LOGIN"Anong nangyayari?" tanong ni Marek sa kanyang radyo. "Report! Nasaan ang bata?"
Tanging static ang sumagot. Maya-maya, isang boses ng babae ang narinig. Si Elena.
"Marek, nakalimutan mo yata. Ang Dark Sanctuary ay hindi lang isang kuta. Ito ay isang bitag. At pumasok kayo sa loob ng kumunoy."
Biglang bumukas ang mga sprinkle
[The Truth I Never Remembered]Paola’s POV“Ang pinakamalulupit na kasinungalingan ay hindi iyong sinasabi sa’yo ng ibang tao. Kundi iyong pinaniwala ka nilang sabihin sa sarili mo sa loob ng maraming taon.”Walang gumalaw matapos maputol ang tawag.Nasa kamay ko pa rin ang phone. Manhid na ang mga daliri ko sa higpit ng hawak ko rito.Nakatayo si Victor sa tapat ko, maputla sa unang pagkakataon mula nang pumasok ako sa suite na ito.Si Gabriel nasa tabi ko, tahimik at delikado, pero kahit ang presensya niya parang malayo ngayon.Dahil wala na ang isip ko sa kwartong ito.
[The Paper Between Us]Paola’s POV“Walang mas delikado kaysa sa lalaking kalmado habang hinihingi niyang baguhin mo ang buong buhay mo.”Nakahiga ang dokumento sa glass table ni Victor na parang patalim na binalot sa papel.Nakatayo si Gabriel sa tabi nito, basa pa ang coat niya mula sa ulan, pero sa akin lang nakatutok ang mga mata niya—hindi sa lalaking muntik na niyang sugurin kanina.Tahimik si Victor.Sa unang pagkakataon, kahit siya alam na may mas malaking bagay na pumasok sa kwartong ito.Tinitigan ko si Gabriel.“Anong pipirmahan ko?” tanong k
[Suite 1904]Paola’s POV“Some doors do not scare you because of what is behind them. They scare you because of who you were the last time they opened.”East Tower rises above the rain like a threat polished into architecture.I sit in the car with my hand wrapped around the black key card, trying to slow my breathing without admitting I’m afraid.Suite 1904.A number I buried so deeply I almost convinced myself it no longer belonged to me.Almost.My phone glows again.No new message.
[The Ghost I Created]Paola’s POV“There are people you survive once… and then spend years hoping never to meet again.”Dominic’s words do not leave the room after he says them.They stay.Heavy.Sharp.Breathing with us.Someone from your past… who never forgave you.I don’t move.I don’t blink.Because my body already knows something my mind is trying to deny.
[The Night We Became a Team Again]Paola’s POV“The most dangerous thing about loving Gabriel was that every time I tried to leave him, life found a way to tie us together again.”I used to think separation was simple.Move out.Hire lawyers.Create distance.Protect myself.But distance means nothing when the same enemy wants both of you destroyed.I stand in Gabriel’s private office past midnight, city lights burning through the glass walls, Catherine’s injunction spread across the conference table like a declaration of war.Across from me, Gabriel loosens his tie and studies the papers with cold focus.No anger.No panic.Just precision.That should comfort me.Instead, it makes my pulse race.Because this version of him—the calm one, the strategic one, the one who becomes sharper under pressure—has always been the hardest to resist.And tonight, resisting him may be more dangerous than trusting him.We’ve been here for two hours.Reviewing clauses.Tracing signatures.Checking tim
[What Was Inside the Envelope]Paola’s POV“I knew one envelope could destroy a marriage. I just didn’t know ours was already cracked enough to let it in.”The room stays silent after Catherine leaves.Too silent.Her perfume still lingers in the air like an insult.The envelope she slid across the table sits between Gabriel and me like a loaded weapon neither of us wants to touch first.He watches it.I watch him.For once, neither of us is pretending calm means control.Because whatever is inside that envelope was delivered with confidence.And confidence like Catherine’s usually means pain was prepared in advance.“Open it,” Gabriel says quietly.“You do it.”“She addressed it to you.”“That never stopped you before.”His jaw tightens.Mine does too.We are still us, apparently.Even in crisis.I reach for the envelope before pride can make this uglier.My fingers slide under the seal.The paper tears open softly.And somehow that sound feels violent.Inside are three things.A fol
[PAOLA POV]Hindi nagtagal ang katahimikan pagkatapos ng pagbagsak ng Pamilya Alcantara. Sa mundo ng kapangyarihan, ang katahimikan ay hindi katapusan; ito ay paghahanda lamang para sa susunod na labanan. At ang labanan na ito ay hindi na tungkol sa pera o assets; ito ay tungkol sa katotohanan at r
[PAOLA POV]Ang pag-alis namin sa Amalfi Coast ay puno ng satisfaction. Dalawang linggo kaming namuhay bilang simpleng mag-asawa—nagbahagi ng mga kuwento, nagtangkang magluto (at sumunog ng risotto), at lumangoy sa mga grotto na walang bakas ng negosyo o banta. Ngunit ang peace na iyon ay hindi nag
[KRISTOFF POV]Pagkatapos ng seremonyas, o sa madaling salita, ang aming kasal, hindi na kami nagtagal pa sa Tuscany. Ang pag-alis namin ay kasing-tahimik ng pagdating namin, ngunit ang pakiramdam ay ibang-iba. Hindi na kami mga heneral na naghahanda sa laban; kami ay mag-asawa na naghahanap ng kap
[PAOLA POV]Ginising ako ng amoy ng sariwang lavender at ang tahimik na sikat ng araw ng Tuscany. Ito ang Araw. Ang araw na matagal na naming binalak, hindi lamang bilang isang kasal, kundi bilang isang Koronasyon. Ito ang araw na pormal na tatapusin ang lahat ng nakaraan at sisimulan ang aming wal







