LOGINNew York, The city did not wait for anyone.New York moved the same way it always had—loud, relentless, indifferent to the weight people carried when they stepped into it. Cars flooded the streets in endless streams, horns cutting through the air while skyscrapers stretched high above like silent witnesses to everything that unfolded below.It was a city built on power, on ambition and on people who took what they wanted and never looked back.I stepped out of the car slowly, my heels meeting the pavement with a quiet, deliberate sound.The Smith Building stood before me; it was tall. Imposing. Untouchable.For years, it had belonged to someone else.Now—I was here to take it back.The glass doors reflected my image for a brief second before they slid open.Composed. Controlled.Unrecognizable from the girl who had once been pushed aside, silenced, overlooked.Good… Let them see the difference.Dominic stepped beside me, his presence steady, grounding without overshadowing.His hand b
The next day, Dominic stares at me when I am ready to go to the police station in worry and I meet his eyes before I nod my head, to assure him that I am okay.I know he's worried but this must be done without any delay.Bethany was still being questioned when I arrived at the police station.Through the glass, I watched her for a moment before stepping inside.She did not look up when I entered. Her head remained lowered, her hands clenched tightly in her lap, as though she were trying to hold herself together by sheer force alone. The silence between us stretched, heavy and absolute.I did not speak while I was there, just staring at her intensely and the whole time she refused to meet my eyes and it told me everything.She knew.She knew that I already understood what she had done and there was nothing left to deny, so she chose silence.Perhaps because there were no words left that could save her, I don't know.After a few seconds, I turned and walked out without saying a single
The car came to a gradual stop, yet the moment felt anything but calm, because everything around me seemed to move with a quiet urgency that had not yet faded from the chaos we had just escaped.Before I could fully gather my thoughts, Sasha was already stepping inside the car, her movements sharp and purposeful, while Dominic immediately stepped out, his presence shifting the air itself the moment he stood outside.“Nostra. They went south,” Sasha informed him without hesitation, her tone steady and controlled despite the tension that lingered beneath it.I remained seated, still processing the shock, my body heavy and unresponsive as the pain pulsed faintly through me, and all I could do was watch him.Dominic gave a brief nod, absorbing the information as though it had only confirmed what he had already expected, and then, slowly, he turned his attention back toward me.For a brief moment, his gaze held mine, and everything else seemed to fade into silence.“Do not worry,” he said,
“What? Try to kill you?”The word did not belong to one person. It echoed through the room, carried by dozens of voices at once, as though the entire audience had forgotten how to breathe at the same time.For a single, suspended moment, everything froze; every camera remained lifted, every light remained fixed and every eye remained locked on me but I sat there—calm, composed, and completely certain of what I had just done.For the first time in my life, I spoke without permission.For the first time, I had told the truth in public.“Bella… why all of a sudden?” Grisella, the host, asked, her voice faltering slightly despite her effort to maintain composure, the practiced elegance in her tone slipping just enough to reveal her unease.I turned to her and smiled gently, as though nothing about this moment was unusual.“Because it was the truth that someone tried to kill me,” I said simply. “And silence me. That is why I have been hiding these past weeks.”The reaction was immediate; s
“Miss Smith?”Leonard Lewis looked visibly relieved the moment he saw me, as though my presence alone confirmed that this meeting had not been another trap, another rumor, or another desperate gamble that might cost him everything.I stepped forward and offered my hand without hesitation.“I am glad we finally meet again,” I said warmly.For a brief second, he simply stared, perhaps comparing the woman standing in front of him now with the version of me he remembered from years ago, the sheltered heiress who smiled politely and rarely spoke long enough to reveal what she was thinking.Then he nodded and shook my hand firmly.“I did not fully believe it when they told me you were the one who sent them,” he admitted, glancing briefly toward the men positioned around the room. “Because you should know that you were not the only one trying to find me.”My expression sharpened immediately. “Michael?”He exhaled slowly and gave a grim nod. “Yes.”Even hearing my uncle’s name spoken so plain
“We found Lewis Junior.”The words stopped me completely.For a moment, everything else faded—the music, the lights, the noise of the casino, even the movement around us—as my mind caught only those four words and held onto them.I turned sharply toward Dominic, searching his expression for any sign that he might be teasing me, testing me, or speaking too soon.My eyes widened. “Really?” I asked, unable to hide the shock in my voice. “You found Leonard Lewis?”Dominic gave a single nod, calm and measured as always, as though he had just informed me of something ordinary instead of delivering the first real breakthrough we had needed in days.“Yes.”That one word carried more weight than most speeches and my chest tightened with sudden hope.Leonard Lewis… The son of the former legal adviser who had once worked closely with my father before my uncle slowly tightened his grip over the company. If anyone still knew the truth behind old transfers, forged signatures, hidden trusts, and the
Breakfast ended far too quietly. Carlo excused himself not long after, claiming he had business to attend to, his tone smooth and composed as though nothing about his sudden appearance had been unusual, as though the tension he carried with him had not lingered in the air long after he stood from
It was well past midnight by the time we arrived at the hotel. San Francisco did not sleep the way other cities did. Even at this hour, the streets carried a quiet, steady pulse of life. Lights glowed from distant buildings, cars passed occasionally along the wide roads,
The motorcycle slowed gradually, the roaring engine fading into a low, steady hum before finally coming to a stop. I loosened my grip on him slightly, my fingers still curled into the fabric of his shirt as I took a slow breath, trying to steady the mix of emotions that had been building inside m
The next morning, I made a decision. Not something small. Not something temporary. But something that would change everything. After everything that had happened the night before, after the fear that still lingered beneath my skin and the quiet







