvarez account–""Stop." I pressed two fingers to my temple. My head wasn't pounding. My hands weren't shaking. That should have worried me more than it did. "Say the last name again.""Alvarez. It was frozen this morning. Someone gave the feds the
Julian’s POV My hands felt heavy as I stared at the tiny screen of the burner phone sitting on the small metal table in front of me. The air in that sterile hospital room smelled like antiseptic, a sharp reminder of how close I just came to losing everything that actually mattered. Lauren was sleeping in the bed behind me, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. The little one resting safely inside her was breathing, too. They were both there. They were both mine. And nobody was ever going to touch them again.I picked up the phone. The plastic felt cheap and rough under my thumb. Serena’s words from twenty minutes before were still echoing in my head like a bad song. She thought she held all the cards. She thought she could waltz back into my life after everything she did and trade secrets like we were playing some kind of twisted game.My jaw ached from clenching it so hard. Every single memory was back in my head now, clear as day. I remembered the exact night they tried
Serena's POVI clutched the cheap burner phone in my hand so tight my knuckles turned white. The motel room smelled like old cigarettes and piss, a far cry from the silk sheets and crystal chandeliers I'd grown used to. How the hell had it come to this? Me, Serena fucking Cross, hiding out like some scared little rat while that bitch Lauren played queen in my life.My reflection in the cracked mirror looked like shit. Dark circles under my eyes, hair messy from not sleeping. Vivian had promised me everything. Power. Revenge. Julian back under my thumb. But now? Now she was exposed, and the walls were closing in. Dante's sister. Fuck. Even I hadn't known the full weight of that until the pieces started falling. And Julian... God, he was coming for blood.I couldn't let it end like this. Not after everything I'd done to claw my way back. The poison in his drinks, the money siphoned off, the goons I'd sent after Lauren. All of it to keep what was mine. But that baby in her belly? That ch
Julian’s POVI stood there frozen, the tablet still gripped tight in my hand like it might shatter if I squeezed any harder. The hospital room felt smaller all of a sudden, the beeps from Lauren’s machines became louder in my ears. Vivian Moreau wasn’t just some scheming bitch pulling strings from the shadows. She was Dante Rossi’s fucking sister. Blood. The same blood that ran through the veins of the man I’d put in the ground months ago. “Julian?” Lauren’s voice came soft but sharp, pulling me back. She pushed herself up a little against the pillows, wincing but ignoring the pain like she always did. “Talk to me. What the hell is it?”Thomas shifted on his feet near the door, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. His face was pale under the shitty fluorescent lights. “Boss, it’s all there. Birth records, old photos from back when Rossi was still building his shit. They hid it deep, but it’s solid. Vivian’s real name ties straight back to him. She changed everything after he we
Julian’s POVI stayed right there in that hospital chair, my hand wrapped around Lauren’s like it was the only thing keeping me grounded. The room had gone quiet except for the soft beeps of the machines and her steady breathing. She’d dozed off again after our talk, that small smile still playing on her lips even in sleep. My thumb kept brushing over her knuckles, feeling the warmth there. Fuck, she was alive. Our baby was hanging in there too. For the first time in what felt like forever, it didn't feel like my chest was about to explode.A nurse poked her head in after a bit, checking the monitors. She gave me a quick look. “Mr. Cross, you should get some rest yourself. She’s stable now.”“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered, not moving an inch. “I’m good right here.”Lauren stirred at my voice, her eyes cracking open slow. “Julian? Still here?”“Where the hell else would I be?” I leaned in closer, careful not to jostle her. “You think I’m leaving my girls? Not a chance.”She let out a tired l
CHAPTER THREE LAUREN’S POV Julian stopped moving completely. He just froze.For one very scary second, it felt like all the air left the room. I could not breathe. I did not step back. I stood right where I was. My chest moved up and down very fast. I thought he was going to take out a gun. I tho
CHAPTER TWOLAUREN’S POV The golden doors of the elevator finally slid open, revealing a sprawling, ultra-modern penthouse wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass that overlooked the glittering skyline of the city. I stepped out, my expensive heels sinking into a thick rug, but before I could take anoth
CHAPTER ONELAUREN’S POV"I said we are done, Jake," I barked into the phone, rubbing my tired eyes. "Don't call me again.""Lauren, come on. It was one mistake," Jake pleaded, his voice whining through the cheap speaker of my phone."One mistake too many. It's over. Have a nice life." I didn't wai
Lauren’s POV The rain started before I even reached Silas's building.Seattle didn't do light drizzles. It came down hard and heavy, soaking through my jacket before I'd made it half a block from where I'd parked. I'd told Julian I needed air. Just air. He'd looked at me the way he always did lat







