Share

196

Author: Olly Dy
last update publish date: 2026-03-05 03:07:12

Third Person's POV

The tie was wrong.

Jackson stood in front of the mirror in the hotel bathroom and adjusted it for the fourth time, and it was still wrong, and he understood with a clarity that it had nothing to do with neckwear that the tie was not the problem. The tie was just the thing his hands were doing while his mind worked on something it could not yet put into language.

"You are going to be late," Liam said from the doorway.

"I know."

"The board has confirmed the press briefing for e
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter

Latest chapter

  • Sweet Unhappy Heart   214

    Chapter 214: Holiness / DirtMackenzie pulled the car into a tight spot outside the coffee shop, Jackson climbing out right behind him. The place was half full, quiet enough for a real conversation, loud enough that nobody would pay attention to three men in a corner booth.Marcus was already there when they walked in, hunched over an empty table, looking smaller than Jackson had ever seen him."Can I get you two something?" Marcus asked as they sat, half standing like he wanted an excuse to move, to do anything with his shaking hands."No," Jackson said flatly, sliding into the booth across from him. He did not trust a single thing this man might hand him, not a coffee, not a napkin, nothing.Mackenzie waved off the offer too and leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Let us skip the small talk, Marcus. We do not have time for it, and neither do you.""Fine," Marcus said, hands folding tight in his lap."Nobody in this booth is holy," Mackenzie said. "Not me, not him, and sure as hell

  • Sweet Unhappy Heart   213

    Chapter 213: Beginning of a DoomMarcus Jefferson had not had a moment's rest since the officers left his office. Every sound in the hallway made him flinch; every buzz of his phone sent his stomach into his throat. By that afternoon, the fear had settled into something permanent, a weight sitting on his chest that would not lift.The receptionist called up to his office a little after two. "Mr. Jefferson, there is a delivery package down here for you. It does not have a return address. Should I send it up?""Send it up," Marcus said, though something in his gut told him not to.A few minutes later, one of the junior staff knocked and set a plain brown box on his desk. Marcus waited until the door closed before tearing it open, and the second he saw what was inside, the air left his lungs completely.A photograph sat on top, his wife and two children tied to chairs in a bare room, fear frozen on all three faces. Beneath the photograph, wrapped in newspaper, sat a burner phone.Marcus'

  • Sweet Unhappy Heart   212

    Chapter 212Marcus Jefferson's face went hard the second the word got out. "You have been bullshitting me this entire meeting.""I learned from the best," Jackson said, closing the folder in front of him without a hint of shame.Marcus's phone buzzed in his pocket before he could respond. He stepped to the side of the room and answered it low, his back turned, but Jackson watched his shoulders stiffen with every word he heard. Whoever was on the other end- an escape driver from the warehouse crew, by the sound of the panic in Marcus's voice- was telling him something he clearly did not want to hear.Marcus lowered the phone slowly and turned back to the room, his face pale under the fluorescent lights. He understood now, plain as anything, how badly he had been played. There was no version of this morning where Jackson Maddox was ever going to let go of the company, and every minute Marcus had spent waiting in that room had been wasted on purpose."This meeting is over," Marcus said,

  • Sweet Unhappy Heart   211

    Chapter 211: Dynamic FeelingThe feeling in the room was different from anything before it. Liam paced by the window while Jackson buttoned his shirt, hands steadier than they had any right to be after a night with no sleep."You need him to believe you are actually about to sign," Liam said. "If Marcus smells anything off, he calls Voss, and Voss panics. A panicked man with a gun in that warehouse is the last thing we need, especially when Avery is still there.""I know how to stall a room full of board members," Jackson said. "I have been doing it my whole career.""This is not a budget meeting, Jackson.""No," Jackson said, pulling on his jacket. "It is worse. But the principle is the same. Keep them talking about anything except the one thing they actually want."Liam caught his arm before he reached the door. "Buy us as much time as you can. The second Mackenzie gives the signal at the warehouse, we move. Until then, you keep that room spinning in circles.""How long do you think

  • Sweet Unhappy Heart   210

    Chapter 210: You Want The SeatJackson had not slept in almost two days. His eyes were rimmed red and his hands would not stop shaking by the time he and Liam pulled up to Janet's mother's hotel to drop off the baby. Janet met them in the lobby, phone already in hand."I pulled something from the blackmailing footage," she said. "The building in the background of one shot matches a construction style. It narrows things down. Two of Marcus's properties fit and six of Voss's.""That is still eight buildings," Jackson said, frustration cracking his voice."It is better than twenty-three," Liam said, squeezing his shoulder. "We keep working it.""How sure are you about the footage?" Jackson asked."Sure enough," Janet said. "The roofline in the background matches an industrial style used by one contractor. That contractor only worked on a handful of buildings in this city, and I cross checked it against both lists.""You did all that in just that moment we called you?" Liam asked."I did

  • Sweet Unhappy Heart   209

    Chapter 209: Bitch Has No LimitLiam shook his head before Morgana even finished the sentence. "No. He will smell something off if Jackson just signs without a fight.""He is right," Jackson said, rubbing his eyes. "Voss expects resistance. If I fold too easy, he knows we are up to something.""Fine," Morgana said. "Then we wait for his next call. In the meantime, reach out to that journalist and any contact you still have.""I will do that now," Jackson said, already pulling out his phone. "Will you keep the baby with you tonight?"Morgana looked down at the sleeping child in her arms. "I was thinking we take her to Janet's mother instead. Safer with someone outside all this.""That is the better play," Liam said. "We are all too deep in this now to keep a baby in the middle of it.""Wait," Jackson said suddenly. "Can we call Janet back? She was never actually in danger. Voss used her to pull our attention away so he could grab who he really wanted.""Avery," Morgana finished

  • Sweet Unhappy Heart   142

    Third person's POV "That's the question," Dove said, scrolling through more files on her tablet. "I also looked into Avery's movements over the last year. Where she's been. Who she's been seen with. And there's something interesting. Three times in the months after she got pregnant, she was spotte

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-30
  • Sweet Unhappy Heart   143

    Third person's POV 8 PM - Police PrecinctThe fluorescent lights in the precinct had that particular quality of making everything look worse than it was. Institutional. Cold. Officer Mackenzie sat at his desk with his fourth cup of coffee going cold beside him, watching Torres write up a statement

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-30
  • Sweet Unhappy Heart   140

    Third person's POV Jackson Maddox woke slowly, as if the world had to coax him back from the place where pain had been living under his skin. The hospital room appeared in soft squares of light that the morning sun coaxed through the blinds. His eyes fluttered, fighting gravity, fighting memory, f

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-30
  • Sweet Unhappy Heart   135

    Third person's POV Within minutes, social media exploded.Twitter was on fire with speculation. Instagram stories were filled with screenshots of the talk show segment. TikTok had already spawned a dozen conspiracy theory videos, each more outlandish than the last.@BreakingNewsNYC: BREAKING: Sour

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-29
More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status