登入EVE'S POV The penthouse felt like a tomb filled with ghosts. Hours had dragged by since Lily was taken from the rooftop garden, and the war room had only grown more crowded and suffocating. Police detectives murmured in one corner. Damon’s private security team coordinated on multiple screens. But the heaviest weight in the room came from the four parents sitting across from us. Catherine and Richard Sterling sat on one side of the sectional, Catherine’s face streaked with tears, still murmuring denials under her breath. My parents, Margaret and Edward Thompson, sat stiffly beside them ... my mother’s eyes red and swollen, my father staring at the floor like he could will the nightmare away. No one had left, no one could. I sat curled against Damon on the opposite end, clutching Lily’s blanket so tightly my knuckles were white. My body ached. My milk had come in hard and painful, a cruel reminder of my missing daughter. Every few minutes a fresh wave of panic would hit, making it
EVE'S POV The penthouse war room had grown even more chaotic in the hours since the ransom call. Police, private investigators, and Damon’s elite security teams moved with grim purpose. I sat on the couch, clutching Lily’s blanket like a lifeline, my body numb and my mind fractured. Every minute without my daughter felt like a lifetime of torture. My breasts ached painfully from missed feedings. My arms felt empty and useless. I kept imagining Lily’s little cries, her confusion, her fear. Damon hadn’t stopped moving. He was a storm of controlled fury... barking orders, coordinating searches, threatening anyone who moved too slow. But every time he glanced at me, I saw the same raw terror in his eyes that was tearing me apart. Then the doorman buzzed. “Mr. and Mrs. Sterling… and your mum and dad are here are here. They insisted.” Damon’s jaw tightened. “Send them up.” I barely had time to brace myself before the elevator doors opened. Damon’s parents — Catherine and his father,
EVE'S POV The penthouse had become unrecognizable. What was once our safe, luxurious home was now a command center filled with strangers...police detectives, private investigators, Damon’s top executives, and elite security operatives in tactical gear. Maps covered the dining table, multiple large screens showed live feeds from traffic cameras, building security, and helicopter overviews of the city. Phones rang constantly. Voices overlapped in urgent, clipped tones. I sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket that did nothing to warm the ice in my veins. My arms were empty, my chest felt hollowed out. Lily’s favorite blanket ... the one she’d been wrapped in when they took her... lay sealed in an evidence bag on the coffee table. I couldn’t stop staring at it. Hours had passed since the abduction from the rooftop garden. The search was massive, Damon had thrown every resource he had into it. Amber Alert issued. Private teams scouring the streets, media under tight control. But th
EVE'S POV The morning light filtered softly through the penthouse windows, painting everything in a gentle golden hue that felt almost mocking given how dark our lives had become. I woke up wrapped in Damon’s arms, his body warm and solid against mine. Last night’s raw fight had turned into something fierce and passionate, leaving faint bruises on my hips and love bites along my collarbone. But more than the physical marks, it had stitched something vital back together between us. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt truly seen and trusted by him again. Lily’s happy babbling came through the monitor, pulling me out of bed with a smile. She was fully recovered from the hospital scare, her little cheeks rosy and her energy back. I lifted her from the crib, breathing in that perfect baby scent... powder, milk, and pure innocence. “Good morning, my sweet girl,” I whispered, kissing her soft head. “Mommy and Daddy love you so much.” Damon joined us in the kitchen, still
EVE'S POV The penthouse felt smaller every day. I stood at the kitchen island, staring at the latest batch of rejection emails on my laptop while Lily played in her bouncer nearby. Another supplier had backed out. A community board had “reconsidered” after receiving anonymous complaints about “Sterling family instability.” My project... the one thing I’d clung to as my own... was bleeding out, and I couldn’t stop the bleeding. Damon walked in from his office, still in his shirt and tie from earlier calls. He looked exhausted, but his eyes sharpened when he saw my face. “More bad news?” he asked, coming over to kiss Lily’s head before turning to me. “Yeah.” My voice came out flat. “It’s done, Damon. The Brooklyn pilot is effectively dead. Everything I lined up is gone. Permits stalled, partners vanished, funding pulled. All at once, and I know it’s them. Sophia and Alex. Probably working together now.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We knew this might happen. We’ll pivot, new s
EVE'S POV I sat at my rented office desk, staring at the email chain that had just destroyed my morning. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, but there was nothing left to type. The words blurred together anyway. We regret to inform you that all permits for the Brooklyn pilot site have been delayed indefinitely due to new zoning concerns and community complaints. Another one from the main contractor: Given recent developments and reputational risks, we must withdraw from the project effective immediately. Best of luck. Then the funding contact I’d been counting on: After careful review, we’re unable to proceed at this time. The ongoing public scrutiny makes this too volatile for our board. One by one, the fragile scaffolding I’d built for my independent project was being kicked out from under me. The modular community hub... the thing that was supposed to be mine, something real after all the chaos with Sophia, Alex, Lily’s hospital stay, and cutting off Catherine... was coll
Two weeks passed.Two weeks of me jumping every time the phone rang, checking over my shoulder when we left the apartment, waiting for the other shoe to drop.Damon kept telling me I was being paranoid.I kept telling him I wasn't.Then she showed up.We were having dinner when the doorbell rang. D
They'd been back from the wedding for three days when Damon's phone rang during breakfast.Unknown number.He almost didn't answer, then something made him pick up."Hello?"Eve watched his face change, watched him go still in that dangerous way he did when he was trying not to react."Sophia," he
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: THE TIMELINEDamon called Marcus at seven the next morning.I was awake, had been awake all night, staring at the ceiling while Damon pretended to sleep next to me."I need to ask you about something," Damon said into the phone, his voice rough from not sleeping. "That gallery
The two weeks flew by faster than Eve expected.Jessica took her dress shopping even though the dress was already made. Said they needed the experience, the tradition of it. They tried on ridiculous gowns they'd never buy and drank champagne and laughed until Eve's sides hurt."This is what it shou







