LOGINThe final document on Gracelyn’s desk was signed with a sharp flick of her wrist. She tossed the pen aside, rubbing the bridge of her nose as the tension of the past few weeks settled heavy in her shoulders.Pulling her phone from her pocket, she dialed a number. It rang twice before a deep, reassuring voice answered. "Gracelyn.""Is everything set?" she asked, her voice a hushed whisper, casting a quick glance toward her closed office door. "The medical records, the specialist, the legal backing?""Everything is ready," her mentor replied smoothly. "The trap is set. You just need to pull the trigger.""Thank you. I'm sending the confirmation now."She hung up, her heart hammering against her ribs.Turning back to her laptop, she pulled up her private email account. Her fingers danced across the keyboard, drafting a message. Subject: Appointment Confirmation—Patient: Nicole. She scheduled the date, her breath catching in her throat. This was it. The first step to reclaiming her
Nathan squeezed his eyes shut tighter when he heard the question.His breathing slowed, almost like the room was suffocating, yet he remained calm in his position. The kind of fake sleep he had practiced too many times for a child his age.“Nathan.”Gracelyn called again.He didn’t move.A few seconds passed, then footsteps were heard.She moved closer to the bed, “Nathan,” Gracelyn repeated, this time with a sharper tone.Still, he stayed there.He almost believed he could pull it off, until she spoke again.“Alright,” she said flatly. “If you don’t want to wake up, I’ll just assume you weren’t the one who left this house without permission, and I might have to take precautionary measures to make sure no one infiltrates this house.”His heart skipped.Got him.Nathan shot upright so fast the duvet slid halfway off the bed.“I’m awake! I’m awake!”Gracelyn stood by the bedside, her arms folded tightly against her chest, one brow slightly raised.Her expression wasn’t loud, but Nathan
For a split second after the door burst open, everything froze.Ellen stood there, her hand raised mid-air, her chest heaving from anger and shock.Rex stood at the doorway, his presence filling the room like a storm about to break.And Nathan shifted in an instant.His shoulders dropped, his expression softened, and his eyes widened just enough to make it look real.Fear, helplessness, a perfect imitation of how Nicole would have reacted.He looked from Rex to Ellen, his lips trembling faintly as if he didn’t understand what was happening, but was scared anyway.It was so convincing it was almost freaking Ellen out.How did he go from talking back at her to looking like all hope was lost?Rex’s gaze snapped fully onto Ellen.His eyes blazed with anger.He could overlook whatever she did, but raising a hand on his son? No!“Ellen…” he said again, his voice lower now, sending chills down her spine. “What exactly is going on here?”Ellen froze for a second.Then instinct kicked in, and
The house was quiet.Sunlight filtered through the curtains of Nicole’s room, casting soft patterns across the floor where he sat.His legs were folded, surrounded by scattered toys he barely played with anymore.But today..?Today was different.Because he wasn’t alone.Nathan crouched beside him, a small car in his hand, rolling it slowly across the floor before making an exaggerated engine sound.“Vrrrmmm… crash!” he whispered dramatically, bumping it lightly into another toy.Nicole blinked.His gaze followed the movement.There was a small reaction, and athan caught it instantly.“That’s right,” Nathan said softly, his tone shifting, softer now. “That one lost.”Nicole’s fingers twitched slightly, and Nathan smiled.“You like this one?” Nathan asked, picking up another toy and holding it up.Nicole didn’t answer, he just stared at it for long, and gave a nod.“Yeah,” he murmured. “I figured.”It was a robotic device that could be controlled by a remote.He leaned back slightly, s
The office had been peaceful.Suspiciously so.For weeks now, everything had flowed with an almost unnatural smoothness. No tension in meetings, no unnecessary confrontations.Just work.And at the center of that carefully maintained balance was distance.Gracelyn had made sure of it.She kept her head down, her tone neutral, and her presence controlled.She spoke when necessary, disappeared like she never existed, and avoided every situation that could create complications.Especially where Rex was concerned.She had to. If she needed to fulfill her promise, she needed to be cautious.It wasn’t difficult.Or at least, she told herself it wasn’t.But the truth was far less convincing.Because avoiding someone didn’t erase awareness.And no matter how much she tried, she was always aware of him.When he walked into his office.When his voice sounded faintly through the glass walls of his office.When their paths almost crossed, and she had to change direction at the last second.It was
Ellen stood frozen in the hallway long after the elevator doors had slid shut behind her.Her chest rose and fell unevenly, like she had just outrun something…but the truth was, she hadn’t moved fast enough.Gracelyn.The name alone felt like a ghost clawing its way out of a grave Ellen had personally buried.“No…” she whispered under her breath, her fingers curling tightly around her handbag. “That’s not possible.”But it was.She had seen her. Not just a resemblance. Not someone who looked like her. It was Gracelyn. She was alive, composed, and walking these halls like she belonged here.Like nothing had ever happened.Like Ellen had never existed.Like she was not the woman who had begged to be seen, back then.She was different.Her stomach twisted violently.Without thinking, she turned on her heel and headed straight for Rex’s office, her heels clicking sharply against the floor, echoing her rising anger.She didn’t bother knocking.The door swung open with force.Rex barely loo







