LOGINChapter 154MaxI took another step forward, close enough now to see the way my father's eyes were glistening."A sin that you're guilty of," I said quietly, and this—this was the truth that had been sitting in my chest since I'd learned about my kidnapping. "Because you couldn't protect your pregnant wife and unborn children."The silence that followed was absolute. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. It was like the entire world had stopped spinning.My father looked like I'd physically struck him. All the color had drained from his face and his hands were trembling at his sides."How dare you." Adrian's voice cut through the silence like a whip. He moved forward, positioning himself between me and our father. "How dare you talk to your father that way?"I looked at Adrian—this brother I barely knew, this man who shared my blood but not my life—and felt nothing."Your father," I said calmly. "Not mine."The words landed like a bomb. My mother gasped. My sister made a choked sound. My fat
Chapter 153My mother's knees buckled and my sister caught her, both of them holding onto each other like they were the only solid things left in the world.And me? I just stared at my father, this man who I was related to by blood.Who I'd leant to see and love as a father after been hurt by one.Why don't I ever get fathers that loves me sincerely, why do they always end up hurting me and the people I love."Why?" The word came out flat, emotionless. I was past anger now, past fear. I'd moved into some cold, distant place where nothing could touch me because if I let myself feel anything, I would shatter completely. "What was the reason you spoke to him? And why did Ace disappear right after you met?""Max, you have to understand...""Why?" I repeated, still in that same dead voice.My father looked at me, really looked at me, and something in his expression shifted. He looked almost... afraid."Do you think I hurt him?" he asked, his voice thick with emotion. "Do you actually thin
Chapter 152MaxI looked up at my mother through blurry vision. She was crying too, tears streaming down her face as she stood frozen a few feet away."Why can't you understand?" I asked, and God, I sounded like a child. Broken and desperate and so, so tired. "Why can't any of you understand that I love him? That I will never—never—love anyone the way I love him? He's not a phase or a confusion or something I'll grow out of. He's it for me. He's my person. My only person."My mother dropped to her knees beside me, and my sister followed. They wrapped their arms around me and I let them, too exhausted to push them away anymore."We don't know anything," my mother sobbed into my hair. "I swear to you, Max, we don't know what happened to Ace. We didn't do anything. Please, you have to believe me.""Then why?" I pulled back to look at her. "Why would he disappear? Why would he just... vanish?""I don't know, sweetheart. I don't...""Dad was the last person to see him." The words felt lik
Chapter 151MaxI stared at my father's contact on my phone, my thumb hovering over the call button. The cab driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror, probably wondering why his passenger had been sitting frozen for the past five minutes.Call him. Just call him and demand answers.But even as the thought formed, something stopped me. Some instinct that told me a phone call wouldn't be enough. My father was too good at controlling conversations, at steering them in the direction he wanted. If I called, he'd have time to prepare his responses, to craft explanations that would sound reasonable even if they weren't true.No. I needed to see his face. I needed to watch his reactions, to catch him off guard."Turn around," I said suddenly, my voice rough.The driver looked at me in confusion. "Sir?""Turn the car around. Take me back to the hotel. The one we just left.""But sir, we're already halfway...""Please." The word came out sharper than I intended, desperation bleeding t
Chapter 150MaxMy hands shook as I tried to hail a cab, my mind already racing ahead to the next steps.I needed someone who could track a phone. Someone with the technical skills and equipment to find where Ace had been. But who?I entered a cab, not really sure where I was going, just needing to move, to do something. I started searching on my phone for private investigators or tech specialists who could help with phone tracking.The first three numbers I called went to voicemail. The fourth picked up but said they couldn't help without a police report. The fifth said they were booked solid for the next two weeks.Frustration burned in my chest. How was I supposed to find Ace if no one would help me?I was about to call my mother back, to swallow my pride and accept her offer of resources, when a memory surfaced. Someone I hadn't thought about in years, someone who'd been my best friend back in high school before we'd drifted apart when we went to different colleges.Kieran.Kier
Chapter 149MaxThe ride to my family's hotel felt like it took forever, even though it was only fifteen minutes away. My hands gripped the door handle so tightly my knuckles had gone white, my mind racing with possibilities about what my sister could possibly know about Ace's disappearance.When I finally alighted in front of the upscale hotel where my parents were staying, I had to force myself to take a few deep breaths before getting out of the car. Twenty minutes. I'd promised myself twenty minutes, and then I was leaving to keep searching.My sister was waiting for me in the lobby, her face drawn with concern. She stood up as soon as she saw me, reaching out like she wanted to hug me, but I stepped back."What do you know about Ace?" I demanded immediately. "You said this might be related to him. Tell me what you know."Her face fell. "Max, I... I don't actually know anything about where Ace is."The words hit me like a physical blow. "What?""I'm sorry," she said quickly, guil
Chapter 46MaxThe room went silent, everyone watching me with expectant grins. My throat closed up."I... I can't," I stammered, my voice coming out weak. "I have a g-girlfriend."I could feel Ace's eyes boring into me from across the circle. The weight of his stare made my skin prickle, made it h
Chapter 45Max"Well whatever you're doing, keep doing it. Your knee is healing faster than I've ever seen. At this rate you could be cleared a few weeks.""So I can play?""Not full contact yet. But light practice? Working back up to it?" He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think you can actually play agai
Chapter 47MaxThroughout the weekend, I didn't come out.Monday morning, I saw Ace in the gym.He walked right past me like I didn't exist.Not a glance. Not a nod. Not even the slightest acknowledgment that I was standing there. He just moved past me like I was a ghost, like the space I occupied
Chapter 44MaxThere was never a time, that I ever imagined that I and Ace would be like this.And now he was touching me like I was something precious, looking at me like I mattered.It still feels surreal sometimes."Are you hungry?" he asked.My stomach answered for me with a loud growl. He smil







