The Shadow HeiressDamian’s POVI didn’t sleep. I couldn’t. Sleep meant peace, but there was no more room for that. anymore. After Leo’s call, I did nothing but sit there and look at the city as if it knew what I needed to know. The city never stopped moving. But inside me? Everything had frozen. My mind and heart were beating too fast and loud. The words that Leo said were still stuck in my head.“She’s the real owner of Westbridge Capital.”Vera Morgan.A name I didn't know very well. A woman I had never seen before. And yet, she was at the centre of everything that was going wrong in my life.I stood slowly and stretched out my stiff limbs. My body hurt from being too tired from carrying too many lies, not from not getting enough rest. I leaned closer and looked down at the dark city below. As I did, my fingers touched the cool edge of the windowpane. There were so many lives behind those bright windows, but I felt like mine was the only one that was breaking.The silence in t
The Real Puppet MasterDamian’s POVThere was more silence in the car than the one after hearing what Lila said. I kept staring at the steering wheel like it had answers I didn’t. His face before he walked away… it burned into my mind like smoke after fire. I should have known better, but I didn’t. Now the weight of what I just learnt sat heavy in my chest, making it hard to breathe.I sat in the car for a long time, not moving. My hands were still on the wheel, but I hadn’t started the engine. Th weather was cool with the streetlight above cast its cold yellow glow through the windshield. Eliot was gone, and so was the last piece of calm I had. All I had left were questions. And one name that kept digging deeper every time I thought about it. Aaron.Just like I had thought before, he wasn’t just some old friend from Eliot’s past. Something had been off from the beginning. That night at the party when he showed up with, the way he smiled too easily, spoke too carefully and Eliot stran
The Family TruthDamian’s POVThe bright red lights of the ambulance burned behind my eyes for a long time until I could no longer see it.Lila collapsing was something I didn't expect. One moment ago she was laughing politely with a champagne glass in hand, before her knees gave out her body went limp, and she fell to the marble floor like a feather.. I still remembered the loud gasp from the crowd, the sharp cry from one of the guests, and the sound of her wine glass breaking.As I rushed to her aid and held her hand as she fought to stay conscious. She tried to say something because her lips moved, but no word came out. Just a weak breath and then silence.I left the hospital after the nurse confirmed she was stable now. But I couldn't go home, for a reason I didn't feel home wouldn't provide the comfort I needed. So I went to a motel instead.As I sat on the edge of the motel bed, I couldn't get the picture out of my mind.The motel room smelled faintly of cleaning products an
Lila’s BreakdownDamian’s POVThe sunlight leaked in through the curtains of my small apartment, casting long slants across the tiles. The ceiling fan made noise as it turned slowly, doing little to cool the afternoon heat. My shirt stuck to my back, and the stuffy air clung to everything like a second skin. This wasn’t the world I grew up in, I missed the penthouse with panoramic views, the sparkling marble floors, the quiet hush of money. But this was my reality. And it pressed against me like a constant reminder of everything I had lost. A soft knock jolted me out of my thoughts.I dragged my tired legs off of the couch and blinked away the heavy feeling in my chest. I opened the door gently, and there she was—Lila. She seemed to be a paradox in flesh. Her lipstick was flawless with sharp heels. But her eyes were filled with something she was trying too hard to hide.“Hey,” she said quietly, not even offering a smile.“Hi,” I replied as I stepped aside. “Come in.”She came in
Eliot’s GhostDamian’s POVThe blinds let in some morning light, which fell on the wooden floor in long, pale gold streaks. I sat at the edge of the bed in my modest new apartment, a space I barely furnished. I had never lived somewhere so quiet like this before, but it wasn't the kind of quiet that made me feel better.It was the kind that reminded you someone was missing.I reached for my phone again, my fingers curling around it tightly as I stared at Eliot’s name on the screen. My thumb hovered over the call button. Again. Last night, I called him five times. Four times the day before. The line would ring once or twice and then go dead each time.It didn't even ring this time.“This number is no longer in service.”The robotic voice hit like a slap. I set the phone down next to me and rubbed my face with the heel of my palm. I was so tired that my skin felt tight. I hadn't been getting enough sleep. Dreams about Eliot slipping through my fingers scared me more than the headli
Love vs SurvivalDamian’s POVI stood by the hospital window and watched the morning light slowly move across the sky. The grey clouds above me made it seem like everyone else knew how empty I felt. The nurse just gave me my discharge papers and a quiet smile that I couldn't return. Freedom never felt so empty like this before.The white walls, the beeping machines, the scent of antiseptic, they had become a strange kind of safe place. But now I was being let back into a world that no longer had a place for me. I walked slowly toward the exit, with one hand clutching the discharge papers, the other dragging a bag Lila had packed for me.I got out of the hospital through the back exit instead of the front doors, where the press was waiting like wolves. My cap was pulled down. The collar of my jacket was turned up. Every step away from the building felt like walking deeper into someone else's life.I couldn’t return back to the penthouse. My name was messed up everywhere. My keycar