FAZER LOGINThe London Business Leadership Summit opened with its usual noise — camera flashes, the murmur of international delegates, the mix of ambition and rivalry thick in the air.But Charlotte barely felt any of it.She sat in the third row of the main conference hall, her fingers lightly gripping her notepad, her mind drifting back to the same place it always returned to now — Caleb, the investigation, and the haunting silence that followed his death.She tried to breathe steadily. Megan's voice echoed in her head: "Go. Clear your mind. Just go." Nelly had said the same thing.They all believed London would give her space, but instead, the noise inside her heart only grew louder.The bustling atmosphere around her only sharpened the emptiness within. Every cheerful conversation, every confident laugh from passing delegates, reminded Charlotte how isolated she truly felt. No change of scenery could silence grief that had settled so deeply inside her, refusing to loosen its grip.Every step
Nelly sat stiffly in the passenger seat, her fingers trembling against her lap as Marcel drove in silence toward the station.The morning traffic flowed steadily around them, but neither of them paid any attention to it. Nelly kept staring ahead through the windshield, her mind replaying everything that had happened over the last two days.He had argued with her for almost an hour earlier, insisting that they had pushed the line too far already.His words had been firm, leaving little room for negotiation. He had repeated himself over and over, trying to make her understand that what had started as a desperate search for justice had become something far more dangerous.She wanted to keep digging, convinced she could find just one more clue that would break everything open, but Marcel wouldn’t hear it.He told her she had no training, no protection, and no idea how violent men like Roland could be.Each warning had sounded painfully reasonable, yet it did little to quiet the determina
The night in New York was unusually quiet, but Marcel’s apartment was alive with tension. The laptop screen glowed between him and Nelly, casting pale light across their tired faces, while the air remained thick with fatigue, frustration, and the pressure of a mystery that refused to loosen its grip.Two days had passed since Nelly’s narrow escape at the bar, and the footage she’d recovered was now their only lead.The small apartment looked more like an investigation room than a home. Empty coffee cups sat on the table. Notes were scattered across every available surface. Neither of them had gotten much sleep, yet neither was willing to stop.Marcel scrolled through the files again, replaying the video of the shooting — frame by frame. Roland’s face appeared clearly this time, frozen in the act of pulling the trigger.Nelly’s hands tightened on the edge of the table. “That’s him,” she said under her breath, her voice trembling slightly. “The man who killed Caleb.”Marcel leaned clo
Charlotte sat quietly in her office, the letter of invitation lying open on her desk. The cream-colored paper rested beside a stack of untouched files and reports that had been gathering for weeks. It was from the Global Business Alliance, inviting her to speak at their annual summit in London.For a long time, she said nothing, only stared at the paper as if it were asking too much of her. The past months had left her hollow, and business felt like a foreign language. Once upon a time, an invitation like this would have excited her. She would have studied every detail, prepared for every session, and looked forward to the opportunity. Now, all she felt was exhaustion. The words on the page blurred together as her mind drifted elsewhere, toward memories she could neither silence nor escape.Megan leaned on the doorframe, watching her. Concern lingered in her eyes as she took in Charlotte's withdrawn appearance. “You should go,” she said softly. “You need this, Charlotte. You’ve be
Nathan’s phone buzzed on the desk while he was still midway through a meeting with a supplier.He stepped out into the corridor and pressed the screen to his ear.On the other end Inspector Dennis’ voice was sharp, businesslike. “Mr. O’Neil, we’ve been trying to reach you for two days. You were asked to report for questioning. If you’re not at the station in two hours we’ll come to you and place you under arrest by every means necessary.”Nathan started to reply, to explain the board commitments and the chaos of the last week, but the inspector cut him off. “This is not negotiable. You are a person of interest in a very sensitive investigation. Come now.”The words felt colder than the winter air outside. Nathan closed his eyes for a heartbeat, then told the supplier he’d return later.He took the main road to the station, hands gripping the steering wheel because there was no other way to steady himself.At the police station Dennis met him at the entrance with two officers. The int
She had tried talking first. The bartender’s eyes had slid cold when she showed Caleb’s picture. “You a cop?” he’d asked, trying to size her up.The question had come out casually, but there was something dangerous beneath it. His eyes lingered on the photograph for only a second before returning to her face. The look he gave her made it clear that he was measuring every word she spoke, every movement she made.Nelly had smiled and shrugged, playing casual, but he wasn’t interested.The bar’s atmosphere had turned hostile almost immediately. What had seemed like ordinary customers moments earlier suddenly felt like guards posted at invisible checkpoints. Three men materialised behind her, faces like threats.The bartender had made a cutting gesture with his hand; she understood and left without drama.There was no point pushing further. Not there. Not surrounded by men who looked like they solved problems with their fists before asking questions.That night she’d been shook, but not
“Charlie sis,” Celine called again, her lips curved into that familiar fake smile that never reached her eyes. “To celebrate my wedding with Nathan next week, Mom and Dad booked a private dining room at Trans-Hilton Hotel. You should come too.”The words settled in the room like dust.The name of t
Minutes later, minutes that stretched and warped into something that felt like eternity, the night exploded with sound.Ambulances screeched to a halt. Police vehicles surrounded the wreckage, their red and blue lights flashing violently against the trees, the broken road, the twisted metal. Siren
The urgent call from Marcel turned out to be strictly work-related, though it came at the worst possible time imaginable. A major client from New York—one Nathan had spent years carefully cultivating, had suddenly requested a face-to-face meeting, insisting emphatically that it had to be Nathan hi
Nathan strode toward her with long, furious steps and grabbed her wrist roughly, yanking her sharply to his side with barely controlled violence. His grip was tight, possessive, burning with panic and jealousy all at once, his fingers digging into her skin hard enough to leave marks."Who the hell







