~~Alex~~Ethan started again, a little slower this time. “Your sister and her sister—”My grip tightened around the phone. “I dare you to complete that sentence.”There was a beat of silence, and I could practically hear his throat working. When he spoke again, his tone had shifter softer, cautious. “I mean… the Young Miss. And Vice President Lena.”I exhaled through my nose, sharp. “Better. And let me make this clear, Ethan don’t you ever, ever, call Lena anyone’s sister-in-law again. Not when it ties her name to my Jay. Not now, not ever.”The words came out rougher than I meant, but I didn’t take them back.Because why the fuck did it feel like fire in my veins, just hearing her name strung alongside his? Why did my chest lock up like Jay was being stolen from me, like he wasn’t already mine?I pinched the bridge of my nose, pacing the hall. God, I knew I liked him I wasn’t blind to myself. But the way I sounded just now? The way my voice broke, the way it boiled over like a jealou
~~Alex ~~Jay’s and I new home still smelled like fresh paint, like someone had tried too hard to scrub the place clean of history. I wandered through the corridor, hands in my pockets, until my steps slowed in front of the medical wing. White walls, spotless floors, all clinical perfection. I tilted my head and glanced at James.“So,” I asked, nodding toward the place, “do you think this will do?”He gave me a look like I’d just asked him to pick out drapes. “Dude, I’m a medical doctor, not an interior designer. What the fuck does my opinion matter?”I smirked. “I’m asking about the medical wing, genius, not the feng shui. Why are you acting like I’m depriving you of sex?”James didn’t miss a beat. He turned, deadpan, and said, “At least I don’t get my fellow man pregnant.”I blinked, then pressed a hand to my chest in mock horror. “Wow. Straight for the jugular. And here I was trying to bond.” James is so fucking annoying right now..I shoved James’s shoulder lightly, still smirkin
Third person POV Richard’s breath hitched, his chest heaving as Eleanor’s words echoed in the silence. His face twisted, and before she could blink, his palm came crashing down on the table beside him. The thunderous crack jolted through the room, rattling the vase at the edge.“Enough!” he roared, his voice raw. “You think you were a mother? You were nothing but a shadow in their lives. A useless woman clinging to sentiment, too weak to make a single choice without me holding your hand. If anyone failed those children, it was you!”Eleanor flinched as though the words had struck her flesh. Her lips parted, but no sound came. The sob in her throat turned to ice.He leaned forward, his eyes burning into hers, the fury unchained now. “Don’t talk to me about pride. At least I gave them a future, a name, a legacy. What did you give them, Eleanor? Tears? Empty lullabies? Do you even know what your children needed, or were you too busy drowning in your own fragility?”The silence that foll
Third Person POVThe Hale estate was still wrapped in the hush of early morning when Madam Hale’s phone rang. The name flashing across the screen made her heart stumble the Yakuza head himself.Her fingers trembled as she answered, voice taut with hope and dread.“Eleanor,” the deep voice on the other end began. “Your daughter Lena has been sighted in Japan. We do not have her in custody yet, but she is alive. Healthy. There is no sign she was kidnapped.”For a moment she couldn’t breathe. Alive. Healthy. Not kidnapped. The words echoed like bells through her skull, cutting through weeks of fear. If Lena run away with her pregnancy, it is understandable then because madam Hale knows she was never supportive of any of her children.When the call ended, the video clip he sent followed grainy footage, but clear enough. Lena, moving on her own. Breathing. Existing. And she was fighting a group of people when do hell did she become a gangster? She thought Tears spilled down Madam Hale’s c
~~Nina~~Entering a private estate for the first time in my life was something I never expected, but this… this wasn’t a house. It was a castle buried underground. Marble floors that gleamed like water, walls so polished they practically whispered wealth, and a security system so sharp I swear if I sneezed too loud, lasers would cut me into bite-sized pieces.Everything screamed money, power, untouchable authority.And me? I didn’t belong here. Not really.But what I couldn’t figure out what kept buzzing in my head like a mosquito I couldn’t swat was why these men were so hell-bent on separating me from Dahlia. Every move I made, every glance I threw her way, there was always someone watching, ready to pounce.What, was the original Lena Hale some kind of criminal? Or a monster wrapped in pretty clothes? Because nothing else made sense. They were treating me like I was radioactive.“Are you done with your food?” Dahlia’s voice broke through my spiral.I glanced up. She was leaning on
Third Person POVThe room smelled of incense and smoke, heavy with the weight of silence. Shadows clung to the lacquered walls of the Yakuza family estate, broken only by the dim glow of the lanterns. Men in black suits knelt low to the ground, heads bowed, as the sliding door whispered shut behind them.At the far end sat the Oyabun the old, madam Hale called uncle. His presence alone filled the room, larger than the silence itself. His face was carved from stone, his eyes sharp as blades that had seen more blood than mercy. Fingers adorned with gold rings drummed against the armrest of his chair, a sound that made every kneeling man sweat through his suit.One of them spoke, voice trembling but steady enough to carry.“Master… we recovered footage from the street cameras. Young Miss Lena… she was seen fighting. In the open in Japan.”The Oyabun’s gaze sharpened, a slow, dangerous narrowing. “Fighting?” His voice was low, almost soft yet it carried a weight that pressed down on every