Knoxx’s Point of View
I don’t remember parking the car.
I don’t remember if I even turned off the engine.
All I know is that my chest is about to split open as I sprint up the front steps of the Hill mansion. The guards try to say something—I don’t hear them. My heart is pounding in my ears, louder than their words, louder than anything else.
Then I see her.
Caroline.
She’s crumpled on the stairs, clutching something in her hands, her entire body shaking with sobs so violent it makes me want to fall apart. Her hair is a mess, her shoulders jerking, and her face—God, her face looks like someone reached in and ripped something out of her soul.
“Caroline!” I call out.
Her head lifts slightly.
And the moment her eyes meet mine, she runs.
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Caroline's Point of ViewThe antiseptic smell of the hospital has become as familiar as my own perfume over the past three days. I'm curled up in the uncomfortable visitor's chair beside Knoxx's bed, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest while he sleeps. The bandages around his abdomen are fresh—changed this morning by a nurse who commented on how well he's healing."Much faster than expected for someone his age," she'd said with professional cheerfulness. "He must have something worth fighting for."Something worth fighting for. That's been echoing in my mind all morning as I watch him recover from a knife wound he took meant for my son. The man who saved my life in a blizzard twenty years ago, who let me believe another man was my hero, who threw himself between Adrian's blade and Liam without a second thought.I'm so lost in my thoughts that I don't hear the footsteps in the hallway
Caroline's Point of ViewThe sterile white of the hospital room feels like a prison. I've been sitting in this uncomfortable plastic chair for six hours, watching machines monitor Knoxx's vital signs with electronic beeps that have become the soundtrack to my worst nightmare.The surgery lasted three hours. Three hours of pacing the waiting room, clutching Liam against my chest while he dozed fitfully, my mind replaying that terrible moment when the knife slid between Knoxx's ribs like it was cutting through butter."The blade missed the major organs," Dr. Patterson had explained afterward, his scrubs still stained with Knoxx's blood. "But there was significant internal bleeding. We've repaired the damage, but the next twenty-four hours are critical."Critical. Such a clinical word for the space between having everything and losing it all.Now, in the dim light of the recovery ro
Caroline's Point of ViewThe press conference is Adrian's masterstroke—or at least, it's supposed to be.The St. Regis ballroom has been transformed into a media circus, packed with reporters, cameras, and enough lighting equipment to illuminate a small city. Adrian stands at the podium in his perfectly tailored suit, every inch the successful businessman addressing concerns about "recent family difficulties."I sit in the front row with Liam on my lap, both of us positioned exactly where Adrian wants us—visible to every camera, living proof of his supposed magnanimity in "taking care of his family during this difficult time.""Ladies and gentlemen," Adrian begins, his voice carrying that familiar note of practiced sincerity, "I've called this conference to address the malicious rumors and unfounded accusations that have been circulating about my family."Elsa stands
Caroline's Point of ViewI find Mason sitting alone in the Plaza Hotel's tearoom, staring out the window at Central Park with the same haunted expression he wore last night. The leather diary sits closed on the table beside his untouched cup of Earl Grey."Miss Caroline," he says without looking up when I approach. "I wondered when you might come."I slide into the chair across from him, my hands trembling slightly. "Mason, I need your help. After what you told us last night about Margaret's murder... about Karen poisoning her... Adrian is going to destroy everything. He's already started—Knoxx's company is under attack, there have been 'accidents' at his building. I'm terrified about what he'll do to Liam."Mason finally meets my eyes, and what I see there isn't the gentle concern I expected. It's something deeper. Sadder."I'm afraid I've already done more damage than help, my dear.""What do you mean?"He opens the diary again, turning to a page near the back that he didn't read fr
Adrian's Point of ViewThe package arrives at my penthouse at midnight, delivered by a courier who refuses to meet my eyes. No return address. No explanation. Just a manila envelope with my name written in elegant script.Inside is a photocopy of pages from a diary. My mother's handwriting, unmistakable after all these years. The ink is faded, the paper yellowed with age, but the words are crystal clear.[Karen came to visit again today. She brought those awful herbal teas...]I read the first few lines twice before the meaning hits me. Then I read them again, and again, my hands beginning to shake as the full scope of what I'm seeing becomes clear.My mother wasn't sick.She was murdered.By Karen Wayne. Knoxx's mother.The woman who sat at our dinner table. Who smiled at me with false kindness. Who brought tea and s
Knoxx's Point of ViewThe knock at the door comes at eight-thirty in the evening, just as Caroline is finishing the dishes from our perfect day. Liam is already asleep, exhausted from pirate adventures and sugar crashes, and I'm in the living room setting up the new goldfish tank we somehow acquired."I'll get it," I call, but something stops me cold when I check the security monitor.Standing on the other side of the door, looking exactly as dignified as I remember despite the years that have passed, is Mason Hartwell. The Wayne family butler who helped raise Adrian and me. The man who disappeared without a word right after my father's funeral, saying he couldn't bear to work for either of us."Knoxx? Who is it?" Caroline calls from the kitchen.I can't answer immediately. Just stare at the screen like I'm seeing a ghost."Mason," I finally manage, my voice