LOGINđ Happy New Year! đ
May this new year bring you fresh hope, renewed strength, and endless opportunities. May your days be filled with joy, peace, and success. đ New Year Prayers: I pray that God goes ahead of you this year, opening doors no one can shut. May He grant you good health, wisdom, favor, and protection. May your efforts be crowned with success, and may sorrow, lack, and failure be far from you. This year shall be your season of breakthrough and testimony. đĄ Words of Advice for the New Year: Walk with purpose and discipline. Let go of past regrets and embrace new beginnings. Be kind, patient, and grateful in all things. Work hard, pray always, and never stop believing in yourself. Choose peace over anger and progress over excuses. âš Final Wish: May this new year be better than all the years before it. May your dreams come alive and your life shine brighter each day. Happy New Year! đđHenryI scrolled through my contacts and dialed Davidâs number.âSir.ââDavid, I need you to conduct an investigation. A very thorough, very discreet investigation.â I kept my voice low. âTwenty-three years ago, my wife gave birth at The Queenâs Hospital. I need to know everything that happened that dayâwho was on duty, who had access to the nursery, and any unusual incidents reported. Everything.ââThatâs going to be difficult, sir. Records that oldâââI donât care how difficult it is. I need answers. And David? No one can know about this investigation. Especially not my daughter, Amelia.ââI understand, sir. Iâll start immediately.âI ended the call and went back into Siennaâs room. She was resting with her eyes closed, but I could tell she wasnât asleep. Amelia sat in the chair on the other side of the bed, scrolling through her phone.Whatever had happened in that hospital twenty-three years ago, I was going to uncover it. Every dark corner of it. And then I would decide what came
HenryAt the hospitalI stood outside the hospital room, pacing back and forth while the doctors worked on Sienna. My mind was racing, my chest tight with fear and suspicion and a growing certainty that nothing about this situation was what it seemed.âDad, sheâs going to be fine,â Amelia uttered, standing beside me with her hands clasped in front of her. âYou donât want to make yourself sick with worry before Mother finally wakes up.âI could barely hear her. Every word she spoke felt so calculated and rehearsed. And I couldnât stop thinking about that smirk Iâd seen on her face earlier, that flash of satisfaction when sheâd warned me not to show Sienna something that would make her faint.Sheâd known. Somehow, sheâd known exactly what was in that envelope.âDadâââBe quiet,â I snapped, my patience finally breaking completely. âBefore I say something Iâll regret.ââIâm just worried about you,â she spoke softly, widening her eyes in what I supposed was meant to look like genuine conce
HenryThree Days LaterâHow is this possible?âMy voice came out shaking despite my best efforts to control it. I stared down at the document in my hands, the DNA test results that David had just delivered, and felt the world tilting beneath my feet.Subject: Celeste Monroe. Relationship to Henry Parker: No genetic match found. Probability of paternity: 0%âSheâs supposed to be my daughter,â I whispered, more to myself than to David. âI could feel it. I was so certainâââSir, are you alright?â David asked.I couldnât answer him. Couldnât look away from those damning words on the page. Celeste wasnât mine. That beautiful, kind, gentle girl who looked so much like Sienna, who had that same grace, that same warmthâshe wasnât my daughter.âSir?â David said again.I forced myself to look up. âIâm fine. Thank you for handling this so discreetly. You may go.âDavid hesitated as if he wanted to say something else, then nodded and left my office, closing the door quietly behind him.The moment
CelesteThe tears came before I could stop them, hot and fast down my cheeks. âYou love me?ââYes.â He reached out like he wanted to touch me, then dropped his hand. âI know what happened between us is forbidden. I know itâs wrong by every rule society has. But I donât regret it. I canât regret loving you.âJace loved me. He loved me.This whole time, while Iâd been drowning in self-hatred and trying to convince myself to stop loving him, heâd loved me back. Weâd both been suffering for the same impossible thing.Then Jace did something that shocked me so completely I forgot how to breathe.He dropped to his knees in front of me.âPlease forgive me,â he said, his voice raw with emotion. âI know I sinned against you. I know I hurt you by standing by while she tormented you. I should have found another way, been stronger, and protected you better. But I hopeââ His voice cracked. âI hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.ââBrother, pleaseâââCan you forgive me?â He reached out
CelesteâIs this how people die?â I asked Joy quietly, standing beside her near the coffee station. âSo suddenly. So violently.âThe entire office was subdued todayâvoices hushed, movements careful, as if everyone was afraid to make too much noise. The news had broken yesterday morning: Minaâs body was found in Riverside Park by joggers. The details that had leaked were horrifying.âI still canât believe it,â Joy whispered back, her face pale. âI know she could be... difficult. But no one deserves that.ââNo,â I agreed softly. âNo one does.âDespite everything Mina had done to meâthe humiliation, the cruelty, the deliberate tortureâIâd never wished her dead. Never imagined anything like this. Who could have done something so brutal? What kind of person could hurt another human being that way?âIâm sorry,â I said, looking at Joyâs stricken face. I knew she and Mina had been close, in their own toxic way. âPlease accept my condolences.âJoy nodded, her eyes filling with tears she was tr
AmeliaWith that, I followed Jace to his office. The door closed behind us. I turned to face him, ready to argue, but he spoke first.âWhat are you doing here?â His voice had turned quiet, controlled, and dangerous.âI came to see you,â I said, letting my voice soften. âTo talk. To apologize for last night. I know I behaved badly, Jace. I was overwhelmed, and I said cruel things, and you deserved better than that.â I took a step toward him. âIâm sorry. Genuinely.âHe watched me for a long moment. âAnd you thought assaulting my staff was the best way to begin that apology?ââShe provoked meâââYou slapped her twice, Amelia.ââShe was smirking at me!ââAnd that justifies violence?â His eyes were hard and unreadable. âGo home. We are not engaged. I made that clear last night.ââBut I love you,â I said, the words coming out with the right amount of vulnerability. I walked toward him until I was close enough to feel the warmth radiating off him.I let my hands slide up to his chest, to his







