LOGINKane’s POV
Olivia’s eyes pinned intently on the mask. Hovering on it like she was a detective or something.
“Are you okay?” I asked, closing the gap between us.
I could sense the rage emanating from Cynthia as I went on one knee, an inch away from the woman I loved and betrayed.
“What are you doing?” Cynthia asked from behind, her anger surfing through her words.
Still Olivia held on to father’s mask, staring at it like she’d seen a ghost.
I took the mask gently from Olivia’s hand. And stretched it up for the servant to retrieve it from me and place it back into the box.
“I’m sorry boss.. I’m sorry ma’am.” The worker said nervously, as he stood glued to a spot.
Earlier when Olivia came over to the manor, she wouldn’t let me get close to her. But for some reasons, here I was an inch to her and she wasn’t repulsive.
But when I removed the mask from her grasp, our hands brushed and I felt that tingling sensation she always made me feel.
Olivia Benson was a lot of things, and that made me sway to her.
There was something quite unsettling today about her. That much I could tell, but what exactly?
And why did she come to the manor all of a sudden after I’d been trying to reach her for weeks?
“Does the mask seem familiar or something?” I asked, trying to start a conversation with her.
“No.” She said sharply, finding her feet as she dusted her hands on her knees.
Olivia towers over me, looking down at me as her hair fell to a side. She looked miraculously beautiful, and it made me bite down on my lower lip.
I’d cheated on her with Cynthia, and I knew I’d ruined things between us.
But she came here today. Surely there was a reason. But what was it?
She would have said something if it weren’t for Cynthia and her bad mouth. I curse the day I fell into her trap.
“Is there something you wanted to tell me?” I asked, finding my feet.
“It’s….nothing actually.” Olivia stutters, turning around quickly without so much as a glance my way.
I stared at her continuously, my heart aching with each step she took.
What have I done?
She walked up to the truck and it’s workers, each greeting her before she swept past them and forward on her way.
“What was that about?” Cynthia stormed the question at me, pointing a finger directly toward me.
I sighed, and moved away from her. But Cynthia moves forward, hindering my path. “I’m talking to you. Don’t you dare ignore me.”
“Please, I really don’t have the energy for this.”
“Why? Because of her right? Does she mean so much to you?”
“Yes!” The words came out of my mouth fluently.
Cynthia stared at me with so much disbelief. “She’s that important huh? More than your unborn child. Is that it?”
At the mention of my unborn child, my heart melted completely. I couldn’t bear to be a bad father. I already had issues with mine already and there was no reason to repeat it with my child.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then what was all that about? You were practically frolicking around her like you wanted to die for her.” She said. “Do you miss her so much that you want to miss out on your own child?”
“No.”
She raises my head by my chin. “That’s good. You don’t need her, trust me. You really don’t.”
If only that were true.
Olivia has been the thought of my existence ever since I knew her. And it got worst even after the whole incident with Cynthia.
“Don’t give me that face.” Cynthia said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “You only need me… and your child.”
My heart skipped, torn between believing her and wanting to believe in something more. And that something was definitely getting back Olivia.
As if reading my thoughts, she frowned, pushing me by the jaw. "Embarrassing," she spat, "how can you even call yourself a man? And what was she doing here? Did you call her to come?"
I stared at her in cold silence.
When I didn’t answer, she attempted to escalate things forward. But Stanley quickly intervened, stepping in at just the right moment.
“Miss, Cynthia. Might I schedule a cold bath for you? It’ll be most refreshing for you and the baby.” He suggested.
Cynthia froze, contemplating what my family’s butler had suggested. I knew she loved luxury, and that was what Stanley was offering.
A twisted smile painted her lips, she laughs, blinking at the thought of her in the cold jacuzzi bath. “Hmm, that doesn’t seem so bad after all.” She said as she beamed a smile at him, before turning to glare at me.
“Atleast someone here knows how to treat a lady. Take note.” She says, glaring at me as she turns away. Slowly, she quicken her steps after Stanley.
At the door she stops, turns to take a quick glance at me before exiting into the house.
Once I’d been left in front of my families manor, I turned around to search for Olivia. But she was gone, there was not a single trace of her.
“Olivia…” I muttered to myself. My heart beating fast as I thought of her.
Olivia had come here to see me. Surely, there was something important. Could it be about the stranger rumored to be seen with her?
I called for one of the workers, she rushed over immediately.
“That mask,” I tell her, “make sure to take it out from the rest. I want to know everything about it.”
“Yes, master Kane.” She rushes back to the rest.
I could see her search through the box thoroughly.
“Master Kane.” Stanley’s voice called to me.
I turned to face him. “What is it?”
He hesistates. “Lady Cynthia wants you to join her. She’s already in the jacuzzi waiting for you.”
I sighed. She clearly doesn’t want me going after Olivia.
“I’d be with her shortly.” I tell him, before turning to stare at our gate far away.
Olivia was gone. And couldn’t chase after her.
Virgil's POVI woke to the sound of rain against a windshield and the slow, steady rhythm of breathing beside me.For a moment, I didn't know where I was. My body was warm, cocooned in a soft blanket that smelled faintly of something clean and familiar. The seat beneath me was comfortable, reclined just enough to ease the tension in my back.Then I heard it. The quiet exhalation. The soft rustle of fabric.I turned my head.Danny was asleep in the driver's seat, his head tilted back against the headrest, his face relaxed in a way I hadn't seen in years. His lips were parted slightly, his lashes dark against his cheeks. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, and the streetlights painted soft shadows across his features.I looked at him for a long moment. Longer than I should have. So long that I felt pathetic to my very core.Then I looked out the window.I recognized the street. The building. We were in my driveway. He'd driven me home and then... stayed. How long? I glanced at the dashboa
Virgil's POVThe coffee shop was nearly empty.Rain streaked down the windows in uneven rivulets, distorting the streetlights outside into blurred halos of orange and gold.I sat in the corner booth, my third cup of coffee growing cold in front of me, my fingers drumming an uneven rhythm against the scratched wooden table.I'd texted Danny forty-seven minutes ago."I need to talk to you. Not about the case."The words had felt like a confession even before I'd sent them. I'd stared at the screen for a full three minutes, thumb hovering over the send button, my chest tight with something I refused to name. Then I'd pressed it anyway, dropped my phone on the table, and spent the next ten minutes convincing myself I hadn't just made a terrible... terrible mistake.The bell above the door chimed.I looked up.Danny stood in the entrance, rain darkening the shoulders of his leather jacket, his hair plastered to his forehead in wet strands. He scanned the room once, twice, and then his eyes
Lucious's POVThe fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor buzzed overhead, a constant, maddening hum that seemed to drill into my skull. I'd spent too many hours in this place lately. Too many sleepless nights staring at white ceilings and sterile walls. I'd thought I was done with hospitals. I'd thought the nightmare was over.But here I was again.The door to the room was half open, and through the gap, I could see him. Kane. Lying motionless on the bed, his face pale against the white pillowcase, his chest rising and falling in a slow, rhythmic pattern that was almost too quiet. Almost too peaceful.I stood in the doorway, unable to move. My feet felt like they were bolted to the floor, my hands frozen at my sides. I'd been running on adrenaline for hours, ever since Virgil had confirmed it.Kane had been found.Kane has been found unconscious.Those words had hit me like a freight train. I'd driven through three red lights to get here, my hands shaking on the steering wheel, m
OLIVIA'S POVThe tea was cold, but I didn't notice until Lucious reached across the table and gently pushed the cup toward me."Olivia. You've been staring at that for ten minutes."I blinked, forcing myself back to the present. The kitchen was warm, filled with the soft glow of morning light. Lucious sat across from me, his face pale with exhaustion, his eyes rimmed with shadows."Sorry," I said, wrapping my hands around the cup anyway. The ceramic was cool against my skin. "I was just thinking.""About?"I looked at him. The strain in his shoulders. The way his hand trembled slightly when he reached for his coffee. The fear he tried so hard to hide behind a mask of confidence."About Julian," I said. "About everything."Lucious was quiet for a moment. Then he reached across the table and took my hand, his fingers cold against mine."I know you're scared. I'm scared too. But we're going to get through this. All of us."I wanted to believe him. I really did. But there was something in
VIRGIL'S POVThe hotel lobby was too bright.I stood by the entrance, my hands shoved into my pockets, my eyes scanning the room for any sign of Danny. The marble floors gleamed under the chandeliers, and the air smelled like expensive perfume and stale coffee.I hated hotels. I hated meetings in hotels. They always felt like some kind of negotiation. A transaction disguised as a conversation. And worst of all, right now, there was something strangely intimate about meeting here.But Danny had insisted. And I needed answers.I checked my watch for the third time. Ten minutes past ten. He was late. An exasperated sigh slipped past my lips.Of course he was late.He'd always been like that. It was one of the things that had driven me insane about him. That and his cocky smile. And the way he looked at me like I was the only person in the room. And the way he—"Virgil."I turned. Danny was standing ten feet away, watching me with that same half smile in my head barely seconds ago. And th
KANE’S POV“You won’t,” he said again, like repeating it made it truer.I stared at the folder in his shaking hand, refusing to take it. “You almost died three days ago. Because of me. And your first move out of a coma is a business proposition.”“My first move,” he said, “is survival. Yours should be too, if you have any sense left in that head of hers put ideas into.”“Don’t,” I said. “Don’t talk about her like you weren’t the one who put her there in the first place.”Something flickered across his face — not quite guilt, I didn’t think him capable of that anymore, but something adjacent to it. Recognition, maybe. “You think I don’t know what I did to your mother. To you. I’ve had a long time lying in beds like this one to think about exactly what I did.”“And?”“And it doesn’t change what happens next.” He pushed the folder closer, insistent. “Cynthia isn’t finished. A woman like that doesn’t run because she’s afraid, Kane. She runs because she’s regrouping. Right now, tonight, sh







