MasukEMILYThe silence after they left was unbearable.I stood in the middle of the apartment, staring at the door long after it had closed behind Miriam and Venida. My arms felt empty, achingly so, as if they still expected the weight of my son to be there.I let out a slow breath, pressing my palm against my chest as if I could steady the storm raging inside me.“This is it,” I whispered to myself.There was no turning back now.If I wanted my son to live freely… if I wanted any kind of future for him… then I had to end this.And the first step was simple.Emily had to disappear.Two days later, I sat in front of a mirror I barely recognized.The small apartment belonged to Ella. It was tucked away in a quiet part of the city. The curtains were drawn, the lights dim, and the air smelled faintly of powder and something floral. I had bumped into her yesterday and honestly the rest was history. I haven't even had the time to ask her why she was no longer working for Alessandro. Ella stood
EMILY The call came when I was least expecting it.I was standing just outside the ICU, my arms wrapped tightly around myself, staring through the glass at Alessandro’s unmoving body. The steady beeping of the machines inside the room felt louder than it should have.My phone rang.The sharp sound cut through the silence, making me flinch. For a second, I hesitated. Then I forced myself to answer.“Hello?”“Mrs. Emily,” the officer’s voice came through, firm but controlled. “We’ve identified the people behind the attack.”My grip tightened on the phone. “Who?”There was a brief pause, like he already knew what my reaction would be.“Joselyn’s family.”For a moment, everything inside me stilled.Then something dark and bitter curled in my chest.“Have they been arrested?” I asked, my voice quieter now, colder.“Yes. They’ve been taken into custody.”A breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding slipped out of me.Relief came first but then it didn't last because reality followed ri
EMILY I still couldn't bring myself to tjink about Julian's betrayal. I lay there, propped against the stiff hospital pillows, my body still trembling from the aftermath of labor, my son cradled carefully in my arms. He was so small. So warm. So impossibly real.I stared at him, tracing the curve of his cheek with my finger, my heart tightening in ways I didn’t yet understand. For a moment everything else disappeared. The pain. The fear. The chaos that had brought me here.Then I saw a movement.Barely there. Just a shadow shifting by the window.My breath caught instantly.I froze, my fingers tightening protectively around my baby as my eyes locked onto the glass. The curtain fluttered slightly, though I hadn’t felt any breeze.“Doctor…” My voice came out hoarse, strained. “Doctor.”He turned to me immediately, brows knitting together. “What is it?”“There..” I nodded toward the window, my pulse beginning to race. “Someone was there. I saw someone.”He followed my gaze, walking ove
EMILY Alessandro’s footsteps had barely faded down the corridor before everything inside me collapsed.I didn’t even remember how I got back to my room. One minute I was standing there, trying to hold myself together, and the next I was shutting the door behind me, pressing my back against it as though something was chasing me.My chest tightened, my throat burned, and tears blurred my vision.“I can’t do this…” I whispered to myself, my voice trembling.I didn’t know if it was the baby, the stress, or just everything finally catching up with me. My emotions felt too big for my body, too heavy for my heart.I dragged myself to the chair and sank into it, trying to breathe through the overwhelming wave rising inside me. That was when I felt something beneath me.I frowned, shifting slightly, and reached down.A phone.I picked it up slowly, confusion knitting my brows together. It wasn’t mine.“…Julian’s?”My fingers tightened around it as realization dawned. He must have forgotten it
EMILY I felt as if all the strength had drained out of me, leaving me pale and shaken to the core. Julian didn’t give me time to gather myself. He took hold of my arm and guided me firmly across the street, steering me into a café before I could protest. Not that I would have. My thoughts were too scattered, my emotions too raw. I let him lead me to a small table tucked away at the back, far from prying eyes.I dropped into the chair heavily, my pulse still racing. The words burst out of me before I could stop them.“What were you thinking, going to see Alessandro!”His response came just as quickly, edged with irritation.“I should be asking you the same thing.”Anger flared, sharp and immediate. “I was passing by,” I shot back. “I only stopped to say hello to Janice.”He arched a brow, his tone turning dry. “Oh, really? Best friends now, are we?”“Yes, we are friends,” I insisted, leaning forward, refusing to be intimidated. Then my voice lowered, urgent. “I couldn’t help but hear
JULIANIt had been time for me to reveal myself.If the head general had been anyone other than Alessandro, I would have done so the moment I arrived in the West pack. But because it was Alessandro, I had kept my presence and my work hidden. I had no desire to cross paths with him, not after everything that lay between us.Now I no longer had a choice.Too many lives were at stake.Even as I cursed the rogues, I couldn’t deny a grudging admiration for their cunning. That very morning, a decision had been made, cold, calculated, irreversible. They were going to plant an explosive aboard the pack Maine and blow her and every soul aboard, into the sea.Tonight.The objective wasn’t merely destruction. It was provocation. The kind that would ignite outrage, force the West into war against the East. And the Eastwould take the blame first.It was brilliant. Ruthless, but brilliant.I had wanted that intervention as much as any west pack member. I had dreamed of it ending the bloodshed, brea
EMILY I hadn’t been the same since I saw that picture. Since I saw myself in a white wedding dress, standing beside Julian.Since I saw proof that my life had existed before this mansion. Before Alessandro.Something inside me cracked open that day, and it had not closed since.I walked differentl
JULIAN It had been thirteen days.Thirteen long, restless, suffocating days since I walked away from the estate telling myself I needed space.Space from Alessandro. Space from the mansion. Space from her.That was the lie I told myself.The truth? I couldn’t breathe without knowing she was somewh
EMILYNever had I seen such a welcome sight. We were finally back to the mansion and to my surprise Alessandro's grand parents were there with few of his cousins."Didn't expect this," Julian muttered.We were walking in a straight line, Julian in the lead, I and Ella walking double. The terrain ha
ALESSANDRO It was blazing hot.The sun beat down mercilessly upon the parched plain.Trees that looked stunted dotted the landscape. The grass was a harsh yellow. And nestled amongst a cluster of surprisingly lush green cottonwoods that grew by a small creek, was a weathered, doorless shack.In th







