LOGINElara’s POVThe nursery took three days to finish, not because the room itself was complicated, but because nobody inside the estate could agree on anything without turning it into an argument first. Dean insisted the crib instructions were intentionally confusing, and Sofia claimed men only pretended not to understand instructions because they refused to ask questions.Axel assembled half a dresser backward and denied responsibility even while holding the wrong screws in his hand. Meanwhile, Ruin stood in the middle of the chaos, holding Aurelia with the serious concentration of someone trying to defuse explosives, and I leaned against the doorway, watching all of them quietly while warmth spread through my chest.This was what normal looked like: messy, loud, alive, not perfect but real. Ruin glanced toward me after finally noticing I had been standing there for several minutes.“You are enjoying this too much.” He said.“I am enjoying watching Axel lose a fight against furniture,”
Elara’s POVThe letter stayed unopened for almost two days, which alone showed how much Ruin had changed. The old version of him would have torn the envelope open immediately, searching for answers before emotion could interfere. He would have locked himself inside his office, obsessed over every sentence, and chased whatever truth emerged no matter how destructive it became, but now he waited, not out of fear but out of intention.He wanted to approach it calmly instead of through anger; that difference mattered more than he realised. The envelope sat on the dining room table through breakfast the next morning while rain tapped softly against the estate windows.Aurelia slept peacefully in the portable cradle beside us while Sofia argued with Dean about grocery inventory.“You bought six jars of pickles,” Sofia said.“They were discounted,” Dean replied.“We do not need six jars,” Sofia said.“We might be emotional,", Dean whispered.Luis walked into the kitchen halfway through the c
Elara’s POVThe moment the guard said the name Gabriel Novak, I felt Ruin’s entire body tense beside me – not visibly enough for most people to notice, but I noticed it. His shoulders stiffened slightly; his breathing slowed too much; and his expression became controlled in a dangerous way I had learned to recognise over time.The porch suddenly felt colder around Ruin, and we lowered the phone slowly after ending the call.“You know him?” I asked quietly.“No,” he said.The answer came too quickly – not a lie, exactly, but partial.I stepped closer. “You know something.”Ruin looked toward the dark road beyond the estate gates before answering. “Teresa Novak mentioned having a son years ago.”“The woman who brought your mother’s photographs,” I whispered.“Yes.” He said.The silence between us stretched carefully.“What does he want?” I asked.“He refuses to speak on the radio.” He replied.That alone explained the tension building inside him again; unknown variables always did. For
Elara’s POVNobody slept after Axel revealed what they found at the river property. The atmosphere inside the estate shifted immediately, not into panic, but into something colder and heavier. Old violence had a way of changing the emotional temperature of a room even before facts appeared.Ruin stood near the library window while Axel explained everything again in more detail.“One of the patrol teams noticed disturbed ground behind the burnt warehouse,” Axel said. “At first, they thought it was animal activity.”“And then?” Ruin asked quietly.“They uncovered human remains,” Axel replied.The room stayed silent, and I sat on the couch nearby, listening carefully while tension tightened slowly beneath my ribs.“Recent?” Ruin asked.“No,” Axel answered. “The body has been there a long time.”That mattered – not an active threat, not a fresh murder, but something old and buried. Still dangerous emotionally.Ruin crossed his arms tightly. “Identification?”“Not yet. The medical examiner
Elara’s POVThe woman waiting at the gate looked older than I expected; she stood beside an ageing blue sedan with both hands wrapped tightly around the strap of her purse while two guards remained nearby, watching cautiously. Grey streaked through her dark hair, and deep lines marked the corners of her eyes in ways that suggested exhaustion more than age.Ruin stopped beside me the moment we reached the checkpoint. His entire body had gone tense again, not aggressive but guarded. The woman noticed him immediately, and for a second her expression changed completely, recognition mixed painfully with disbelief.“You look exactly like him,” she whispered.Ruin’s voice stayed calm. “Who are you?”“My name is Teresa Novak.”The surname clearly meant something to him because his shoulders stiffened instantly.I glanced toward him quietly. “You know that name?”“My father worked with a Novak once,” he answered without looking at me.Teresa nodded slowly. “My husband",Silence settled heavily
Elara’s POVThe old river property had been abandoned for nearly four years; nobody used it anymore after the warehouse fire that had almost killed three members during one of the earlier wars between rival groups. The land still technically belonged to the club, but Ruin shut operations there down permanently after taking leadership.It was too isolated, exposed, and tied to old violence. That was why the message unsettled him immediately, not because lights being turned on automatically meant danger but because somebody wanted attention badly enough to risk entering abandoned territory connected to the club’s history.Still, what surprised me most was what happened next. Ruin did not leave immediately. Months ago, he would already have been halfway out the door before explaining anything to anyone. Instead, he picked up the phone and called Axel first.“I got the alert,” Axel answered immediately. “I already dispatched a perimeter team.”Ruin glanced toward me briefly before speakin
Elara’s POVThe morning began too quietly, and I had already learned that silence inside Ruin’s world usually meant danger was waiting to breathe.Sunlight filtered through the tall windows of the penthouse dining room, painting the marble floor with soft gold. I sat at the long table alone, starin
Elara’s POVThe beeping sound cut through the room like a blade.Everything happened at once.Ruin grabbed my arm and pulled me down behind a heavy wooden table just as people began shouting. Chairs fell, glass shattered and Mafia guards rushed toward Jace while others ran for cover.“Stay down,” R
Elara’s POVThe camera flash felt like a slap. I instinctively tightened my grip on Ruin’s shirt as Ivan stepped into the room with two guards behind him. The small device in his hand blinked red, recording everything.Ruin did not release me, and he did not step away.He pulled me closer. “This is
Elara's POVThe ride back to the compound felt longer than the escape itself.My father slept in the back of Axel’s truck under medical supervision, weak but alive. Relief should have filled me, but my thoughts were tangled around one sentence that refused to release me: They already took the child







