Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire

(Ava)I push myself up in bed. “I’m going to see my baby.” I start to rip off patches.The doctor puts his hand on my arm. “Ava… Your mental health is in question. Legally, you aren’t allowed to see her.”His words cut through me like a sword. How can they think I would ever hurt my baby?“I am her mother. I will never hurt her! She needs me right now, I have to see her!”The doctor offers a subdued nod. “Ms. Lancaster, I’m sorry. I truly am. But I could lose my job if I take you.”I whisper, voice hard. “I’m going to see Lila, now. Even if I have to crawl there and end up in jail.”“I’ll take you.” The male nurse fixing my IV says with a smile, “Nico, nice to meet you.”He looks like he should be on a most wanted poster with that neck tattoo. But he is my only choice.The doctor holds up his hands. “Okay. I never heard anything,” and leaves the room.***Nico pulls the door open and pulls my wheelchair backwards into the room. He turns the chair to face the bed.And my heart shatter

(Ava)What do I do now? I am a woman who just “kidnapped” her daughter from the hospital and watched her die in my arms. The police will be here anytime to take me away. Then I'll no doubt be put in a mental institution forever, courtesy of Sienna.I don’t want that. In fact, I don't want anything in this world that I can't share with Lila.I should scream. I should rage. But all that’s left is silence.I head to the shed.I find gasoline.I move through the house, pouring gasoline around the perimeter of each room.I let the gasoline cover the memories I have in each room.The smell is awful but that doesn’t matter now. Lila can’t smell anything anymore.I wash my hands and light some tea candles, and I throw them on the floor.I watch the flames catch and spread slowly.I go back to Lila.The other candles I place safely on the sideboard near the window away from the gasoline-soaked floor. For now.I snuggle into the cushions and blankets and lift my daughter onto my lap and rock

(Zach)Sunday mornings at the Lorne estate are sacred—my one carved-out moment in a life otherwise owned by contracts, shareholders.Sienna takes the kids, leaving Ava and I to catch up on more personal affairs for a few hours. And usually we fill those hours focusing on the pleasures we have to offer each other.Sundays are not for work. My home is not for business. That is my one hard and fast rule.Which is why I’m two seconds away from smashing my phone when I see the name on the screen. Michelle. My new trainee assistant. She’s been on the job for a month. The company policies are made very clear. The only person who can contact me is my PA Cal, and it would have to be life or death. I step into the hallway outside our bedroom door, lowering my voice. “This better be good.” She stammers immediately. “I-I’m sorry, Mr. Lorne, but the Berlin contract needs your approval—the European board’s pressing for confirmation before noon on the 18th—” I grind my molars. “Michelle, the e

(Ava)My shoulders square. “I do want them to have everything, yes. But not at anyone’s expense.”She narrows her gaze. “Meaning?”I swallow. “Just that no one in this family should have to sacrifice too much for the others.”She laughs lightly, but it sounds hollow. “Sacrifice is part of parenting. You’ll learn that more and more with Lila. You do whatever it takes to protect your child.”I hear an edge in her words and feel a chill. “I agree. I’ll do anything for Lila.”“And I’ll do anything for Kai,” she says. Her gaze flicks toward the ice cream truck line, where Zach and Kai are clowning around. Then her eyes shift back to me. “Sometimes, hard choices have to be made. You understand that, right?”I focus on Lila’s rhythmic breathing, the warmth of her tiny body resting on my lap. “I understand hard choices,” I say quietly. “I also understand the difference between doing what’s right and… crossing lines.”Sienna’s lips curve into a slight smile. “Of course, everything is black a

(Ava)I tense more. He notices my frown. “Hey,” he murmurs, voice gentler now. “I’m here, Ava. Talk to me.”Like I can speak when his lips are on my neck, nibbling my ear lobe.I can’t tell him the truth—that I’m terrified of losing Lila again, that I’ve lived an entire future he hasn’t.Instead, I lean into my natural reaction to him. I try to close my thoughts off just for now and simply feel.I slide my arms around his neck. “Kiss me,” I manage, desperate to drown out my thoughts in the one thing that has always felt real between us.He doesn’t hesitate. His lips capture mine in a rush, fervent and insistent. His tongue brushing mine. But not hard. More gentle and inquiring than insistent.My fingers tangle in his hair, and for a moment, I let myself get lost in the taste of him, the warmth, the sense of belonging that used to be the cornerstone of our marriage.Every breath is an intoxication of what we once had—of what could still be, if I manage to stop the betrayal that thr