MasukElias PovAndrea’s posture broke. The moment my hand touched her hair, the rigid, jerky movements stopped. She melted toward me, her forehead thudding softly against my chest as she leaned in. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close. She smelled of stale linens and heavy industrial soap, a scent that didn't belong on a Lawson."It’s okay," I whispered, my voice sounding thick. "I’m here. I’m not going to let them keep you in this room for long."I felt her shoulders shake. She was sobbing, but it was silent, as if she had been trained not to make a sound. I patted her back, waiting. I knew I had to be careful. Her mind was a frayed wire; one wrong move and she’d short-circuit again."Philip," she murmured into my shirt. "I missed you. I've been looking for you. You always wear a gold watch. The one Father gave you. You had told me to hide, but the hallways were too long."I didn't correct her this time. If she needed me to be Philip to feel safe, I would be Philip. "Yes Andrea.
Elias PovI sat in the back of the car, fuming. The scent of David’s blood was still on my knuckles, a metallic tang that mixed with the expensive leather of the interior. My chest was tight, my breathing shallow. I didn’t move when we pulled into the company parking garage. I didn’t move when the engine cut out and the sudden silence rushed in to fill the space.I leaned my elbow against the door’s armrest and buried my face in my palm. The darkness of my own hand was the only thing I wanted to see. "Sir, we’ve reached the office," Marcus, my driver, said softly."Leave the car," I muttered, my voice muffled. "Wait inside the building. I need to be alone."I heard the driver’s door open and close. I was alone in the climate-controlled quiet of the car. I needed to calm the buzzing in my brain. I needed to rest, even for a second, before I had to put the mask back on and face the board. My mind wallowed in the chaos of the last hour—David’s laughter, the mention of a "her," and the c
Elias Pov"You’re wasting your time, mister," a man called out, walking a small dog on the opposite sidewalk.I stopped, my hand mid-air. I turned to look at him, my chest heaving. "The man who lives there traveled," the passerby said, barely slowing his pace. "No one knows where he went to, or travelled to. His shop just stopped being open. You can come back later. Maybe he'll be back soon."I felt a cold, sharp dread settle in my stomach. Traveled. Is that what the killer made people to believe? The man left with his dog. Seeing that no one was really coming to open the door, I dropped my hand and turned to walk back to my car, my head spinning. But as I almost reached my car, my presence met with David who seems to be walking my way. "Didn't expect to see you."I stopped. He stood there, his hands shoved into the pockets of a leather jacket."What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice flat, but realized I made a mistake asking him that question.I didn't wait for an answer. I
Elias Pov "I didn't know," she whispered. "I didn't know the family was tearing apart like this, and now... I feel like I can't do anything to stop it. I know I can't prove it to you, Elias. I can't give you an alibi for every second of every day. But I swear on my life that I did not kill Philip. I could never hurt my own son."She started to cry again, but a heavy sobbing that shook her shoulders. I looked at her, really looked at her, and for the first time in years, I didn't see the cunning, manipulative Camille Lawson. I saw a woman who was genuinely terrified. A conviction settled in my heart. If she had killed Philip, what was there left to gain? She already had the status, the money, and the power. Killing her own flesh and blood would only weaken her position. I reached across the table and placed my hand over hers. Her skin felt cold. "I—I’m sorry for making you feel this way. I had my intentions then, but I believe you, Mother."Camille froze, her breath hitching as she
Elias Pov"I’m not eating," I said, ignoring the fact my stomach growled.I didn't turn around to look at Camille. I was standing in front of the full-length mirror in my dressing room, pulling on a grey blazer. I hadn't slept more than three hours a night since Mara left. Her phone was still going straight to voicemail, and the investigators I had hired were coming up empty. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face at the funeral."You shouldn't starve yourself Elias." Camille said from the doorway. "You’re no use to anyone if you collapse from exhaustion."I said nothing to her, djusting my cuffs, my jaw tight. Of course Mara was the cause. She’s nowhere to be found. She has no reason to hide from me, yet she’s gone. Was it because of Richard? Was it the stress of the funeral? I was going to tell her he was safe at the right time. I thought she would be patient, but it turned out the opposite.Camille walked into the room, her silk. She stopped a few feet behind me, her reflectio
Margret's Pov“What are you doing here?”"What’s making you happy? You were humming as you entered." Jax asked.I turned toward the small wooden table, pulling the strap of my bag off my shoulder. I began removing my things—my keys, a pack of gum, and the rest."Nothing much," I said. I kept my back to him. "I just got someone out of the way. Permanently, I hope."I heard the creak of the chair as he leaned forward. "Let me guess. Was it Mara?"I stopped, my hand hovering over the table. I turned my head just enough to catch the glint of his eyes. "How did you know?""It couldn't be Elias," he said, his tone conversational. "You’re saving him for the finale. It couldn't be his mother; Camille is already a ghost walking through that mansion. Who else is left to bother you?" He paused, his head tilting slightly. "Where is she? Where did she go?"I walked over to the narrow bed and sat down, facing him. I didn't feel the need to hide the truth from him. We had been in this together since
Elias’s POVI watched Camille walk away. I didn’t give her the satisfaction of a response, but that didn’t mean I was going to sit idle. Since this mess involves Mara, I will be moving ten steps ahead in my mind. Every time David’s name came up in the same breath as hers, it felt like a low-grade f
Elias POVThe drive back to the Lawson Group was a blur. My hands gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were white, the image of that disappearing silhouette at Scott Enterprise burning into the back of my eyelids. But as the elevator rose towards my office floor, I forced the mask back on
Mara's povIt was freezing cold, the perfect weather for a garden wedding. I clutched the mug Margarette had prepared for me, the steam rising in spirals to warm my face. Today being the day of the wedding made me nervous. I took a slow sip of the tea, my mind calculating the possibility of the w
Elias’s POVThe silence of the cemetery was always the loudest kind of quiet. It was a heavy, suffocating weight that settled in the lungs and refused to leave. I stood before Mark's grave, staring into the air.For days, a disturbing hole had been carved into my heart. I looked down at the single







