تسجيل الدخولDaniel's face went white."How could you do that to me, the woman you claim to love? I wanted to die, and I even thought about it." Emma's voice was rising now, the emotion finally breaking through. "Because you were gone and I didn't know how to exist in a world where you weren't in it. I went home that day and I couldn't breathe. For weeks, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't do anything except exist, and even that was almost too much.""I know." Daniel took a step forward. Grayson immediately blocked him. "I know what I put you through. I know it was—""You don't know shit." Emma was standing now. Maggie moved back to give her space. "You weren't there. You weren't the one who had to learn how to live without you. Who had to figure out how to wake up every morning when the person you loved most in the world was gone. Who had to—" Her voice broke completely. "You let me bury you. It was so cruel what you put me through. I have lived a half-life.""I didn
Emma woke to voices arguing.Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, her body heavy and disconnected. She was lying on something soft, a couch maybe, no it was a bed, and there were people nearby. Too many people. Their voices overlapped, some angry, some confused, all of them too loud."—need to give her space—""—supposed to be dead, you were declared KIA—""—calm down, let him explain—""—three months, you bastard, three fucking months—"That last voice was Grayson's. Emma forced her eyes open, blinking against the light. She was in a bedroom, Honey and Grayson's guest room, she realized. She had spent more than one night here after… after…The voices were coming from the doorway. Grayson stood there, his body blocking someone from entering. Beyond him, she could see faces, Wyatt, Nate, all of them crowded in the hallway.And Daniel.Daniel was there, trying to push past Grayson, his face desperate.This wasn't a dream.Emma sat up too fast, the room tilting sideways. Hands i
Lauren stood in front of the full-length mirror in Honey's guest room, staring at her reflection.The dress was simple. Ivory lace over silk, tea-length, fitted at the waist but not too tight. Elegant without being ostentatious. Exactly what she'd wanted. She had wanted simple.Her hair was down in soft waves, a few pieces pinned back with small pearl clips. Minimal makeup, just enough to look polished without looking overdone. In the photos, she wanted to look like her."You look beautiful," Honey said from behind her.Lauren turned. Honey and Maggie stood in the doorway, both of them already dressed, Honey in deep green, Maggie in navy blue. Her bridesmaids. Her best friends. The women who'd stood by her through everything. She'd let the women pick their own dresses and colors."I look really terrified," Lauren said honestly."You look like a bride," Maggie corrected, crossing to adjust Lauren's necklace. A simple pendant that had belonged to her grandmother. Something old. "Having
The next seventy-two hours passed in a blur.Lauren barely left her apartment. Barely left her bed. Wyatt stayed with her constantly. He only answered any important calls that came in. He was there when the nightmares came, and they came every time she closed her eyes.Liam's face. The gunshot. The blood. Over and over and over.Honey came by on the second day, bringing food Lauren didn't eat and sitting beside her bed, just holding her hand. Not saying anything. Just being present.Maggie came by that evening, checked her vitals, examined her throat, which was now a spectacular purple bruise. Prescribed sleeping pills that Lauren refused to take because she was afraid of what she'd see in deeper sleep.Nate and Prue brought dinner on the third day. They sat with them in the living room while Lauren picked at pasta and tried to pretend she was okay."The media's having a field day," Nate said, his voice careful. "Actress shoots stalker in self-defense. Stalker turns out to be serial k
"You shot someone who was trying to kill you," Clark interjected. She was photographing the scene, the blood, the evidence bag with Michelle's panties. "Lauren, do you know what he had with him?""That's Michelle Matthews's... Benson's underwear," Lauren said quietly. "His first victim. He kept them. For ten years.""Trophies. This is good," Nelson said. "We'll be searching his apartment. If he kept that, there's a good chance he kept other items. Other trophies. This closes cases, Lauren. Gives families answers they've been waiting for."But that didn't make Lauren feel better. Didn't make her hands stop shaking or her chest stop tightening or her throat stop trying to close up.She'd killed someone.Maybe. Probably. God.The paramedics said he'd lost too much blood. Said the bullet had hit organs. Said his chances were—"Lauren." Wyatt's voice again, grounding her. "We need to get you checked out. Can you stand?""I don't know."He didn't give her a chance to find out. "That's okay.
The gunshot was deafening in the small room. Liam stopped mid-lunge, almost like he was suspended in time, then his expression shifted from rage to confusion. He looked down at his stomach, where blood was already spreading across his white shirt, dark and wet."You shot me," he said, almost wonderingly. "You actually shot me.""I warned you." Lauren's hands were shaking so badly she could barely keep the gun pointed at him. "I told you to stay back. Why didn't you listen?"Liam took a step toward her, stumbled. His hand pressed against the wound, coming away red. "This isn't... this isn't how it's supposed to—" He was looking at the blood, shocked, then back at her as his knees buckled. He went down hard, landing on his side. Something white fell from his other hand—Michelle's panties.They landed next to him on the floor, and even now, even dying, Liam's hand reached for them. Clutched them. Brought them to his face.Lauren stared, horror washing over her. His first victim's underwe
Monday, October 16th, 7:15 AMHoney stood in front of her bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection with a mix of determination and dread. Today was the day. No more Joy Smith. No more hiding behind ugly suits and brown wigs.Well, one last time.She'd spent most of Sunday at her father's estate,
Grayson asked, "What happens now that the truth is out?"Honey took a breath. "That depends on you. I'm still the same person who's been your CFO this whole time. The same person who's always had this company’s best interests at heart. The same person who—""Who what?" His eyes bored into hers. "Who
Honey made it back to her office, closing the door with more force than she intended. Her hands trembled as she pressed them against the wood, trying to steady herself.Morgan. Pregnant. With Grayson's baby. What now?She moved to her desk, sinking into her chair as the full weight of the revelatio
Monday, October 16th, 4:00 PMAround 4 PM, Grayson called her into his office. He had been distant all day, speaking to her only when necessary, about work matters. Honey felt his eyes on her whenever they were in the same room, as if he were trying to solve a complex puzzle. The day had been tense;







