INICIAR SESIÓNAuroraElena didn't say anything for a long time.The silence in that study felt like it had weight. Like it was pressing on my chest."Elena," Dominic said again. "Answer me."She finally looked at him. Her eyes were wet, but her voice came out steady."Yes. I knew."My stomach dropped to the floor."How long?""Two days."“Two dats”. Dominic repeated it like he hadn't heard right. "And you said nothing.""I was going to.""When?""I gave them until Friday to tell you themselves."Prescott's head snapped toward her. "You told us that?""I told Aurora," Elena said quietly. "At lunch."Dominic turned slowly toward me. His eyes were cold now, not furious worse, Hurt."And you agreed to that. You sat at my table, ate my food, and let me hunt through my own house for a thief.""I didn't know about the photo," I whispered. "I swear. I only found out yesterday.""But you knew about the rest."I couldn't answer. My
Prescott I waited for the explosion. I knew my father. I knew the vein that jumped in his neck, the way his voice dropped before he ruined someone. I had braced for it my whole life. It never came. Dominic just sat there, looking at the photo, then at our hands. We were still holding on. "Let go of her," he said. I didn't. "Prescott." "No." Something flickered across his face. Not anger. Something older and more tired. "I'm not going to hurt her," he said. "Let go. I need to think." Aurora's fingers slid out of mine. Her hand dropped to her lap. Without hers, my palm felt cold. Dad stood and walked to the window. He kept his back to us for a long time. The room was so quiet I could hear Aurora swallow. "You're angry," I said. "Say it." “Of course i’m angry.” "Then say it." "Not yet." He turned around. His eyes were red at the edges. "I'm angry at you. I'm angry at myself. And I'll deal with both
Aurora I didn't sleep. At 5 a.m., I gave up and sat on the edge of my bed, staring at my hands. Today. By tonight, everything would be different. Maybe better. Probably worse. At seven, my phone buzzed. *Prescott:* Ready? *Me:* No. *Prescott:* Same. I'll be at the foot of the stairs at ten. *Me:* Dad's study? *Prescott:* Yes. And Aurora? *Me:* Yes? *Prescott:* Whatever happens, don't let go of my hand. I pressed the phone to my chest and closed my eyes. Last night, Prescott had told me about the login. D. Zane. I had barely breathed. "Your father exported that footage?" "Or someone used his account." "Which one is it?" "I don't know." His jaw had been tight. "That's what scares me." I'd gone to bed with that sentence in my head. It was still there now. At 9:55, I walked down the hall in the plainest dress I owned. My legs felt weak. Elena's door was shut. I wondered if she was standin
Prescott The email came at 12:14 p.m. No subject line. No message. Just a sender I knew too well, and one attachment. I opened it. It was a hallway. Dark and grainy shot from above. A timestamp sat in the corner. 4:52 a.m. A woman stepped out of a bedroom. with a sleel shirt, mesdy hair. One hand on the doorknob, pulling it closed behind her. Aurora It was my door. Under the photo, Marcus had typed one line. Nice house. Withdraw your objection to the Hale review by Monday at 9 a.m., or this goes to your father and every director on the board. My ears started ringing. I read it again. Then a third time, like the words might change. Someone had a camera on my hallway, Someone had watched her leave my room. I grabbed my phone and called Aurora. It rang twice and went to voicemail. I sent a text. Then another, my hands were shaking so hard I had to retype it. *Call me. Right now.* *It's Marcus.* Then I
Aurora Elena picked a tiny restaurant on a side street. The kind of place nobody from Dominic's world would ever walk into. That scared me more than anything. She was already at a corner table. Her water sat untouched. Her hands were folded so tightly her knuckles had gone white. "Sit," she said. I sat. My legs felt like paper. "Mom, what's going on?" "Two nights ago I woke up at one in the morning." My heart stopped. "I heard your door open. Then I heard his." "Mom..." "I lay there in the dark, listening to my daughter's footsteps cross that hall." Her voice didn't shake. That made it worse. "Then I heard them come back. At ten to five." I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. All the lies I had practiced in the mirror turned to dust. "Don't lie to me, Aurora," she said softly. "Please. Not you." My eyes burned. "We didn't plan it." "How long?" "A while." "Before the wedding? After?" "After." I
PrescottAurora was asleep on my chest, and I hadn't moved in an hour.My arm had gone numb. I didn't care.Her hand rested over my heart, like she was checking it still worked. Her hair was spread across my shoulder. She breathed slow and soft.For one hour, nobody was hunting us. No Marcus. No review. No father down the hall.Then I looked at the clock.4:45 a.m.My stomach dropped."Aurora." I pushed her hair back. "Wake up, baby."She groaned and burrowed closer. "No.""You have to go.""Five more minutes.""Five minutes is how we could get caught.”She opened one eye. A small smile tugged at her mouth.Then she remembered where we were and the smile faded."I hate this," she whispered."Me too.""I hate sneaking out of a room I want to stay in."My throat tightened. I kissed her forehead, then her nose. "Soon," I said."You keep saying that."“And I mean it.”She sat up and tugged her sleep shirt down. Her ha







