MasukThe uneasy alliance between Nikolia and Rafael held, technically, over the following days — clipped emails, shared security briefings, careful professional courtesy maintained through gritted teeth on both sides. Alessia hadn't expected either of them to willingly spend time in the same physical space more than necessary, which was why she was surprised to find Rafael's car already in her driveway when she pulled up from the office that Thursday evening, a scheduled visit day for Nikolia already underway inside.She let herself in cautiously, bracing for tension, and found instead an unexpectedly ordinary scene — Rafael seated at the kitchen table, a set of blueprints spread in front of him, Adrian perched on the chair beside him studying the drawings with rapt fascination."What's going on here?" Alessia asked, setting down her bag."Rafael's teaching me about buildings," Adrian announced, without looking up. "Real ones. Not the drawing kind Mama does. The kind that actually get buil
Alessia spent two sleepless nights turning the sponsor list over in her mind before she made a decision she hated almost as much as she understood it was necessary."I need both of you," she said, standing in the small conference room she'd booked at neutral ground — not Sinclair Global, not Rafael's office, just a quiet meeting space two floors up from her own, deliberately chosen for its lack of history. "Together. In the same room, working through this like adults, because I don't have the bandwidth left to manage two separate conversations about the same threat."Nikolia arrived first, sharp and composed despite the early hour, and Rafael followed ten minutes later, his expression carefully neutral in a way that told Alessia he'd braced himself for exactly this kind of forced proximity."Gentlemen," she said, gesturing to the chairs across from her. "Devereux Capital is officially a co-sponsor of the biggest professional event of my career, happening in six months, with press, ind
Alessia left Rafael's office without another word, his silence following her down the hallway like something physical, one more locked door added to a growing collection she was beginning to feel would never fully open. She didn't cry until she reached her car. She allowed herself exactly three minutes behind the wheel before wiping her eyes, steadying her breath, and driving home to twins who deserved a mother capable of reading bedtime stories without her voice shaking.She didn't expect the following morning to bring anything resembling good news, and for a while, it almost did."This came in overnight," Preston said, sliding a heavy cream envelope across her desk, an uncharacteristic note of excitement in his voice that felt strange after the last several weeks. "I think you're going to want to see this before anything else today."Alessia opened it carefully, and felt something genuine — something unclouded by suspicion or dread — flicker to life for the first time in what felt l
Alessia drove straight from Sinclair Global to Bellamy Atelier, Viktor's cold composure and Nikolia's careful retreat still burning in her chest, and found herself, almost without deciding to, standing outside Rafael's office door for the first time since the day he'd hesitated over a question that had broken something between them.They hadn't spoken much since. A few clipped, necessary exchanges about the Kessler account, careful professional courtesy maintained across a distance neither of them had tried very hard to close. But Thursday's deadline was bearing down, and Rafael still had connections in the real estate and investment world that could help her understand exactly what she was facing.She knocked before she could talk herself out of it."Come in."He looked up from his desk, surprise crossing his face at the sight of her, quickly masked by the careful professionalism they'd both been using as armor for weeks. "Alessia. I wasn't expecting you.""I need your help." She clo
Nikolia recovered first, his expression sliding back into careful neutrality with a speed that told Alessia exactly how much practice he'd had concealing things from his father over the years."We were discussing the Bellamy Atelier situation," he said smoothly. "Cassian's bid. Nothing that requires your involvement.""Cassian Devereux's bid." Viktor's tone remained even, though something behind his eyes sharpened at the name. "I'd heard rumblings about that. I wasn't aware it had escalated to urgent, closed-door conversations.""It has." Alessia found her voice, steadier than she expected given what she'd just learned moments before Viktor's arrival. "His firm made a formal bid to acquire a significant stake in my company. We were discussing how to respond.""I see." Viktor's gaze moved between them again, lingering a fraction too long on his son's face, some silent calculation playing out behind his composed expression. "And that required Nikolia to clear his entire afternoon, close
"Nikolia." Alessia's voice had gone very quiet, very still. "Please. Whatever it is, I need you to say it."He exhaled slowly, some final wall inside him finally giving way, and when he spoke again his voice had lost every trace of the careful control he'd maintained for three weeks."There are rumors," he said, "that have followed my family for decades. Whispers my father always refused to confirm or deny, dismissed whenever they surfaced, buried under lawyers and settlements whenever they threatened to become more than rumors.""What kind of rumors?""About an affair. Long before I was born. A woman who worked for my father, briefly, before she disappeared from every official record connected to the Sinclair name." Nikolia's jaw tightened. "I always assumed it was nothing. Old gossip, the kind every wealthy family accumulates over generations, the kind that gets exaggerated with each retelling until it barely resembles whatever actually happened.""And now?""And now I've spent five







