Library
Search
Home / Romance / ONE WILD NIGHT / The Friend of the Family

Share

The Friend of the Family

Author: Koko miland
last update Last Updated: 2025-09-25 00:06:06

I stood outside the coffee shop on Fifth Street, checking my phone for the third time. 1:58 PM. Two minutes early, just like Patricia had taught me. Always arrive first, always control the meeting space, always have an exit strategy.

The mysterious message from "A friend of the family" had kept me awake for two nights. What if Victoria isn't the real enemy? The words echoed in my head like a warning bell.

The coffee shop was busy enough to hide in, but quiet enough to talk. I picked a table in the back corner, facing the door, with a clear view of the street. Paranoid? Maybe. But after everything I’d learned about Victoria’s web of connections, paranoia felt like survival.

“Maya Collins?”

I looked up. A woman was coming toward my table. She looked to be in her mid-fifties, with silver hair in a neat bun, wearing a dark blue jacket that looked expensive. She walked with the confidence of someone used to being in charge.

"Yes. You're the one who texted me?"

She sat down across from me w
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter
Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Latest chapter

  • ONE WILD NIGHT    The Choice

    Alex’s POVThe morning after Maya published everything, our world exploded. My phone rang nonstop from six o’clock, an endless stream of notifications and calls. News outlets, journalists, book publishers, movie producers—everyone wanted our story packaged, analyzed, and broadcast to the world.“CNN wants an interview,” I told Maya over breakfast, scrolling through another hundred messages. “So does The New York Times, Washington Post, ABC, NBC… and about forty more outlets.”“Good,” she said, feeding Emma with calm precision. “The more public we are, the safer we become. What did Walsh say?”“She’s furious we didn’t coordinate with the investigation first. But she admits it worked. We’re too visible now for quiet elimination. Killing us would create more problems than letting us live.”Jake appeared in the doorway, looking pale and worried. “There are reporters outside the gate. At least twenty of them, cameras everywhere. They’ve been here since dawn.”“Let them wait,” Maya said fir

  • ONE WILD NIGHT    The Warning2

    Maya’s POVFour months after Emma’s birth, I woke to an email that shattered our fragile peace.From: Unknown SenderSubject: Not OverMaya,Congratulations on your daughter. She’s beautiful. Three months old now—growing fast. I’ve been watching her through your living‑room windows.You think Crawford’s arrest ended this? You think exposing twenty‑three politicians dismantled decades of infrastructure?Your father found the surface corruption. The real network runs deeper than government officials and dirty cops.We don’t forget people who threaten us. We don’t forgive those who expose us.Consider this your only warning. Stop digging. Stop investigating. Focus on that beautiful daughter.Or lose her.My hands shook so violently the phone slipped from my fingers.“Alex!” My voice cracked. “Alex, wake up!”He sat up instantly, panic flashing through his eyes. “What is it? Emma?”I couldn’t speak. I just handed him the phone.His face drained of color.“They’ve been watching our house,”

  • ONE WILD NIGHT    Building Strength

    Alex’s POVThree months after Emma’s birth, the business hit another major milestone.“Three hundred twenty-eight thousand in monthly revenue,” James announced during our morning meeting. “We’re approaching four million annually.”The office was buzzing. Our team had grown to fifteen consultants, and our new space—twice as big as the last one—already felt crowded with desks, computers, and the controlled chaos of rapid growth.“The Vermont network is doing exceptionally well,” Sarah added, pride clear in her voice. “Every manufacturer is seeing growth. Average increase is forty-one percent year over year.”“And the landscaping association?” I asked.“Sixty-three companies enrolled now. Ninety-six percent retention rate. They’re even asking to expand to other states.” James looked up from his notes. “Alex, we have a waiting list of forty-three potential clients. We’re turning away business because we don’t have the capacity.”Success after success. Every metric climbing. Every client s

  • ONE WILD NIGHT    The Return2

    Maya’s POVMonday morning, I stood outside Roberto’s office for five full minutes before I could make myself go inside.My hands shook. My heart raced. Every instinct in me screamed to run home where it was safe, where Emma was, where nothing was demanded of me except survival.But I didn’t run.I pushed open the door.Roberto stood immediately, his face lighting up with genuine pleasure.“Maya! It’s so good to see you back.”“It’s good to see you too.” My voice only shook slightly.We sat in his cluttered office — papers everywhere, blueprints rolled up in corners, the organized chaos of a man running three businesses at once and loving every minute of it.“I heard about your mother,” he said gently. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”“Thank you. It’s been… difficult. But I’m healing slowly.”“And the baby? Emma, right?”“Almost three months old now. Perfect. Growing too fast.” Talking about Emma made my voice steadier. “But you didn’t ask me here to discuss my personal life. Alex said yo

  • ONE WILD NIGHT    Moving Forward

    Alex’s POVTwo months after Jennifer’s death, the business reached a level I once thought was impossible.“Two hundred fifty-three thousand dollars in monthly revenue,” James announced during our Monday meeting. “That puts us at over three million a year.”The conference room—our real conference room in our real office—buzzed with excitement. We now had ten consultants and a full support team. Real structure. Real growth.“The landscaping association contracts are doing extremely well,” Sarah added, showing her slides. “Ninety-two percent client satisfaction. And the average revenue for member companies went up by thirty-four percent.”I should have felt proud. I should have felt on top of the world. Instead, I felt the weight of responsibility—fifteen employees, more than seventy clients, and millions in revenue. The small startup had become a real company, and that brought a pressure I had never felt before.“What about Vermont?” I asked.“Marcus Brennan is locked in,” James said. “

  • ONE WILD NIGHT    The Breakthrough

    Maya’s POVFive weeks after Mom died, I woke up crying.It wasn’t the heavy, crushing crying that had wrapped around my chest for weeks. It wasn’t grief choking me until I couldn’t breathe. It was different. Soft. Loose. Like my body was finally letting out something it had been holding trapped inside for too long. Like a pressure valve opening slowly so the steam could escape.The tears weren’t from sadness. They weren’t from pain. They were just emotion—real, raw, and present in a way I hadn’t felt in so long.Alex woke up the moment he heard me, his hand landing gently on my shoulder in the dark.“What’s wrong? Is it Emma? Are you hurt?”His voice was tight with fear.“No,” I whispered, wiping my face even though the tears kept falling. “Nothing… everything… I don’t know. I just feel something. Not happiness. Not joy. But not nothing either. Just… feeling. Without the gray filter.”He stared at me through the faint morning light, trying to figure out if this was a breakdown or some

More Chapters

You may also like

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status