LOGINWe continued the tour to a two-story library at the end of the hall. I stopped in my tracks. “Well, hello there.” Zach looked at me. “You like it?”I walked in without answering.The walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A narrow wooden balcony ran along the upper level, with a spiral staircase tucked into one corner. Two old leather armchairs faced a large window, while a low table in the middle of the room held a few books and a chessboard.I picked up a novel from the nearest shelf and one of the pages had been folded over.“Zach.”“What?”“Do you dog-ear your books?”He glanced at the book in my hand. “Sometimes.”I stared at him in disappointment. “You have enough money to buy an entire bookstore, but you can't afford bookmark?”“I know which page I was on.”“By ruining it.”“You can still read the book, Bella.”I put it back on the shelf very carefully. “Monster.”He laughed.I took another look around.There were old novels with worn spines, history books, biogra
The first thing I saw when we turned onto Alder Cove's private road was a black iron gate standing between two rows of pine trees.The second was Max waking up from his nap and immediately asking if we were there yet. The kid had barely opened his eyes.“Not yet,” I told him.“But there's a gate.”“We still have a ways to go.”“Daddy?”“Almost there,” Zach said, slowing the car.Max immediately sat up straighter in his car seat. Beside him, Issa was still asleep with her cheek pressed against the seat cushion, her mouth slightly open, and the white sunglasses she'd been wearing earlier now resting in her lap. One of her lavender ribbons had gone crooked.I decided to let her sleep.She'd spent most of the drive explaining how she intended to spend her weekend as a princess, so I figured getting some rest was the best decision she'd made all day.The gate opened after security verified our vehicles. The SUV ahead of us went through first, and Zach followed the winding paved road into t
About forty minutes after leaving Blackpine, I'd already eaten half a bag of pretzels and was considering whether it was too early to open the potato chips.I didn't think so.I am on vacation.At least, that was what Zach had been telling me all morning, even though our vacation still involved a security SUV in front of us, another one behind us, and Marco occasionally sending updates through the car's communication system. The difference was that this time, Zach was driving himself.He sat beside me with one hand on the wheel, wearing a black T-shirt, jeans, and sunglasses that made him look entirely too good for a man who now had two four-year-old children.I'd known him long enough to know he liked driving, especially when he wasn't wearing a suit and rushing between meetings.As for me, I had absolutely no intention of doing anything.I'd already dealt with two kids' suitcases, my own suitcase, my laptop, chargers, sunscreen, medication, four kinds of snacks, one unicorn, Red Rex
Half an hour later, I was starting to regret agreeing to this trip. Not because of Alder Cove. But because my daughter had just asked for a separate suitcase for her sunglasses.I stood in Issa's bedroom, holding a small lavender suitcase that was already stuffed with clothes, while she sat on the carpet arranging five pairs of sunglasses in front of her.I had no idea where she'd gotten five pairs. All I knew was that three of them still had price tags attached.“Isabella.”“Hmm?”“We're not bringing a second suitcase just for sunglasses.”She looked up. “But what if my glasses get broken?”“We have a glasses case.”“Only one.”“And you only have one head.”Issa considered that for a moment. “But I have lots of outfits.”Oh God. Near the closet, Bianna was folding swimsuits and trying very hard not to laugh.I pointed at her. “You. Explain to this kid why five pairs of sunglasses don't need their own suitcase.”Bianna looked at Issa, then back at me. “Boss, I already tried.”“Try aga
About an hour later, the travel plans had been approved.Marco sent confirmation that the initial property inspection hadn't turned up anything that would require us to cancel the trip. A few final checks would be completed before we left, and I received a copy of the update directly on my tablet.I also checked in with Tania to make sure the Northlake investigation was still on schedule.She replied with a photo of three coffee cups on her desk and a message:TANIA: Boss, I've been at the office since this morning. If you're going to spend the weekend somewhere expensive, at least send me a picture of the view so I know what I'm suffering for.ME: Finish the timeline. I'll buy you coffee later.She sent back a crying emoji.I ignored it.By the time everything was finally settled, I was sitting in the family room with Bianna, helping separate the kids' dirty laundry from the growing mountain of stuff that had somehow accumulated since we moved into Blackpine.I found three of Max's s
Zach didn't smile right away, though I caught the corner of his mouth twitching. “Alder Cove is a private estate. The property is pretty large, and most of it is still forest. There's one main road in and a separate service entrance with its own access controls. The house is a long way from the nearest residential area.”“Who's the legal owner?”He swiped to the next page. A company name appeared on the screen.I read it twice. “Not Casa de Sanctis.”“No.”“And it doesn't have your family name on it.”“I bought it through a private holding company a few years ago.”I stared at him. “Of course you did. Why buy a house in your own name when you can involve three companies and make an accountant question his entire existence?”“Privacy.”“Every rich person's favorite excuse when they have something to hide.”“You used the name Torres in college.”I held up a finger. “Do not use my past as evidence for your defense.”He chuckled.“So there's no direct ownership connection to Casa de Sanc
Five years later.Oregon rain tapped softly against the kitchen’s glass wall. Steady, cold, and mildly annoying.The pan on the stove hissed quietly, the smell of almost-done corn arepas mixing with black coffee and the chorizo I was frying in the skillet next to it. A slow Latin playlist floated f
I sat on a slick wooden bench on a Boston sidewalk, my watch telling me it was well past midnight, and the only things keeping me company were a streetlamp and the constant buzz of phone notifications going off like a curse.My boyfriend was being kissed by an influencer on a five-inch screen.I st
And then... the blue eyes I’d once punched found mine across the crowd.Oh, good.Just fantastic.If the universe had a sense of humor, it was definitely drunk.I didn’t know who moved first. Maybe not him. Maybe not me. Maybe the room just suddenly felt too tight, too bright, too full of people wh
Five days in the Gómez house felt like being tossed into an industrial washing machine: spinning, loud, warm, and there was always someone shoving food at you even after you’d just said you were full.On day one, Mamá had already rearranged my entire schedule like I was back in eleventh grade and n







