Suzanne’s pov:The morning air was thick with warmth, the scent of saltwater drifting in from the open balcony doors. Sunlight spilt into the room, casting golden hues over the tangled sheets and the man standing by the railing.Dominic.His robe hung loosely over his shoulders, his dark hair still mussed from sleep.There was tension in the way he stood, hands gripping the balcony railing, his shoulders tight, as if bracing himself against something unseen. He hadn’t said much since waking up, and barely even looked at me.A part of me wanted to reach out, to ask him what was wrong, but I hesitated. Maybe I was afraid of the answer.Instead, I forced myself out of bed, pulling the sheets around me before slipping into the silk robe I had discarded the night before.My body ached in places I had long forgotten. I hadn't felt this kind of pleasure, but more than that, there was an ache in my chest.A dangerous, unspoken thing that I didn’t dare give a name to.I stepped toward the ope
Dominic’s pov:After breakfast, I excused myself and made my way down to the private beach.The sand was cool beneath my bare feet, the waves rolling in with rhythmic consistency. It should have been soothing, but my mind was a battlefield. Every breath I took felt heavier, as though the weight of what I was about to hear had already settled over me.The waves crashed against the shore, their rhythmic roar drowning out the thoughts hammering through my skull.The sun was climbing higher, casting its golden glow across the vast, endless blue sea, but I barely noticed. My feet sank into the warm sand as I walked farther away from the villa, my grip tightening around my phone.I needed space. I needed control. Most of all, I needed answers.Pressing the phone to my ear, I waited for the line to connect. The second I heard the click, I didn’t waste time. “Tell me everything.”Ford’s voice came through, tense and clipped.“We’ve confirmed it’s Tavon.He intercepted Kai at school. Surveil
Tavon’s pov:The warehouse was eerily silent, the dim light casting long, jagged shadows across the concrete walls.The only sound was the faint hum of the generator in the next room, a low, persistent drone that filled the empty space.The air was thick with the scent of oil and rust, a perfect backdrop for what this place had become, a prison.I walked toward the small room where the boy was kept, balancing a tray of food in one hand.The metal door creaked as I pushed it open, revealing the little brat curled in the corner, his tiny body trembling but his jaw set in defiance.His big, watery eyes snapped up to me, full of fear, full of hate.Good. Let him hate me. Hate would keep him quiet. Hate would keep him obedient.I set the tray down on the old wooden table in the centre of the room.The plate held a simple sandwich, a bottle of water beside it. He was a child, and a child needed to eat.“Eat,” I ordered, my voice devoid of emotion.Kai didn’t move.He only stared at me, his
Dominic’s pov:The image came through at 2:47 AM.A single, grainy photo is attached to an unknown number.I had been awake, my thoughts restless, my body strung tight with tension, but nothing could have prepared me for the sight of Kai’s tear-streaked face staring back at me through the dim glow of my screen.He was sitting on the floor of what looked like a warehouse, his little arms wrapped around his knees.His cheeks were stained with dried tears, and though he was clearly terrified, there was something else in his eyes, defiance.That look alone was enough to tighten my grip on the phone, my knuckles whitening.Then I noticed it. The timestamp is in the corner. This wasn’t an old image. This was fresh. Tavon was making sure I knew Kai was still alive, for now.My blood ran cold as I forced myself to look closer. A half-eaten plate of food sat near his feet, untouched. The message attached to the image was short and deliberate.“Come get your son, Dominic. Before I change my min
Suzanne's pov:I stood frozen, my heart pounding in my chest as I stared at Dominic. He was silent, rigid, his phone still clenched in his hand. The air between us was thick with tension, and the weight of his hesitation pressed against my chest like a warning.He wasn’t going to tell me.The realization hit like a punch to the gut, making my breath hitch. I had given him every chance, to be honest, and to trust me, but instead, he was standing there—calculating. Guarded. Lying with his silence.My fingers curled into fists at my sides. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”Dominic’s jaw clenched. “Suzanne, it’s complicated.”I let out a sharp, humourless laugh. “Of course, it is. It’s always complicated with you. But you know what’s not complicated? Trust. And you’re making it very clear that I can’t trust you.”He took a step closer. “It’s not like that.”“Then tell me the truth.” My voice cracked, frustration bubbling to the surface. “What was on that phone?”Dominic exhaled slo
Dominic's pov:The rhythmic crashing of waves against the shore did nothing to calm the storm raging inside me. The island was paradise, a secluded haven meant for relaxation, but it had become my personal prison. Three days. Three days of helplessness. Three days of waiting for a call, an update, a miracle—anything to tell me my son was safe. Instead, the silence stretched on, suffocating, each hour that passed. Tightening its grip around my throat.Suzanne sat across from me on the villa’s terrace, watching me with cautious eyes. She hadn’t pushed, hadn’t pried, but she knew something was wrong. I could see it in the way she hesitated before speaking, in the way she reached for my hand and stopped herself at the last second.“You’ve barely eaten,” she finally said, her voice gentle but firm. “Dominic, whatever it is, you need to talk to me.”I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down my face. How could I tell her? How could I admit that my son was missing while I was stranded here,
Suzanne’s pov:I woke up with a crushing weight in my chest, the kind that made it hard to breathe, hard to move. My body ached from exhaustion, but my mind refused to rest. The world outside was still dark, the ocean waves a distant whisper against the shore. I turned my head slightly, my gaze falling on Dominic. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, his shoulders rigid with tension.The memory of last night hit me like a tidal wave. Kai. My baby. Gone. Stolen. The pain was unlike anything I had ever known, a deep, clawing agony that threatened to consume me whole. My fingers curled into the sheets as my breathing hitched.Dominic had held me while I sobbed, whispering reassurances I couldn't bring myself to believe. But now, in the harsh reality of morning, I felt something else entirely. Anger.Not at Tavon. Not at the men who took my son.At Dominic.He had known for three days. Three Days. And he hadn't told me. He had sat across from me at dinner, held
Suzanne pov:My fingers clenched tightly around the fabric of Dominic’s shirt as I stared at the screen. The video feed was shaky, the camera moving as Dominic’s team moved swiftly through the abandoned warehouse, their boots echoing off the concrete floor.The space was mostly empty—except for the chilling proof that Kai had been there.Ford crouched near a pile of discarded ropes, picking up a small piece of fabric. His stomach twisted as he held it up. A familiar cartoon pattern stretched across the material, slightly torn at the edges.“Boss,” he called, his voice grim. “We got something.”One of the agents stepped forward, holding a small blue race car in his gloved hand. “This is his, right?”Then I saw it.Kai’s hoodie—his favourite one, the navy blue one with the small rip near the sleeve. It lay discarded near a rusted metal chair, the sight of it made my stomach twist painfully.“Oh my God,” I breathed, covering my mouth with trembling hands.Dominic’s arm tightened around
Dominic’s pov:The drive home was quiet.Suzanne sat beside me, staring out the window, lost in thought. She didn’t push for a conversation, didn’t try to fill the silence with pointless words. And strangely, I appreciated that.I rested my elbow against the car door, massaging my temple. My body was recovering, but my mind… It was a battlefield.Too many thoughts. Too many memories clawing at the edges.Every time my gaze flicked toward Suzanne, something tightened in my chest. She had fought for me—without hesitation, without question. And now she was here, sitting beside me as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if I was someone worth saving.I let out a slow exhale and turned back to the window.She doesn’t know.And that truth sat heavy in my gut.I wanted to tell her. To confess everything, to explain how this all began, how her son’s illness wasn’t what she thought it was. But the words never came.Because if I told her the truth now, what would she do? Would she
Suzanne’s pov: The doctors did one more check-up on Dominic and he was cleared to leave, I made sure all his belongings were packed properly. “ Suzanne, we are ready to go,” Stella said as I placed the blanket in the box. “Please can you tell Desmond and Ford to come help me carry the boxes”“Yeah sure thing.”“You know the maids would have done this right?” Dominic said as he came out of the bathroom. “Yes, but I wanted to make sure I got everything”. I said as I closed the box, “How are you feeling?” “For the hundredth time Suzanne, I am fine, perfectly fine. I just want to ma-”“Boss, we are ready” Of course, Ford had to interrupt. “Good to have you back my man,” Desmond said as he entered the room. “Stella said you needed help with the boxes” “Yes please”. News of Dominic’s recovery had already circulated everywhere, it was posted all over social media, TV stations and newspapers.By the time we stepped outside the cameras started flashing. “Mr Khan, it's good to have you
Linda’s pov:For a moment I felt fear, the whole world had turned on me, all the people I had deceived. All the people I had taken from. The bribes I had received.Now my company was being taken away from me, and the man that I wanted was still in the arms of that witch.The people I had once controlled, bought, and manipulated, were vanishing. Fading like mist. Board members resigned, investors pulled out, and headlines screamed my name with venom. Every bribe I took, every hand I twisted, every secret deal I made in the shadows, it was all unravelling.The companies I spent years building with blood and ruthlessness were crumbling. My empire was no longer mine.She surely cast some kind of spell on him. It was the only explanation that made sense. Why else would Dominic, brilliant and disciplined Dominic, fall so completely, so blindly for her? A woman with nothing but a child from another man and eyes too naive for this world?I had seen it in his gaze, even when I walked into
Suzanne's pov:A few hours had passed, and Desmond and Ford had gotten the best out of him. Even Stella had spent some time in his room before heading back out to join me.While I myself sat alone in a corner outside the private ward, a small garden that was currently only occupied by me.I took in a sharp breath as the recent events replayed in my mind. The gratitude I felt towards the universe for helping me fight a war I wasn't familiar with.My eyes soaked with tears and my palms rubbed against each other as I closed my eyes and took in another sharp breath.“Victory at last,” I murmured, solely to my ears. “Yeah victory at last,” Stella's voice pricked my ears. I jolted and turned in her direction as I tried to hide the tears that were brewing in my eyes.“You did it, girl,” she clasped my hands after taking her seat next to me. “No, we did it. I couldn't have done any of this without you. Thank you, my friend,” I complimented her, looking her straight in the eyes.“C’mon, you k
Dominic’s pov:The first sound I heard was not a voice.It was chaos.Faint at first—like static. Then sharper. Words. Fragments. Shouting. Headlines.My eyelids were heavy. My limbs, stone. But the noise persisted, scraping against the edge of consciousness until I couldn’t ignore it anymore.“…Linda Blackwood implicated in multi-million dollar charity fraud…”“…evictions, offshore accounts, demolition of shelters…”“…anonymous leak reveals illegal real estate dealings tied to Chase Foundation…”I blinked. Slowly. Painfully.White ceiling. Beeping monitor. Sterile air.Hospital.I blinked again, turning my head—just slightly. A television screen mounted on the wall flickered with images. Linda’s face. Her signature smile, now twisted beneath grainy surveillance footage.Words scrolled across the bottom of the screen:“Public Outrage as Linda Blackwood’s Crimes Go Viral — Sources Say Ex-Wife of Dominic Khan Behind Years of Corruption.”The next clip: A woman walking out of a building
Suzanne’s pov:The dining room table was covered in maps, laptops, scattered printouts, and half-drunk cups of coffee. Outside, the sky was still a soft bruised purple, the sun barely peeking above the horizon, but inside this house, war was already underway.Ford leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his usual calm now coated in disbelief. “You’re telling me Linda’s been running an international laundering ring through fake charities?”“Yes,” I said, my voice low, but sure. “She’s evicted children, bribed officials, funnelled money through shell companies, and built a house of cards with bloodstained mortar.”Desmond cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his hair. “No wonder she didn’t blink when you threatened her. She’s been above consequences for too long.”“And she’s good at hiding it,” Stella added, eyes glued to her laptop screen. “The kind of good you only get when you’ve been doing this for years.”I looked at each of them, feeling the weight of the moment press d
Suzanne's pov:My blood ran cold.“She’s planning something,” Desmond said quietly.I looked down at Dominic’s face in one of the photos—still pale, still resting. Unaware of the war being waged around him.And I made a vow to myself, to my heart, to everything we’d built in the shadows of a contract:I will defend you—even if it breaks me.I stood at the window of Dominic’s study long after the house had gone silent. The city skyline stared back at me—cold, glittering, distant. Somewhere out there, Linda was probably swirling her wine, smiling at the chaos she left behind.“I want Dominic.”The words haunted me, not because of their audacity, but because of the calm conviction with which she said them.I had tried to threaten her. I’d offered her money, and even shown her proof of her crimes—but Linda hadn’t even flinched.She burned the evidence in my face and walked away like she’d already won.My threats meant nothing to her.It was at that moment I realized I wasn’t dealing with
Suzanne’s pov: The ride home was quiet.Not because the night was peaceful—no, it was anything but. It was quiet because my mind was on a battlefield. Each of Linda’s words replayed over and over again, like a curse refusing to loosen its grip.“You think this is about money?”“I want Dominic.”“He was never yours.”I stared out the window, the city lights flashing like warnings in the glass. Even the comfort of Stella’s presence beside me in the back seat couldn’t erase the cold grip around my heart. I didn’t say a word, and she didn’t push. For once, she let silence hold us.Linda wasn’t just bitter. She wasn’t just possessive.She was dangerous.And somewhere deep inside, I knew—I had just poked a maniac in the eye.When we pulled into the driveway, I stepped out slowly, clutching my coat tighter around me. Stella said something about needing to check on Kai. I nodded absently and made my way toward the house, my heels sounding sharper than usual against the marble floor.I did
Suzanne's pov:The wind whispered across the rooftop like it knew the secrets of the night.I stared at Linda, her golden hair shimmering under the dim rooftop lights of the abandoned penthouse we traced her to.We waited for Tavon to leave, I felt this should be handled by women without any man interfering She leaned on the rail like a goddess of destruction, sipping something pink and poisonous-looking.Behind her, the city lights blinked like dying stars, nothing but distant witnesses.She hadn't even flinched when I walked in."Well, if it isn't Mrs. Khan," Linda purred, turning slightly, her sea-blue eyes glinting like blades. "How's the billionaire husband doing? Still, panting after you like a desperate fool? Oh, I just remembered, he can’t even move."I ignored the venom, stepping forward and unzipping the sleek black leather bag I carried."Linda," I said, my voice low but steady, "take the money. Leave town. Disappear. Let the devil himself wonder where you went. Just leav