LOGINEVE'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
Sophia adjusted the oversized sunglasses on her face as she slipped into the back corner booth of the small, dimly lit café in a quiet part of Brooklyn. It was the kind of place no one important would ever be caught dead in...faded booths, burnt coffee smell, and a bored waitress who barely looked up from her phone. Perfect for this. She’d chosen the location carefully. Neutral and untraceable. Far from the gleaming towers where Damon and Eve played happy family with their precious Lily. The thought of that baby... their baby... still made her blood boil. Lily should have been hers. The life, the penthouse, the man... all of it stolen by that pathetic nobody Eve. Her phone buzzed. A single text from the burner number. Unknown: Here. Sophia’s lips curved into a cold smile. She watched as Alex Rivera entered, scanning the room once before spotting her. He moved with that polished confidence that made her want to laugh, billionaire consultant playing savior. How cute. He slid into t
EVE'S POV I couldn’t breathe easy anymore. Not after Lily’s hospital stay, not after Alex’s twisted “gifts” showed up there, not after Damon’s ruthless takedown of the company sabotage. The walls were closing in, and I was done waiting for the next strike. I needed proof. Something concrete we could use to bury him legally and finally get him out of our lives. When Alex texted me that morning asking for one last meeting to discuss the future of the project offer, I saw the opening. I agreed. Neutral ground ... the same lounge where we’d had our early talks. I told Damon I was meeting a potential new contact for the pilot. He didn’t like it, but he trusted me. I slipped a small recorder into my bag, tested it twice, and left the penthouse with my stomach in knots. The lounge was quiet when I arrived. Alex was already there, sitting at our usual corner table. He stood when he saw me, that same intense smile spreading across his face. Today it looked predatory. “Eve, you look tired.
DAMON'S POV The penthouse was finally quiet again after Lily’s hospital scare. She was back to her somewhat fussy but improving self, sleeping in her crib after a full feeding. Eve had crashed hard on the couch, exhausted from the all-nighter and the constant fear. I sat in my home office staring at the monitors... security feeds, stock tickers, everything. Sleep wasn’t happening for me. Then my phone started exploding. First my CFO. “Damon, you need to see this. Meridian deal is collapsing, they’re pulling out citing ‘instability and reputational risk.’ Stock is already dropping four percent in pre-market.” I opened the reports. It was worse than that, anonymous leaks had hit financial blogs overnight... exaggerated claims about internal chaos, fabricated emails suggesting I was distracted by “personal scandals,” and hints of financial irregularities in the Asia expansion. The Meridian partners were spooked, board members were calling. The stock kept sliding as the news spread.
EVE'S POV Lily’s cry cut through the penthouse like a knife. It wasn’t her usual fussy sound, this was sharp, desperate, followed by a retching cough that made my blood run cold. I was out of bed before my eyes fully opened, Damon right behind me. She was burning up in her crib, tiny body trembling, face flushed red. When I picked her up she felt like fire against my chest. “Damon, she’s really hot. This isn’t normal reflux.” He didn’t hesitate. “Hospital. Now.” The next twenty minutes were chaos. We wrapped her in a light blanket, grabbed the diaper bag, and took the private elevator down while Damon called ahead to the pediatric ER. The new security detail drove us, lights flashing on the SUV as we sped through the early morning streets. Lily whimpered weakly in my arms the whole way, her breathing shallow and fast. I kept whispering to her, tears streaming down my face. “Hang on, baby girl. Mommy and Daddy are right here.” The ER was a blur of bright lights and quick hands. Th
EVE'S POV The days after cutting Catherine off felt heavier than I expected. The penthouse was quieter, but the silence carried weight. Damon threw himself into work and security upgrades, while I tried to keep the community project alive despite the smear campaign still dragging my name through the mud. Lily was my bright spot... her smiles came easier now, and she was starting to babble little sounds that made both of us melt. I was at my rented office, staring at another email from a hesitant partner, when my phone rang. Alex. I almost didn’t pick up. After our confrontation, he’d gone radio silent. Part of me hoped that was the end. But the project needed momentum, and ignoring him completely felt like cutting off my own foot. “Eve,” he said when I answered. His voice was warm but careful. “I know things have been tense and I respected your boundaries. But I have something big I want to run by you. Not a meeting at my office... neutral ground. The lounge where we first talked
I was pacing the living room when Damon walked in.He took one look at my face and stopped dead. "What happened to your cheek?""Your mother happened.""What?""She hit me. At lunch. Slapped me across the face in the middle of La Bernardin."He just stared. Like he couldn't process what I was sayin
Two weeks.It had been two weeks of this weird new thing where we were kind of dating but also married but also still pretending in public that we were just business partners.It was exhausting and confusing and somehow the best two weeks I'd had in years.Damon made me coffee every morning. We had
"We don't have to go."Damon was standing in front of the mirror fixing his tie. Again. Third time in five minutes."You're nervous," I said."I'm not—" He stopped. Dropped his hands. "Okay, yeah. I'm nervous.""It's just brunch with your parents.""Sunday brunch. At the club. Where my mother will
La Bernardin was the kind of place where the silverware probably cost more than my rent used to.I showed up five minutes early because I didn't want to give Catherine the satisfaction of me being late. She was already there. Corner table. Perfect posture. That same string of pearls she probably sl







