INICIAR SESIÓNEvelyn POVGrace pulled up to the front gates of my townhouse at exactly seven forty-five, the sky already darkened to a deep indigo with the last stubborn streak of sunset clinging to the horizon like it didn't want to let go. I knew the feeling."Are you sure you don't want me to come in?" Grace asked, her hands still on the steering wheel, her eyes scanning my face with scrutiny she'd been deploying since we'd left the office. "I can stay. Order food. Help you go through the flash drive. I don't have anywhere to be tonight.""Grace, you've been at work since seven this morning. Go home. Take a bath. Watch something terrible on television. I'll be fine. Besides, no one knows I'll be here. I had to leave the mansion for this place to avoid unnecessary eyes and for security concerns."She didn't look convinced, but she knew me well enough to know that pushing would only make me dig in harder. "Call me if you need anything. I mean it. Anything. Even if it's midnight.""I will.""You wo
Evelyn POVI opened my mouth. Then I closed it.Because the truth was, I did have an idea. A quiet, persistent idea that had been forming in the back of my mind since Morales first said the words "anonymous tip." An idea that made my stomach tighten and my pulse quicken, and my feelings tangle into a knot I couldn't begin to untangle.But I wasn't ready to say it out loud. Not here and not yet."No," I said. "I don't."Morales studied me for a moment, then nodded. "If anything comes to mind, you have my card."He walked us out.The evening air hit my face as we pushed through the station's front doors, cool and tinged with salt from the harbour. The sun was setting behind the skyline, painting the clouds in streaks of copper and pink. It was the kind of sunset that looked like it belonged on a postcard, completely at odds with the heaviness sitting in my chest.Belle linked her arm through mine as we walked toward the parking lot."Drugs, Evelyn," she said quietly. "That woman was run
Evelyn POVGhost employees. I felt sick. Victoria had been manufacturing fake staff members and collecting their salaries. For years. Right under my nose, right under the company's nose, facilitated by the very man whose job was supposed to be managing our people.I knew she'd been stealing, but this... was far beyond my expectations. "There's more," Morales said, and his tone shifted into something heavier. He pulled out another set of documents and placed them on the table with the reverence of a man handling evidence he knew would change the course of a case. "The packet also contained records of communications between Mrs Bennett and several individuals linked to narcotics distribution networks operating in the Crescent Harbour port area."Belle's hand found my knee under the table and gripped it."Narcotics?" I heard myself say."It appears that Mrs. Bennett may have been using Bennett Holdings' commercial property portfolio as a front for facilitating the storage and distributi
Evelyn POVMorales looked like he wanted to say something about procedure, then apparently decided it wasn't worth the fight. "Follow me."He led us through a series of corridors that got progressively less public-facing and more functional. The walls shifted from painted drywall to bare cinder block. The ceiling tiles gave way to exposed pipes. We passed a row of interview rooms with heavy doors and narrow windows, and I caught a glimpse through one of them of a woman sitting at a metal table.Victoria.I only saw her for a second as we walked past, but it was enough. She was sitting with her back straight and her hands folded on the table in front of her, dressed in what I recognised as her "travelling outfit," a tailored cream blazer over a navy blouse, pearl earrings, her blonde hair pulled back in a low chignon. She looked composed. Polished. Like a woman waiting for a business lunch, not a woman who'd been pulled off an international flight and escorted to a police station in ha
Evelyn POVThe sound cut through the warmth of the moment like a knife. I glanced at the screen, expecting Grace or maybe the event coordinator.The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number with a local area code.I picked up. "Hello?""Is this Miss Evelyn Bennett?" The voice on the other end was male and professional."Yes, this is she.""Miss Bennett, this is Detective Morales with the Crescent Harbour Police Department. I'm calling to inform you that approximately forty-five minutes ago, officers apprehended Victoria Bennett at Crescent Harbour International Airport."The room tilted.I sat up straight, my heart slamming against my ribs. Beside me, Belle noticed the change in my posture immediately and leaned in, her brow furrowed."She's back?" I repeated. "When did she arrive?""I'm not able to discuss the full details over the phone, Miss Bennett. But Mrs Bennett was flagged during a routine security check while attempting to leave Crescent Harbour in a disguise. Since she was alre
Evelyn POVBelle studied me for a long moment. The humour had drained from her face, replaced by the quiet, fierce protectiveness that had made her my best friend in the first place."Can I give you my honest opinion?""Please.""You have two options. Option one: You choose none of them. You step back from all three, focus on yourself, on Bennett Holdings, on Green Valley, and on the launch and on building the empire you fought for. You tell all three of them that you need space, and you take it. No guilt, no obligations, no tangled sheets.""And option two?"Belle shrugged. "Option two: you keep all three. No commitment. No exclusivity. No promises you're not ready to keep. You're a grown woman, Evelyn. You're allowed to explore what you feel without signing a contract. As long as you're honest about what you're doing, there's nothing wrong with taking your time to figure out who you actually want." She paused. "Or if you want any of them at all."I sat with that for a moment, turnin
Evelyn POVThe river was quiet tonight.The water flowed slowly, catching bits of light from the lamps behind us. Vincent had parked his car close to the edge, and we sat on the hood of his car, allowing the cool air to brush softly against my skin, calming the tightness that had lived in my chest
EvelynMy hands came up to grip his sweater, pulling him closer. The kiss deepened and became more urgent.His hands circled the small of my neck, pulling me closer as his tongue darted in and out of my mouth. Our tongues danced together, exploring each other’s mouths in a slow rhythm that left us
Evelyn POVI stood in the small backroom of the Crescent Harbour Public Hall, staring at my reflection in the long mirror. A woman looked back at me—one wearing light makeup, a simple, deep red dress, and her hair pinned neatly behind her ears. She looked calm.But inside, I was anything but.My he
Evelyn POVI walked into my penthouse bedroom with a heavy sigh and loosened my tie like it was choking me. My head had been pounding since morning, and the silence of the room did nothing to help.I shrugged out of my suit jacket and let it fall carelessly on the nearest chair. I was exhausted.No







