LOGINAnd she was about to meet him in less than an hour.She opened her desk drawer and found a small mirror. She checked her appearance....her makeup was still intact, her hair was still styled professionally, her black blazer and white blouse were still crisp and polished.She looked capable.She looked professional.But inside, her heart was racing.She spent the next forty-five minutes reviewing her notes on the projects she was leading. She rehearsed in her head what she would say about the sustainable furniture line, about the hotel redesign, about the collector's apartment project. She thought about the questions he might ask and how she would answer them.She prepared herself to meet a stranger who now controlled her company.She did not let herself think about the feeling of uneasiness that had been growing all morning, or the way her hands had shaken when she tried to pick up her pen.She simply sat at her desk, and waited for the meeting notification.***The notification came t
The morning light filtering through Lyra's office window was the same soft gold it had been every morning for the past week.But everything else felt different.She'd been sitting at her desk for twenty minutes, staring at the design sketches for the sustainable furniture line without actually seeing them. Her coffee had gone cold beside her. Her mind was somewhere else entirely, somewhere between here and there, present but not quite anchored.There was a knock on her door."Come in," she called, grateful for the distraction.Emma entered with her usual energy, a folder of documents in her hands. She set them down on Lyra's desk with a soft pat."Morning signatures," Emma said with a smile. "Nothing urgent, just the standard approvals for the furniture project budget and the hotel redesign timeline adjustments."Lyra pulled the documents toward her and began reading through them. The past week had been a crash course in understanding Stella Design House's processes, approval chains,
She picked up one of the photographs....Lyra at her graduation, holding her diploma, looking radiant.How had she gotten here? How had she managed to create a distance so wide that her daughter had fled the continent?The knock on the door was soft but firm."Come in," Isabella said without looking up.Victor entered. He'd been giving her space, but Isabella could see in his expression that her husband was beginning to worry. His face was lined with concern, his eyes tired from the stress of the past weeks.He didn't say anything. He simply moved to where Isabella sat on the bed and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.Isabella looked up at him, and her eyes immediately filled with tears."I miss her, Victor," she whispered. "I miss her so much. And I don't know if I should hate myself for driving her away like that."Victor sat down beside her, his weight causing the mattress to dip slightly. "You didn't drive her away, Isabella," he said quietly. "She made her own choice to go to R
Emma opened her folder and started outlining the projects.For the next three hours, Lyra threw herself into work with the kind of focus that only came when you needed distraction desperately.There was a sustainable furniture line that was in the design phase, they were working with local craftspeople to create pieces that were both beautiful and ethically sourced. There was a redesign of a boutique hotel lobby that needed to happen within eight weeks. There was a consultation with a private collector who wanted a complete interior overhaul of his Rome apartment.The work was exactly the kind of work Lyra had been dreaming about.And it was impossible to fully enjoy it while her mind was spinning with questions about acquisitions and mysterious buyers and CEOs arriving this week.Emma walked her through the timelines, showed her the previous design sketches, introduced her to the team members she'd be working with most closely. Everyone was professional but subdued. There was an unde
The morning light coming through her bedroom window was soft and promising.Lyra woke with a flutter in her chest that she'd almost forgotten how to feel...the nervous excitement of a first day. Not at school, not at an internship, but at a real job. A senior position. A place where she would be taken seriously and where her work would matter.She lay in bed for a moment, just breathing, letting the reality of it settle over her.Today was the day.She got up and went through her morning routine methodically. Shower. Skincare. Hair dried carefully and styled in soft waves that looked professional but not stiff. She wanted to look confident without trying too hard.In her closet, she stood for a long time deciding what to wear.This mattered. First impressions at a new job set the tone for how people saw you. She selected a tailored black blazer...expensive, well-cut, the kind that made you look like someone who knew what she was doing. She paired it with a crisp white silk blouse and
The knock on the office door was exactly on time.Marcus entered with the kind of efficiency that suggested he'd already accomplished what Damien had demanded. He carried a folder in one hand, his tablet in the other, and an expression of controlled satisfaction on his face."Sir," Marcus said, closing the door behind him.Damien turned from the window where he'd been standing, staring out at Rome.Marcus understood the silence. It meant: Give me the update."It's done," Marcus said simply. "Stella Design House has received our preliminary acquisition offer. The negotiations are moving faster than expected, they're aware of the Nightbale Group's interest and that carries significant weight. I anticipate we'll have the company under our control within the week."Damien nodded slightly."More importantly," Marcus continued, "I've already sent the employment letter to Lyra. Official offer for the position of Senior Design Consultant, starting Monday. The letter came from Stella Design Ho
Lyra set her phone down with shaking hands and stood up.Her legs felt weak, her body hypersensitive. Every movement of fabric against her skin made her gasp.She walked to the full-length mirror in her room and looked at herself.Her hair was disheveled from the flight and the stress. Her face was
Lyra stared at her phone screen, her heart still racing from the encounter in the hallway.DarkVeil: Welcome home, little one. Did you miss me?Her fingers trembled as she typed back.LyraNight: How did you know I got to New York? I didn't tell you I was flying home.The three dots appeared immedia
"The Mercers. They were good people. Are good people." Karla's eyes filled with fresh tears. "They passed away six months ago. Car accident. That's when I did the DNA test. I had no one left and I just... I needed to know if there was anyone out there who shared my blood."Isabelle made a soft soun
LYRA POV:The plane touched down at JFK with a jolt that matched the anxiety thrumming through Lyra's veins.She'd barely slept during the flight, her mind spinning with questions her mother refused to answer over the phone. Urgent. Family matter. Need you home. The words had echoed through her hea







