เข้าสู่ระบบDiane’s POVMorning light filters through the curtains like it has no right to be so gentle after everything that happened last night.I wake up with a dull headache and an ache in my chest that feels permanent. The jacuzzi water had gone cold hours ago, but I stayed in it anyway, clutching Mom’s diary like a lifeline until my fingers pruned and my eyes burned from crying. Eventually I dragged myself to bed, still wrapped in a towel, and stared at the ceiling until sleep finally claimed me out of pity.Now, the bed feels too big. Too empty. Jason’s side is untouched, the pillow still perfectly fluffed. I reach out anyway, fingers brushing the cold sheets, and the emptiness hits me all over again.I asked him to sleep elsewhere so of course he did. A part of me wishes he tried to talk me out of it but I guess he was too drunk to have a decent conversation.I force myself up, shower mechanically, and get dressed in a simple black pantsuit. I need work. If I stay here any longer, surroun
Diane’s POVThe elevator dings, and I don’t even have the energy to hope anymore.Liam steps out looking like a ghost of the man I used to know. His eyes are bloodshot, shoulders slumped under the weight of the world, hair messy like he’d been running his hands through it for hours. He smells faintly of whiskey, but it’s not enough to hide the devastation rolling off him in waves.“Diane…” His voice breaks the second he sees me. It’s raw and cracked. It’s the kind of sound that comes from someone who’s been screaming into pillows and still hasn’t found relief.He walks straight into my arms, and I hold him. It feels like the right thing to do. His body shakes against mine as quiet, gut-wrenching sobs tear through him.“They found him,” he whispers against my shoulder. “My dad… he’s really gone. They murdered him. And I keep thinking… what was the point of any of it? All the fighting for justice, all the years believing the system would work. It’s all bullshit. Everything’s bullshit.”
Jason’s POVThe elevator doors close behind me, and the penthouse disappears like a bad dream. I don’t look back. I can’t. The image of Diane’s hopeful face that I destroyed is already burned into my mind.I drive aimlessly at first, hands gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles ache. Then I find myself heading toward Ember, the same dimly lit bar where I first approached Elise. Fitting, I suppose.Birthdays. I never celebrate them and I never want to. Because every single one I remember was poisoned by him. Richard Walker.The man I just discovered is my biological uncle. The illegitimate son of my grandfather, just like I was the illegitimate son of my father. Two unwanted bastards from the same powerful bloodline. The irony is so sick it makes me want to laugh until I vomit.I walk into Ember and head straight for the bar. “Whiskey. Double. Keep them coming.”The bartender nods without question. Smart man.I throw back the first glass in one burning swallow. It doesn’t help
Diane’s POVThe smile stays frozen on my face even after his hands leave my cheeks. Even after he steps back. It's the kind of smile that gets stuck, like a sticker you can't peel off without tearing something underneath.Jason looks at me and through me. His eyes have that glassy distance I’ve only seen a handful of times, usually right before he shuts down completely."Jason?" My voice cracks. The word hangs there between us, too small for everything I need it to carry.He turns away slowly, like I’m a door he’s closing, a chapter he’s finishing. His shoulders don’t even tense as he walks toward the elevator. Nothing about him falters.The elevator dings. I keep wishing he’ll turn around, just once. Run back into my arms and tell me he loves it. But he doesn’t. He steps inside. The doors slide shut.He never looked back.The silence starts small, then expands. It fills the corners of the penthouse, creeps under the furniture, pools in the spaces where his voice used to be. I stand t
Jason’s POVThe fork in my hand stops halfway to my mouth as I stare at Uncle Robert. “What?”He takes a slow sip of his wine, eyes heavy with the weight of old secrets. The private corner of the restaurant suddenly feels too quiet.“Richard Walker… is our half-brother,” Robert says quietly. “He is the illegitimate brother. My father had an affair with a poor woman from the city before he married my mother. Richard was the result. They never acknowledged him. Never gave him the Harrington name. He grew up watching us from the outside. He saw the big house, the money and the company my father built from nothing. Casper and I got everything. Richard got nothing but resentment.”I set the fork down slowly, my appetite gone. “You’re telling me Richard is… my uncle?”Robert nods. “By blood, yes. He’s been obsessed with the family for decades. He kept tabs on all of us. When the company started growing under Casper, Richard watched every move. He has always hated us. He hated that we had w
CHAPTER 66Jason’s POVMy phone vibrates on the desk again. I glance at it, a small smirk tugging at my lips before I can stop it.Elise: So you’re telling me you actually like pineapple on pizza? I thought billionaires were supposed to have better taste 😂I lean back in my chair, thumbs moving across the screen.Jason: Don’t knock it until you try it. Sweet and savory. Life needs balance. What’s your go-to order then, Miss Traditional?Elise: Pepperoni and extra cheese. Simple and reliable. Unlike some people who put fruit on pizza 😏I chuckle under my breath. The conversation started days ago under the excuse of planning a surprise for Diane which hasn’t even happened yet. But it’s drifted to a natural and easy relationship online. She’s opening up more. Now she tells little jokes, complains about long days and I get small glimpses into her life. It’s exactly what I need. I need her to get so comfortable that she gives me all the information I need about Richard without anything c







