LOGINEmily turned away from the glass.She did not pause.She did not look back.If she did, she knew she would not have the strength to leave.Her footsteps were quiet against the polished hospital floor as she walked past Nancy.Nancy was standing a few steps away, arms folded, her lips curved in a slow, satisfied smile. The expression of someone who had already won.Emily did not acknowledge it.She simply kept walking.But inside, her chest felt like it was being torn apart.It was not only Charles.It was everything.Her future.Her graduation.Her friend Lizzy.Her cat that always waited for her by the door.Justin.The one person who had was the man version of her.The decision had come too suddenly. Too abrupt. She had been thinking of ways to escape the prison cell, ways to clear her name, ways to survive.But she had never imagined Nancy would appear.Never imagined her offer. Her signature for her freedom.Emily tightened her grip on the folder in her hands.The divorce papers f
The words settled heavily between them.It sounded simple.Divorce.Freedom or a cell.But what about her graduation? Her future?Nancy folded her arms, her patience thinning. “This offer will not come again. I do not have time to wait. Leave it or sign it, the choice is yours! ”“You have no one to help you out, Emily,” Nancy continued smoothly, her voice coated in sugar and poison. “And by the way, I heard the old man has no intention of letting you attend your graduation. This entire incident?” She gestured vaguely to the cell. “A setup. Just to keep you here. Quiet. Out of sight. Until Warren returns and marries you off as planned.”She leaned closer to the bars, lowering her voice to a near whisper.“Poor Emily.”There was no sympathy in her eyes.“You see, it has always been about his grandsons. Always. You were never anything more than a servant wearing the Adam name until it suited them to take it back.” Her lips curved into a satisfied smirk. “A slave to the Adam family until
The officer shifted a file in his hands. “We understand your statement. However, a pregnant woman fell, was injured, and her account, supported by witnesses and video footage taken by other students, has been filed as a formal complaint. Under the law, Ms. Greyson, this is considered a serious offense.”Emily’s chest tightened. “Serious? You… you’re saying I could go to jail? For this?”The officer nodded, his tone clinical, devoid of pity. “Yes. At this stage, you are being held on suspicion. You will remain in custody until bail is set and until the investigation is concluded. You are legally obligated to appear for all proceedings. Failure to do so will be considered contempt of court.”Her knees felt weak. “But… I didn’t do anything! I am not a criminal!” Her voice cracked, tears forming at the edge of her eyes. “This was a setup. Someone… someone planned this!”The officer glanced at his partner. “Ms. Greyson, you have every right to claim innocence. But the law treats complaints
But Claudette noticed.She stepped forward and, without warning, slapped Emily across the face.The sound cracked through the courtyard.Gasps followed.“How dare you speak like that!” Claudette shrieked. “You’re jealous of your own sister! You forced us out of your mother’s house when we had nowhere to go! I begged you. I knelt in front of you! But you were cruel. You shut the door on us and let us sleep in the streets!”She turned dramatically toward the growing crowd.“And do you know what happened next?” she demanded, her voice breaking perfectly on cue. “Because of Emily’s cruelty, Nichole was abused! That baby she’s carrying is the result of that abuse. All because Emily let us sleep outside like dogs!”The courtyard erupted into whispers.“That’s horrible…”“How can someone be that heartless?”“She looks so innocent though.”“I guess looks can be deceiving.”Each comment sliced deeper than the last.Emily struggled to breathe.Not because she believed them.But because she coul
For a brief moment, even the air seemed to freeze.Butler Frank did not move. Only his eyes shifted slightly toward the Old Master.Old Master Frederick looked at Emily as though she had committed an unforgivable offense.“Set you free?” he repeated slowly.There was no anger in his voice.That was far more unsettling.A dangerous calm settled over him, the kind that precedes something irreversible.“You speak as if you were dragged here in chains,” he said, striking his gold cane sharply against the marble floor. The crack echoed through the hall. “No one forced you. You signed the agreement of your own free will. You accepted every condition with full awareness. Do not stand there and pretend you are some helpless victim.”He struck the cane again, harder this time. The sound rang louder, heavy with restrained fury.Emily’s chest tightened.The Old Master gave a subtle nod.Butler Frank moved immediately. He stepped forward and handed Emily a black envelope before returning to his o
Emily stayed on the bench, her body still but her senses sharp.Every time headlights turned into the hospital driveway, her heart jumped. She straightened, scanning each car carefully. White sedans. Ambulances. A delivery van. None of them familiar.She memorized Nancy’s luxury car. Carlos’s dark SUV. She knew their shapes now. The shine of their paint. The way their tinted windows reflected the lights.Each time a black car slowed near the entrance, her breath caught.But when she leaned forward, squinting through the dim glow inside, no silhouette matched Nancy’s elegant posture or Carlos’s rigid frame.Nancy was not leaving.The thought stung more than the cold.Of course, she would stay. She was inside. By his bedside. Probably holding his hand. Probably speaking softly to him. Telling everyone she was the devoted fiancée.Emily’s fingers tightened around the edge of the bench.Jealousy crept in quietly, then spread like ink in water.As the woman he saved, she wanted to be there
Emily stood barefoot beside the car, the warm sand curling between her toes. The salty breeze tousled her hair as she looked out at the endless blue, her eyes wide with wonder. She inhaled deeply, the scent of the ocean wrapping around her like a memory.Then she turned to Charles.He stood there,
The drive back to the Adam estate was quiet, but not the kind of silence that weighed. It was the kind that lingered after laughter, after kisses, after something real had been shared. Emily leaned her head against the window, her fingers still tingling from where they’d laced with Charles’s in the
Charles sat alone in his room, the lights dimmed low, the silence pressing in like a second skin. The door was locked. The world outside—Nancy was sleeping in the guest room.In his hand was a glass of whiskey, half-melted ice clinking softly as he swirled it. He hadn’t touched it in minutes.His m
Emily sat on the edge of her bed, the photo still burned into her mind. The intimacy of it. The precision. The timing. Someone had been close—too close. And they hadn’t just stumbled upon her and Charles. They had waited. Watched. Captured.But who?Her thoughts spiraled.Could it be someone from W







