LOGINThird person’s POVMilton drove with the calm focus of someone trying very hard not to get distracted by the chatter behind him. Drew sat in the passenger seat, stiff as a soldier, glancing back every few seconds to check on Layla.Naomi and Layla, however, were in their own world.Naomi leaned forward between the front seats. “Start talking, everything, I want the full gist. Every single thing I missed. All the drama, all the details, all the…”“Naomi,” Layla laughed weakly, resting her head on the seat. “Let me breathe first. I’ll tell you everything when we settle in.”“I have been gone for months, Layla. Months.” Naomi clutched her chest dramatically. “Do you know how many nights I cried? I cried so much that I think my tear glands relocated.”Milton choked on laughter but covered it with a cough.Layla glanced at him. “Let’s turn here.”Milton nodded and turned, while Naomi resumed her endless chatter.“You need to tell me everything girl, I’m serious. How is the baby? How is th
Third person’s POVCaleb stood by the wide glass window of his penthouse in Manhattan, the city light reflecting off his face like scattered sparks. His suitcase lay open on the bed behind him, half- packed. His jaw was set. His movements were sharp and controlled, the way a man moves when he’s fighting the urge to panic.He dialed his private investigator.“Sir,” the man answered almost immediately.“I’ll be out of America in a few days,” Caleb said, slipping a file into his suitcase. “But continue with everything we discussed, no delay. And I want reports sent to me the minute you uncover anything.”“Yes, sir.”“And listen…” Caleb paused for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. “If anything is linked to Ava… I want to know immediately.”“Understood sir”Caleb dropped the call.His breath shuddered once, the only sign of the storm churning inside him.Then he scrolled through his phone… and dialed Naomi.The call rang twice.“Hello?” Naomi’s voice sounded confused. “Who…”“It’s C
Layla’s POVI didn’t remember grabbing my keys. I didn’t remember locking the door. All I remembered was running to the car.By the time I reached the company building, my heart was pounding so hard it echoed in my ears. The elevator doors felt like they were moving through water. Every second stretched, every breath cut short.When I burst into the finance department, every head turned.“Ma’am…”“Mrs. Backwood…”“Madam Ava…”Voices overlapped, but I ignored them and forced my way to the main desk where two of my staff hovered over a screen.“What happened?” my voice trembled.One of the supervisors swallowed hard and shifted aside so I could see the monitor.For a moment… my mind blanked.The number on the screen didn’t look real.It looked like a phone number, or a foreign currency conversion. Not money someone had tried to steal from my company.“Three… hundreds… million?” I whispered.“Yes,ma’am,” he replied. “They attempted to move three hundred million euros or more from the mai
Layla’s POVCaleb stood up in front of me. His jaw was tight. His eyes searched my face like he was trying to understand a language he could no longer read."Ava... this is not your fight," he said quietly. "And you're not in the right condition for such a journey."I stared at him, my lips trembled. "Please... don't shut me out. " My voice cracked and a single tear slipped down my cheek. I didn't bother wiping it. "Just--- just let me know immediately you find this person.. please. I need a one-on-one with him."Caleb drew a long breath . The tension in his shoulders fell slowly.He nodded and turned to leave.But he stopped before he opened the door, then he turned to me slowly."Ava," he said gently, "if my attempts... if my efforts to show you that I care... if they offend you..." He paused and swallowed. "Then I'm going to take a step backwards."I looked up sharply, shocked at how he still managed to profess his feelings after leaving a huge elephant in the room."But I'l
Third person’s POV “You’re speaking in parables,” she said this time, her voice was low, confused and guarded.Caleb’s brows pulled, then he inhaled slowly.“The son of your father’s business associate. The one who used to visit your home often. A… family friend, in a way. You both went to the same school. You played together. You were… close. As childhood besties”Layla shook her head slowly, eyes narrowing in disbelief.“No,” she whispered. “ I don’t remember anyone like that.”Caleb stepped forward and pulled a chair. The sound scraped across the quiet office.“Sit, Ava,” he said softly.Layla hesitated, then lowered herself into the chair. Her chest felt tight. Caleb sat opposite her, elbows resting on his knees and fingers interlocked.“There’s a lot surrounding your parents’ death,” he began. “Too much and I decided to let you remember them naturally. Through your own memories. I didn’t want to force them on you.”Layla watched him quietly, her heartbeat thudding even more.
Layla's POV My pregnancy had begun to show more by the day… subtle, but impossible to hide now. My clothes fit differently, my walk felt differently, and every time I passed the mirror, my hand would drift to my lower stomach without me noticing.Yet, none of that slowed my mind.Especially the thought of Julian.They still hovered behind my eyes like a shadow I couldn’t blink away. Sometimes the memory comes quietly. Sometimes it hit me.like a punch. Either way, it stayed.To distract myself, I upgraded my security.A large wall-mounted monitor, what the technician called a multi-channel surveillance feed hub, now occupied a section of my office wall. With it, I could view every camera in my home, my office building, the parking lot, and the hallways. I didn’t need to switch screens, everything played at once like a grid of silent warnings.Still, I never felt fully safe.Drew, the bodyguard Caleb hired, had become more useful than I thought.Annoyingly useful.The man wouldn’t







