LOGINARIANA’S POVONE YEAR LATER The house no longer smells like gunpowder. It smells like vanilla frosting, fresh roses, and baby powder.I stand at the top of the staircase, one hand gripping the banister while the other balances Joseph against my hip. His tiny fingers are tangled in my hair, his giggles warm against my neck. Across the hallway, Alex is trying and failing, to convince Josephine to keep her headband on.She keeps ripping it off with fierce determination that is unmistakably her father’s.“It’s a celebration,” Alex tells her seriously, crouched in front of her like she’s a board member he’s negotiating with. “Presentation matters.”Josephine blinks at him, then drops the headband on the floor and crawls toward the stairs with reckless enthusiasm.I laugh.It’s been a full year since that night. Since Jerry’s incident. Since the war ended in a single, deafening moment.And everything is different.“Careful,” I warn as Alex scoops Josephine up just before she reaches the e
ALEX’S POVThe house smelled like gunpowder long after the police left.Even after the windows were opened and the paramedics packed up and the guards were rotated out. Ethan assured me three separate times that Jerry was locked in a holding cell with no chance of walking out tonight.The scent clung to the walls or maybe it clung to me.I stood in the hallway outside our bedroom, staring at the door. My hand was still faintly shaking. I curled it into a fist until the tremor stopped.I had heard the shot before I saw her.That sound will never leave me.When I reached the office and saw Ariana stumble backward, hand flying to her stomach….For a split second, my world ended.I’ve faced hostile takeovers, corporate sabotage, men who thought they could outmaneuver me in boardrooms and back alleys. None of it prepared me for the sight of my wife almost being shot in my own house.I failed tonight.I pushed the door open quietly.She was sitting against the headboard, freshly changed, a
ARIANA’S POVThe gunshot split the air. For a fraction of a second, I felt nothing but pain.Just the violent echo ricocheting off the office walls and the deafening ring in my ears. Then something warm grazed my side.I stumbled backward, slamming into the edge of Alex’s desk. My hand flew instinctively to my abdomen. There was no blood.The bullet had missed or….. Jerry’s body jerked.His expression shifted from triumph to confusion.A second gunshot cracked through the room.Jerry staggered forward this time, the black bag slipping from his shoulder and crashing onto the floor. Papers spilled across the polished wood like white feathers.And then I saw him……Alex.He was standing in the doorway behind Jerry, arm extended, gun steady, eyes colder than I had ever seen them.“You really should have aimed better,” Alex said quietly.Jerry tried to turn fully, but another guard burst in from behind Alex, tackling him before he could recover. The gun flew from Jerry’s hand and skidded acr
ARIANA’S POVThree hours……It had been three hours since Alex left.I stood by the bedroom window, staring at the front gates even though I knew I wouldn’t see anything from this distance. The security lights glowed white against the darkness, illuminating the driveway like a stage.He should have called or even texted, even if it was just a two-word message. But my phone remained silent in my hand.I tried to steady my breathing. Alex was careful. He didn’t make impulsive mistakes.Still… Jerry was a different kind of enemy.I sat on the edge of the bed and pressed my palm gently over my stomach. “We’re fine,” I whispered. “Your father always comes back.”The words felt fragile.Downstairs, I could hear faint movement from the guards, like footsteps and murmured voices. The house was heavily secured now with more men, more cameras, more locked access points.It should have felt safe but it didn't.I checked the time again. It was three hours and twelve minutes.A small chill ran thr
ALEX’S POVThe police lights faded behind us as we drove away. I kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting over Ariana’s hand. I needed to feel her there, to know she is alive.She leaned her head back against the seat, eyes closed, but she wasn’t asleep. I could tell by the way her fingers tightened around mine every few seconds.“You’re quiet,” she said softly.“Ya, I’m just thinking.”“That’s what worries me.”I almost smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes.Tonight could have ended differently. If we had been five minutes late… if Victoria had pressed that syringe…and Jerry had decided to stay and finish what he started.I pushed the thoughts away. “I’m not letting him disappear,” I said.“I know you won't,” she replied. I smiled, she knew me too well.When we got home, security had already doubled. There were more men at the gate and more cameras activated. I helped Ariana inside.The house felt different. She paused in the living room and looked around like she w
ALEX’S POVI knew the second the location pinged that it was real. It was not another decoy, or empty dockyard, or abandoned lot meant to waste my time while Jerry tightened his grip.This was it.The warehouse sat on the edge of the industrial district like a rusted carcass. The kind of place criminals believed swallowed screams.They didn’t know me.“They’re inside,” Ethan muttered beside me, lowering the binoculars.Ethan had landed less than four hours ago. He didn’t ask questions when I called. He just said, “Send me the coordinates.”Some men were friends and some were brothers forged in fire.Ethan was the second kind.I adjusted the comm in my ear, keeping my eyes on the building. “Thermal?”“Multiple heat signatures,” one of my men responded. “Ground level and deeper inside. At least eight armed.”I exhaled slowly.“Jerry?” Ethan asked.“Inside,” I said. “He wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave her alone.”But even as I said it, something felt off. I shoved the thought aside an







