로그인Layla’s eyes shifted slowly to the last man in the room.Ross.He had been silent until now,watching everything unfold with a dark, unreadable expression.“It wasn’t us Layla!.” Liam continued. “It was my father! He’s the one who ordered it! He’s the one who sent those men! Release me and my mom! We had nothing to do with it! He’s the guilty one! He did this because Elias was destroying our company! Please, Layla! Tell Elias to let us go!”Ross Carter, who had been sitting silently in the corner with his hands and feet chained, suddenly looked shocked. His face twisted with disbelief and fury as he heard his own son throwing him under the bus so quickly.“Liam!” Ross barked, his voice hoarse but sharp. “Shut your mouth!”But Liam turned on his father, his eyes wild with fear and self-preservation.“No!” Liam snapped back, his voice shaking. “I’m not taking the blame for this! You think I’m going down for something I didn’t do?. It was you! You ordered those people to kill Layla’s fami
Layla suddenly turned to Elias.“Where is Liam?” she asked. Her voice was quiet, but there was a cold edge to it that hadn’t been there before.Elias stared at her for a long moment. He looked at her for a long second—his gaze unreadable, heavy, searching her face like he was trying to measure something deeper than her question.He didn’t take her hand this time. He simply gave a small nod and began walking deeper into the warehouse and Layla followed without hesitation. Marcus fell into step behind them, his blood-stained hands hanging loosely at his sides.The corridor narrowed as the air grew thicker and more oppressive. The stench of blood and fear intensified. They passed several locked metal doors before Marcus stepped forward,unlocked the one at the very end and pushed the heavy door open with a loud creak.They entered a larger, dimly lit room. Layla's eyes adjusted slowly to the dim light—And then she saw them.The first person Layla’s eyes landed on was Mrs. Carter.She sa
The words hung between them like a promise and a threat at the same time.Layla didn’t ask any more questions. She simply turned her face toward the window again, but something new flickered in her cold eyes.Anticipation.The car continued driving through the city, heading toward the outskirts where the warehouse waited — the place where the men who had destroyed her family were being held.Elias watched her silently. He knew what was coming and he was ready to let her decide how far they would go.The black car glided through the city streets, moving away from the familiar neighborhoods and into the industrial outskirts. The sun had already begun its slow descent, painting the sky in deep oranges and purples that bled into the horizon. Inside the vehicle, silence hung heavy between Layla and Elias.Layla sat by the window, her forehead occasionally resting against the cool glass. The world outside blurred past — abandoned factories, rusted fences, empty lots overgrown with weeds. S
“Come in.”Elias’s voice was calm and low as he answered the knock on the door. He remained seated beside Layla’s hospital bed with one hand still resting protectively near hers.The door opened slowly, and the doctor from earlier entered, holding a clipboard. He gave both of them a polite nod, his expression professional but kind.“Good morning Mr. Thorne,” the doctor greeted.Elias nodded. “Good morning,How are you feeling today, Miss Layla?”Layla didn’t answer immediately. She simply looked at him with tired, shadowed eyes. Elias gently helped her sit up a little straighter against the pillows.The doctor performed a quick check — listening to her heart, checking her blood pressure, shining a small light into her eyes. He asked a few simple questions about dizziness, headaches, and nausea. Layla answered in short, quiet words.After the examination, the doctor pulled up a chair and sat down, facing them both.“Your collapse last night was due to extreme emotional shock and physi
“Oldie. I’m sorry.” The words slipped out of Layla’s mouth suddenly, raw and heavy, breaking the quiet tension in the hospital ward.Elias paused, the spoon of warm soup hovering near her lips. He looked at her for a long moment, his dark eyes searching her face. There was exhaustion in his gaze, deep guilt, and something softer — love that refused to leave even after she had pushed him away so violently the night before.He didn’t respond to her apology right away. Instead, he gently brought the spoon to her mouth.“Eat first,” he said quietly, his voice low and steady. “You need strength.”Layla hesitated, then opened her mouth and accepted the food. She ate slowly, spoonful after spoonful, while Elias fed her with careful patience. The soup was warm and light, easy on her empty stomach. She finished every bite he offered — the soft bread, the cut fruits, the juice. She ate without speaking with her eyes mostly downcast. The dark cloud that had settled in her heart the night before
Morning light filtered weakly through the hospital blinds, casting pale stripes across the ward room. It didn’t carry warmth. It didn’t bring comfort. It only made everything clearer.Layla stirred slowly.Her body felt heavy, like it didn’t belong to her anymore. Every movement dragged, every breath felt deeper than it should,like every part of her had been drained of strength. Her throat was dry and raw from all the crying the night beforeHer eyes fluttered open slowly and for a few seconds, she stared at the white ceiling, confused, until the memories crashed back in — the gunshots, her mother falling, her father in the study, Nadia bleeding on the floor, her own collapse.A soft whimper escaped her lips while her eyes shut immediately, like that could push it away but it didn’t.She tried to sit up, but her arms were too weak.“Layla.”Elias was there instantly.He had barely slept, staying awake all night watching over her.His eyes were tired but alert.He leaned forward, slidin
Gasps filled the space immediately. Mrs. Carter stumbled slightly as her hand flew to her cheeks with pure shock written over her face. Her eyes widened as she stared at him while the room fell into complete silence. No one moved or spoke because no one had expected that. Not from him,not here a
The boardroom no longer felt like a place of power. It felt like a battlefield and Ross Carter was losing. As almost all the board members left,the tension in the room had shifted from controlled concern to something far worse—panic, barely restrained beneath forced professionalism. Papers were sca
Miles away from the mess Layla was stuck in, the city Elias was in felt just as heavy. No peace. No calm. Just tall glass towers stabbing the sky, catching the last dying orange of the evening sun. The streets below hummed with money—quiet money, sharp money, the kind that never shouts but alway
“It means you’re grounded.”Layla blinked.“…what?”“You heard me.”Her chest tightened.“Dad, you can’t be serious.”“Oh, I’m very serious.”Her mother looked between them, shaken.“Maybe we should—”“No,” her father said firmly.“This ends now.”Layla shook her head.“No, it doesn’t.”Her father







