LOGINIsrael’s POV Stephen Parker flew to Italy before he told me he was coming. His call reached me in a hallway outside Blake’s room. For a moment, I watched the name on the screen and considered letting it ring. Then I answered. “Where is my son?” “Stephen—” “I’m in Milan. Tell me where to go.” I looked through the glass panel. Blake’s eyes were closed. A nurse was adjusting the bedding around his arm. “He can’t meet you right now.” “Then I’ll wait wherever he is.” I moved farther down the hallway. “There are security concerns.” “There have been security concerns for months. Asaf has called everyone he knows. We’ve had people looking. Your office keeps giving us answers that lead nowhere.” I closed my eyes. “Is he alive?” Stephen asked. The question hurt more than his anger. “Yes.” “Then let me hear him.” “He can’t come to the phone.” “Why?” I didn’t answer quickly enough. “Israel.” “I’ll come to you.” “I didn’t fly here to see you.” “I know.” He gave me the name o
Justin’s POV My father put the folder in front of me before he asked how Bexley was feeling. I looked at the cover, then at him. “What is this?” “A development proposal. Douglas and I have been discussing it.” “Then why is it in front of me?” “Because Bexley should have the opportunity to invest.” I didn’t open it. Across the breakfast table, my mother adjusted the flowers in a vase that didn’t need adjusting. Bexley was twenty-eight weeks pregnant. She was uncomfortable, working more than she should, and trying to choose two cribs without letting the salespeople convince her that babies needed furniture designed for royalty. She didn’t need my father arriving with another way to connect her money to his. “Send it to her,” I said. “She can decide whether she wants somebody to review it.” “Don’t be difficult.” “I’m not the one investing.” “You’re her fiancé.” “That doesn’t give me access to her accounts.” My father leaned back. “Nobody said it did.” He said it with enough
Bexley’s POV By the time I reached twenty weeks, Dad had stopped pretending the house was mine to leave whenever I wanted. He didn’t lock the doors. He asked questions, made suggestions, and found problems with every place I considered. The building was too exposed. The neighborhood was inconvenient. There was no reason to pay for rooms when I already had a whole floor. I listened to the security advice that made sense. I stopped treating the rest as instructions. Sawyer helped me arrange protection without giving me a report of every move I made. I chose a building with a controlled entrance, enough room for a nursery, and an office that didn’t double as my bed. My old landlord accepted notice on the studio, and I spent a Saturday sorting through things I should have thrown away years earlier. John held up a cable from my desk drawer. “What is this charge?” “Something important.” “What?” “I’ll remember when you throw it out.” He put it back without arguing. Lizzy laughed fr
Maria’s POV Ms. Ellis asked me to read the first page before I signed anything. I took my time. Years earlier, I would have looked at Douglas and waited for him to tell me where to put my name. Remembering that made me turn the page and read the next one too. “There’s no hurry,” she said. We were in her office, with the door closed and no one else at the table. Sawyer arranged the introduction, but she spoke to me alone before agreeing to represent me. She asked what I wanted, what I feared, and which parts of my own history I was prepared to discuss. I told her I wanted Douglas held responsible. Then I told her what I did for him. She didn’t seem shocked. She made notes, asked questions, and told me where she needed more information before giving advice. It was the first useful conversation I could remember having about my future that didn’t end with someone telling me to wait for Douglas. “Your daughter called this morning?” she asked. I nodded. “She wanted to know if I ate
Bexley’s POV The ring felt heavier when I wore it into the dining room. It was a narrow gold band with a small round diamond. I chose it because I liked it, which seemed ridiculous when so much about the evening was something I wished I could avoid. Justin touched my elbow before we went inside. “You can still change your mind,” he said. “I know.” Dad noticed the ring before Magdalena did. His eyes moved from my hand to Justin’s face, and he smiled with the satisfaction of someone watching a plan work. “Well,” he said. “You two have something to tell us.” “We’re engaged,” Justin said. Magdalena got up so quickly that her chair scraped the floor. She hugged him, then came to me with both hands extended. Maxwell stood beside Dad, already talking about how pleased they were. I tried to smile properly. Justin stayed close enough that I didn’t have to face all of them alone. We invited my friends because I couldn’t bear making an announcement this important and letting them hear
Bexley’s POV I told Mom about Justin’s offer that evening. She listened without interrupting. When I finished, the silence lasted long enough that I checked whether the call was still connected. “Mom?” “I’m here. What do you want from this arrangement?” “Time. Some room to decide things without Dad turning every conversation into a wedding.” “Would Justin’s family understand that you aren’t planning to marry him?” “No.” “Then they’ll still expect a wedding.” “I know.” I sat against the headboard, looking at the scan pictures beside me. I could tell myself the engagement would solve everything, but my mother wouldn’t let me say it without asking what happened afterward. “And the babies?” she asked. I closed my eyes. “Dad can’t find out they’re Blake’s.” “Have you thought about what you’ll tell the people who love him?” “Asaf is trying to reach him too.” “That isn’t what I asked.” I rubbed my forehead. “I don’t know how to tell Asaf and keep it from everybody around him
Bexley's POV The elevator dinged and as soon as the door opened. We walked out. And I followed behind them. They led me to a large dining room. The dining seats can take up to twenty-four people. The clicks of my shoes attracted the attention of the people sitting in the dining as they all looked
Bexley's POV After the introductions. I changed into some shorts and a tank top. While the girls were busy working in my closet putting my things in there. I already told them where and what to put in a particular storage. I am so exhausted and I think I need a nap now. I climbed into my bed and
Blake's POV After looking into the incident at the club. We discovered that some girls were contracted to drug my brother, and unwittingly, Bexley fell victim. Asaf was their target. They wanted to ruin him. I had instructed my men to get the girls involved and to make sure to destroy anything
Blake's POVMy phone rang multiple times which I ignored. But, it will not stop ringing. I wondered who could be calling me this late. I got up from sleep. Grabbed my phone and as I checked the caller. It was Simon. The bodyguard that I assigned to my kid brother. I a







