Mag-log inVeronica's POVThe safehouse looked like something from a security catalogue. Stone walls. Reinforced windows. Cameras covering every angle. Armed guards are rotating shifts at the perimeter. Two hours outside the city in rural land where neighbours were miles away and privacy was guaranteed.It was comfortable. Modern kitchen. Spacious bedrooms. A yard where Monte could play under watchful eyes. But it was also a cage and that reality hit me hard the first night.I stood at the bedroom window staring at the fence line and felt panic rise in my throat. This was too familiar. Being confined for my own safety. Told where I could and could not go. My movements are monitored and controlled.Jason had done this. Different reasons but the same result. I was trapped.Four found me there at midnight with tears streaming down my face."Talk
Four's POVI watched Veronica sleep in the safehouse bedroom with Monte curled against her side and felt something break inside my chest. She looked peaceful in sleep but I knew better. I had seen the way her hand instinctively moved toward the gun on the nightstand when a door closed too loudly. The way her body tensed at unexpected sounds. The hardness in her eyes that had not existed three months ago.I was destroying her.The woman I married was soft and kind and full of light. Everything I was not. She believed in second chances and redemption and the fundamental goodness of people. She saw beauty in small moments and chose compassion even when anger would have been easier.Now she was learning to shoot. To fight. To live in constant vigilance. She checked corners before entering rooms. She kept her back to the wall in public spaces. She carried a weapon everywhere an
Dr Morrison's POVI received Four's call at six in the morning. Hospital shooting. Veronica discharged her weapon. Monte witnessed violence. Come immediately.I arrived within the hour and found them in a private waiting area cordoned off by police. Monte was asleep in Veronica's lap and his small face pressed against her chest. Four sat beside them with one hand on Veronica's shoulder and his expression carved from stone.But it was Veronica who stopped me cold.She looked up when I entered and her eyes met mine with a clarity that should not exist after trauma. There was composure in her posture. Strength in the way she held Monte. And something else. Something harder."Dr Morrison. Thank you for coming."Her voice was steady. Too steady for someone who had shot another human being hours ago.I sat across fro
Veronica's POVThe gunshots grew louder and closer and my body moved before my mind could process fear. I grabbed Monte from Four's arms and dropped into a crouch in the corner farthest from the door. My son was awake now and his eyes were wide with terror that no five year old should ever experience."Mama, what is happening?""Shh, baby. Stay quiet for me. Can you do that?"He nodded but his whole body trembled against mine. I wrapped myself around him like a shield and felt my heart hammer so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.Four positioned himself at the door with his gun drawn. He had insisted on carrying despite hospital rules and now I understood why. The man I married had lived in worlds where violence was currency and survival was earned through preparation.Manuel's voice cut through the chaos. "Three hostiles plus Volkov. They are coming from the east corridor. Fall back to defensive positions."Gunfire erupted in the hallway. Sharp cracks that made Monte flin
Four's POVEvery instinct I had honed over decades screamed danger when Veronica pointed out the man in the blue jacket. I watched him through my peripheral vision and catalogued everything. The way he stood. The confidence in his posture. The calculating assessment in his eyes as they tracked my movements.This was not random.Manuel's security team moved into position with practised efficiency. They were professionals and their approach was subtle enough not to cause panic in the waiting room. But the man noticed. Of course, he noticed. He was a professional too.He stood and walked toward the exit. Not running. Not hurried. Just purposeful and controlled movement that told me everything I needed to know.He was surveilling us and we had just blown his cover.One of Manuel's men followed. The other stayed with us. I pulled Veronica closer and felt her heart racing against my side."Is Monte safe?" she whispered."He will be. I promise."My phone buzzed. Text from Manuel's team. Subj
Veronica's POVI stood in our bedroom packing Monte's clothes into a suitcase and felt rage burn through my chest. Four wanted to send us away like fragile things that needed storing in a safe place while men handled dangerous business.I was done being the protected damsel."We need to talk," I said when Four walked in. My voice was steady and cold. "If you try to send me away for my safety, I will fight you every step of the way.""Veronica, we already discussed this.""No. You decided. I disagreed. That is not a discussion." I turned to face him. "We are married. We are partners. I will not let you martyr yourself while Monte and I hide somewhere pretending everything is fine."Four crossed his arms. "Your safety and Monte's are my top priorities. That is not negotiable.""And your safety is mine. Also not negotiable." I moved closer. "You think I can function knowing someone is trying to kill you? That every phone call might be Manuel telling me you are dead? How is that protectin
Four's POVPain was my constant companion but I ignored it. I had signed myself out of the hospital against every doctor's recommendation because being in that courtroom mattered more than my physical comfort. Veronica needed me. Monte needed me. I would be there even if it killed me.My lawyer Sa
Veronica's POVThe courtroom was cold. That was the first thing I noticed. Cold and sterile with hard wooden benches that made my back ache after ten minutes. I sat beside Four's wheelchair, my hands clasped so tightly in my lap that my knuckles had gone white.Four should not have been here. The
Detective Rivera's POVThe legal notice landed on my desk like a bomb. Custody petition filed by Steven and Patricia Castellano for their grandson, Monte Castellano Jr. Hearing scheduled in seventy-two hours.I read the documen
Margaret's POVThe estate felt wrong without Four. Too quiet. Too empty. Like a house holding its breath, waiting for something terrible to happen. I had maintained this property for twelve years and never once felt unsafe here. Now every shadow se







