MasukThe trial ended on a grey Tuesday in late autumn.Elias was found guilty on all the major chargesāaggravated assault, stalking, unlawful surveillance, and conspiracy connected to the data breaches. The jury took less than four hours to reach a verdict. Helena's testimony was meant to make him seem more human, but instead it showed just how much she had fuelled his anger over the years. Niko's attempt to save himself fell apart during cross-examination after Mariel and Alaric presented the financial evidence they had uncovered. By the end of the day, the judge sentenced Elias to twelve years in prison. He wasn't going to be free anytime soon.Helena walked out of the courtroom without looking at either of us. A few months later, we heard she had closed her practice in Boston and moved overseas. Niko's career ended with a forced resignation, and the investigation left a permanent mark on his professional record. The hospital board, facing public criticism for everything that had happ
The rain had stopped, but the air still felt heavy, like the sky itself was holding its breath. Alaricās safe house in the Catskills sat in near-total silence, broken only by the occasional creak of old wood and the distant call of a night bird. We had been here three days, living like ghostsāsleeping in shifts, jumping at every sound, surviving on canned food and the fragile hope that the police would find Elias before he found us.I was curled on the couch with a blanket when the knock came.Three measured raps. Polite. Controlled.Alaric was instantly on his feet, gun in hand, motioning me to stay back. He moved to the window, peering through a crack in the curtain.His entire body went rigid.āItās Helena,ā he said, voice low.My stomach dropped. āDonāt open it.āBut he did.The rain had stopped, but the air still felt thick, like the storm hadnāt fully passed.The house was too quiet.Alaricās safe house in the Catskills sat in total silence, except for the occasional creak of ol
The lake house didnāt feel safe anymore.It felt exposed. Alaric stood at the kitchen counter, at 5:47 a.m. beside him. A cup of coffee sat untouched, already going cold. His attention was fixed on the photo Elias had sent, the one taken from outside our bedroom window while we slept. His jaw was clenched so tightly that his muscle tickled. The gun lay beside his mug, loaded and ready.āWe canāt stay here,ā he said quietly. āHeās too close.ā A pause. āAnd heās not doing this alone.āI wrapped my arms around myself, the oversized sweater of his I wore doing little to chase away the chill. āWho else would help him? Heās broke. Disgraced.āAlaric turned, eyes dark with something dangerous. āHelena. Or someone connected to her old network. People who owe her favors from the days when she ran half the board. People who donāt ask questions if the price is right.āHe opened his laptop on the table. For the next two hours we worked in tense silence. Alaric still had people he could call.
The call came at 3:12 a.m.Marielās phone rang first. Then mine.The ringing tone woke the whole house up.I was half-asleep on her couch, Alaricās arm still wrapped around my waist, when it pulled me upright. Mariel stumbled out of her room, hair a mess, still half in a dream as she answered. āHello?āThen her face changed instantly. Just like that.āPut it on speaker,ā I said, already sitting up.She did.āMs. Dane, this is Detective Ramirez. Elias Stone has escaped custody. He made bail yesterday afternoon and disappeared sometime after midnight. We believe he is armed and dangerous. Do not leave your apartment. Officers are on their way.āAlaricās arm tightened around me without thinking, his body going still beside mine.And just like that, the fear weād been trying to outrun was right back in the room with us.The room tilted.Everything felt suddenly unsteady, like the ground beneath me had shifted.Alaric was already moving out of bed, pulling on his clothes, his expression
The knock came at 2:17 a.m.I was half-asleep on Marielās couch, the TV playing softly in the background, when three sharp knocks sounded on the door.My heart jumped instantly. Elias was still in custody, but the fear hadnāt left me, it never really did.I reached for the baseball bat Mariel kept beside the couch and moved slowly to the door, peering through the peephole.Alaric.He stood in the hallway, coat pulled tight, eyes scanning the corridor like he expected danger to follow him.Relief hit so hard it almost made my knees weak.I unlocked the door quickly and pulled him inside before he could say anything. The moment it shut, he had me against it, his mouth crashing onto mine with months of pent-up hunger. His hands cupped my face, thumbs brushing my cheekbones as if making sure I was real.āYouāre here,ā I whispered between kisses, tasting rain and desperation on his lips.āI couldnāt stay away any longer,ā he said, breathing unevenly.And in that moment, nothing else matt
The morning after Nikoās testimony, the world felt⦠smaller and strange. Like the walls had shifted in overnight.My phone wouldnāt stop buzzing.Calls. Messages. Unknown numbers lighting up the screen one after another. A few names I actually recognized slipped in between, some old colleagues, people I hadnāt heard from in months. āJust checking on you.ā āIām so sorry youāre going through this.āBut under their fake pretending concern, they were fishing for details.The headlines weren't left out. Tweets, posts all over the internet.āDoctorās Secret Affair Exposed ā Patient Testifies in Sonās Assault Trial.āāSt. Lucia Scandal Deepens: Was It Love or Grooming?āI sat on Marielās couch in the same clothes from yesterday, knees drawn to my chest, staring at the glowing screen.Nikoās voice kept replaying in my head.The affair wasnāt mutual⦠It was manipulation.Mariel walked in with two steaming mugs and that look on her face⦠the one that meant sheād already decided how this was g
The SUV moved smoothly through traffic, with the city moving past the windshield. Alaricās hand rested on my thigh, his thumb tracing small, absent circles like he needed something to hold onto. Neither of us spoke. The meeting still felt like it happened a minute ago, it was hard to believe it.
The live feed displayed on my phone, me standing in the kitchen, frozen with my wide eyes staring back at the tiny black lens above the fridge. The words glowing in my phone;Smile, sweetheart. You are on camera.My hand was shaking so badly that even the screen of my phone was blurry in my eyes.T
We walked fast and silently to the park, with Alaric by my side. The fountain sprayed in the sunlight, sharp and cold. Every drop felt like a reminder.āSit,ā he said, his voice rough. He pressed a folded handkerchief to my neck, a soft linen.I caught the tiny initials stitched in one corner: A.S.
Elias stood ten feet away, with his phone in his hand and his face unreadable.āTracking app,ā he said evenly. āYou turned it off last night. I had to turn it back on.āHis calm scared me more than shouting would have. For a second, I wished the ground would just open up and swallow me whole.The a







