LOGINConrad POV The soft breeze pf the new day touched my skin from the balcony of my office…I took it all in… everythung. I liked mornings. They were honest. Morning was the only time of day when power really showed off.. where it felt so much better. I entered back into my office slowly, a warm coffee mug in my hands… Thus particular morning felt even much better… Three newspapers. Two digital summaries. One internal memo from media consultants I paid obscene amounts to predict public mood with the confidence of astrologers. Across all of them, one name repeated beautifully. Adeline Royce. Suspect. Detained. Questioned. Possible link. The words did change a little depending on publication style, but the melody was the same. I smiled a little, not too much, though… If I did then, that would imply surprise. And nothing about this outcome surprised me. When a person insists on stepping onto a battlefield they don’t understand, eventually they learn the terrain belongs to s
Adeline POV The plan was now in motion.. In every sense of the word, it was a risk… We could lose the case and be denied bail and it that case, my future will be completely out of my hands… but now more than ever, I had to trust Mikhail… I was being driven by a taxi and soon we arrived at the front of the police station. When the door opened, the cold air hit me like a tidal wave. Two officers were outside waiting for me.. I informed them to expect me. “Ms.Royce.” One said as he guided me inside the station… Inside, everything moved quickly and all at once. Walk. Sit. Confirm. Wait. Answer. I was guided through corridors that all looked the same, until I stopped trying to remember them. They first asked my name, then… My identity confirmed. My details recorded. Fingerprint pressed. Photo taken. All in that order. Then next step…questions. The interrogation room was small. A table. Two chairs. A recorder already on. The officers sat across from me. A young one
MIKHAIL POV Morning arrived sharply… I was already awake when the first call came through. Not because I had slept badly. I hadn’t slept at all. Sleep was a negotiation I didn’t trust myself to enter right now. When Adeline arrived at ky door last night, I knew it wasn’t an option anymore… I had three phones stacked up at ky fesk, all active and ready… There was no second to spare. I needed to help Adeline… I started with the lawyer. “Are you awake?” I asked. A tired exhale on the other end. “I am now.” “I need you ready for emergency filing. It’s a bail motion. Defamation containment and possibly wrongful accusation defense depending on how fast this escalates.” There was a pause, then… “That’s a lot of words for morning.” “It’s not morning,” I said. It was a warning. I ended the call before he could argue. Next: security intel. I needed to know who saw her that night.. if they were CCTV cameras or not. I was about to call when a sharp knock broke through…. Fuck… I
Adeline POV Mikhail did not ask another question until the front door was locked behind him… Then he turned and faced me fully now…. I could see the alarm and the worry in his eyes. I didn’t blame him… I would react the same way if I saw him stroll up to my house nearly midnight shaking and wuth traces of blood around his cloth… “Come.” My legs obeyed before my mind did. He guided me into a sitting room. “Sit down.” I sat on the edge of the sofa because it was all I could manage. He disappeared through an adjoining doorway and returned moments later carrying a folded wool blanket over one arm and a tray in the other hand. It had coffee, water and clean clothes there.. He set the tray down, unfolded the blanket, and draped it around my shoulders himself. The gesture felt so warming…. Then he crouched in front of me, forearms resting on his knees. “Drink.” I lifted the mug with both hands because I was sure if I used only one, I would spill it with all my shaking. The he
Adeline POV I stood in the doorway and forgot how to breathe. For one suspended second my mind refused to understand what my eyes were seeing. No.. no… this couldn’t be right? This was some sort of mistake…right? Devon. The name tore through me so sharply I lurched forward before thought could intervene. “Devon.” My voice came out thin and broken. I dropped to my knees beside her so hard pain shot through them, but I barely felt it. Her face was so cold and pale… her body was soaked in her own blood. “No. No, no…” I grabbed her arms, they were lifeless and cold. “Devon, wake up.” I shook her again.. harder this time, then again… “Wake up.” Nothing. “Devon!” She was.. she…. I pulled back so violently I nearly fell backward. “No…” Just then, I heard loud footsteps charging right into this room… “Ms. Royce!” Daren’s voice. He entered the room quickly… taking one sweeping glance took in the scene: the body, the blood, me kneeling beside it with my now bloodied hands…
Adeline’s POV I stood in the kitchen with the dead phone still pressed to my ear long after the line had gone silent. The kettle hissed softly behind me… but I didn’t hear it anymore… not really. My mind was still on the call. I lowered the phone and looked at the screen. Unknown number. Call ended. That was all. There was no record of who had spoken, no added explanation. I couldn’t even recognize the voice there…just that broken tone. Not make it... dead... watch... back... go... now. I replayed it in my head and hated how uncertain every word became the moment I tried to pin it down. Was it Devon? It had sounded like that.. a femal voice, probably somewhere that didn’t allow calls. It could have been her? Or maybe Jovian..? Or somebody else entirely like a wrong number… Coincidences lile that never happened around my life..not anymore. Maybe it could have been some stupid prank by someone who had found my number and thought my life was public entertainment now. But
Adeline's POVDinner had gone as well as it could that night. My father had been a little quiet but as usual, Natasha had been there to make sure that he wasn't so for long. She had a way of bringing out the energy in him.We had finished eating just then and I wanted to go to bed. Mikhail had know
Adeline POVWhen she left, I felt a wave of loneliness hit me. I had no idea why. It was as if now she had gone, all that was left was my fight again. I heard him come in before I heard his voice, “Why don't we go talk to Jackson?" He said.I looked up from where I had been staring into a portrait
Adeline's POVWhen I woke up it was inside the cocoon of soft sheets. The room was cool but not cold and it was cozy. I opened my eyes slowly, sitting up straight up on the bed. I was inside the room Mikhail had shown me to.But that was impossible, I remember very vividly resting my head on the ta
Adeline's POVI made my way through the reception of Mikhail's hospital on my way home, my mind had been set. Even if I didn't give a direct statement, I wouldn't let Conrad win this round.His response to my message rang at the back of my mind. “Well, I'll be waiting. Let's see if you have it in y







