Masuk[Carter’s pov]I was halfway through tearing apart another financial report when there was a sharp knock at my office door.“Come in.”The door opened, and Mallory stepped inside.Her expression was composed, but I’d worked with her long enough to catch the faint tension around her mouth.Something else.Because apparently the universe had decided that one disaster at a time wasn’t enough.I leaned back in my chair and pinched the bridge of my nose. “What now?”Mallory closed the door behind her and crossed the room. “Mr. Ronan is downstairs.”That made my hand freeze.I slowly looked up.“He says he wants to speak with you.”For a moment, I just stared at her.Then I let out a short, humorless laugh.Of course.The day my company was bleeding from every artery, the vultures had started circling. And at the front of the pack was Ronan. I leaned back further, my jaw tightening.What the hell did he want?A dozen ugly possibilities slammed through my head at once.Had he heard about our
[Carter’s pov]The second I stepped into the building, I knew something was wrong.There was a tension in the air so thick it practically crackled.People clustered in frantic groups near reception, whispering sharply. Phones were ringing nonstop. The moment the glass doors slid shut behind me, every head turned.And then just as quickly, everyone looked away.That told me everything.Bad news.Severe enough that no one wanted to be the first to deliver it. I loosened my tie as I strode across the marble floor, ignoring the nervous glances.Right now, I don't have the patience. Not after the hell of last night. Not after Olivia’s panic attack.Not after the revelation that Camilla had walked free because someone had stolen evidence from inside the department.I’d barely slept.My mind had spent the entire night piecing together possibilities, trying to figure out who would risk something that reckless.And deep down, I’d already suspected this wasn’t random. There was intent behind i
[Carter’s pov]The moment had been perfect.Too perfect.Olivia was still tucked against my side on the couch, her head resting on my shoulder, her fingers lazily tracing circles against my palm as we sat in the kind of peaceful silence I’d spent years craving.For the first time in what felt like forever, everything had felt right.Camilla was behind bars.Candice was going to be ours.And Olivia was smiling again.It was the kind that made me believe life could still offer something beautiful after all the destruction.Then my phone buzzed.Once.Twice.Three sharp vibrations against the coffee table.I frowned. At first, I ignored it. Whoever it was could wait. But when it buzzed a fourth time, urgency clawed at my gut.I leaned forward and grabbed it.The screen lit up with a message from my private investigator.And the second I read it, every ounce of warmth drained from my body.No.No.My stomach dropped so violently I thought I might be sick. “What is it?” Olivia’s voice was
[Carter’s pov]The room was quiet in a way that made every breath feel louder than it should.Candice was now with Nina and they have been getting along well. I sat beside Olivia on the couch, the dim golden light from the lamp washing over her features. She looked softer tonight, lighter somehow and yet my chest felt tight.Because despite everything we had survived, despite the relief that should have been filling me, there was one thing left troubling me.One thing I needed to ask her.I glanced down at my hands resting on my lap, flexing my fingers before I finally reached for hers.The second my skin brushed hers, Olivia turned toward me. Her eyes softened instantly. Even after everything, she still looked at me like I was someone worth loving.My throat tightened.I curled my fingers around her hand and held it carefully, almost reverently, as if she might disappear if I held on too tightly.Her hand was warm.I gave it a gentle squeeze, my thumb brushing over her knuckles.“Ol
[Olivia’s pov]The words stunned me. “What?”His hand didn’t leave my stomach. “She was arrested this morning.”Shock rippled through me. “How?”His jaw tightened. “Fraud. Attempt to murder. The man who attacked you confessed willingly.” The cold precision in his tone told me everything.He’d made sure of it.A strange mix of relief and disbelief flooded my chest. “She’s really gone?”“For now.” His thumb brushed softly across the curve of my belly. “She won’t be coming anywhere near you. Or our child.”The quiet certainty in his voice made something inside me finally unclench. It felt like I’d spent an eternity bracing for Camilla’s next move.Her next lie.Her next manipulation.And now she was behind bars. Unable to hurt anyone. I exhaled shakily. Carter’s gaze softened. Then he glanced briefly toward the garden doors. “Candice is sick.”The abrupt shift caught me off guard. “What? What do you mean?”He looked back at me. “She has a respiratory infection.”Concern immediately surg
[Olivia’s pov]After Ronan was gone and I was alone in the lounge. Thinking and overthinking on the issue. The first thing I noticed was the sound.The low rumble of tires against the gravel driveway outside.I had been sitting by the window in the upstairs sitting room, absently flipping through one of Nina’s aggressively curated pregnancy magazines while pretending not to stare outside every thirty seconds.The article in front of me was apparently trying to convince me that talking to my stomach in a cheerful voice would improve fetal development. “These articles are crazy!” At this point, I was fairly certain my baby had already been exposed to enough emotional chaos to come out either exceptionally resilient or deeply judgmental.Still, none of the words were really registering.Because my attention had been fixed on the long winding driveway beyond the glass.Waiting.Watching.Hoping.And now my heart lurched. A familiar black car curved through the front gates. For one breat
[Olivia’s pov]The room felt like it had stopped breathing.Just like I did silently.Camilla stood in front of me, the wine bottle raised in her hand. I glanced at her once again, pleading with my eyes that she stops. Meanwhile, Camilla had made it clear with her threat that she held so many grud
[Carter’s pov]Then there was silence. I could not speak anything. My mind struggled to catch up.“That’s not—” I shook my head instinctively. “That doesn’t make sense. How could Candice even do something so gruesome like this?” I denied. Not that I was worried that perhaps Olivia was lying to m
[Carter Velcro]“Lower your voice, Camilla.” The words tore out of me, rough and lethal. My teeth clenched so tightly my jaw ached.Camilla froze. For the first time, she was seeing a side of me she had never dared imagine. We stood in the drawing room, the air thick and suffocating, and still she h
[Olivia Jude Velcro]What was Carter even saying?He almost lost me. He was worried.The irony nearly choked me. Laughable even.How could I trust a man who had already shattered me once?“And?” I snapped. My heartbeat roared in my ears, frantic and uneven. I forced my face into indifference, though







