LOGINLila’s POV“YOU’RE not leaving the estate tonight,” Adrian said.The moment the words left his mouth, something in my chest tightened so sharply it almost felt like instinct instead of fear.I had just stepped into the hallway outside my room, my hand still hovering near the doorknob, when I saw him standing there. He wasn’t leaning or waiting casually. He was positioned directly in my path, shoulders squared, expression calm in a way that felt rehearsed.Like he had been waiting.For me.I forced myself not to step back.“Why?” I asked.My voice came out steadier than I felt, but I could hear the slight tension beneath it. The kind that only someone who knew me well would catch.Adrian did.His lips curved faintly, not quite a smile.“Because,” he said, taking a slow step closer, “it’s no lo
Lila’s POV“SOMEONE TOLDAdrian,” Jacob said.The words didn’t feel like a possibility.They felt like a conclusion.My chest tightened as soon as he said it.I was standing in the middle of the garage, arms wrapped around myself, the faint scent of oil and metal grounding me in a way the estate never did anymore. The air here was heavier, warmer, real. It didn’t pretend.Unlike everything else.I looked at him.“What makes you so sure?” I asked.Jacob didn’t answer immediately. He moved instead, stepping toward the workbench where the laptop still sat open. His jaw was tight, his shoulders set in that controlled way he got when something was already spiraling in his head.“Look at this,” he said.I crossed the space slowly, my pulse already picking up.The screen showed a live feed.&nb
Adrian’s POV“THEY THINK they’re clever,” I said.The words left my mouth low and measured, but the irritation beneath them was sharper than I preferred.Across the desk, the head of my private security team didn’t react. He stood still, hands clasped behind his back, posture straight, waiting.Good.At least someone in this house still understood discipline.I leaned back slowly in the chair, letting my gaze drift to the monitors mounted across the far wall. Multiple camera feeds flickered quietly. Hallways. Entrances. Grounds. The estate looked calm from a distance.It always did.That was the illusion.“Run it again,” I said.The man nodded once and reached for the tablet in his hand. With a few precise movements, the footage shifted. The timeline rolled backward.There.I leaned forward slightly. “Pause.”The frame froze.Lila.Standing near the east corridor, her expression unreadable from the angle. But her posture… Different. Subtle. But I knew her.I studied the image. “She’s
Lila’s POV“WE DOit at the wedding,” Jacob said.The words settled into the room like a decision already made.I stood near the center table, my hands resting lightly against its edge, feeling the cool surface press into my palms. The space around us was quiet, sealed off from the rest of the estate. One of the older conference rooms my father used for private meetings. Fitting.Unsettling.Because it felt like he should be here.Instead, it was us.Jacob leaned forward slightly across from me, his expression focused, grounded in a way that made everything feel more real. More immediate.Marco stood to my left, flipping through a set of printed documents with controlled precision. His movements were sharper than usual. Tighter.And across the table, Vivienne sat like she belonged exactly where she was. Relaxed. Observant. Watching all of us like w
Marco’s POV“YOU SHOULD never have opened that drive,” I said.The words came out sharper than I intended.I watched Lila’s expression shift across the small space of the garage office. Not fear. Not hesitation.Resolve. That made it worse.Jacob stood just slightly in front of her, not blocking me, but close enough that the line was clear. Protective. Steady. Unmoving.I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down my face.“It wasn’t meant for you to see like that,” I added, quieter this time.Lila didn’t step back. She didn’t soften. She just held my gaze.“It was meant for me,” she said.Her voice was firm. Certain.“He made it for whoever found it,” I replied.“For me,” she repeated.The conviction in her tone hit harder than anything else.I swallowed, glancing briefly at the laptop still open on the table. The black screen reflected all three of us. Distorted. Fragmented.Like the truth we were standing in.“You don’t understand what you just stepped into,” I said.“I do,” she shot bac
Lila’s POV“MY NAMEis Daniel Montgomery,”the video began.The sound of his voice hit me harder than anything else.My breath caught in my throat.For a second, I couldn’t move.I couldn’t think.I just stared at the screen at him, alive.Sitting behind his desk, the same one we stood beside now. The lighting was dim, shadows cutting across his face, but it was him. Every line, every familiar detail, every quiet strength I remembered.My chest tightened painfully.“Lila…” Jacob said softly.I didn’t look at him.I couldn’t.If I did, I might break before I heard everything.“I’m okay,” I whispered, even though my voice trembled.But I wasn’t okay.Not even close.I stepped closer to the desk, my fingers cur
Lila’s POVTHE GARAGE smelled like oil and cold concrete, the kind of place that kept secrets simply by being too loud and too quiet at the same time.I had gone down there because I could not sit still anymore.After the estate event the other day, after the whispers and the way everyone had watch
Lila’s POVTHE ESTATE felt heavier after the challenger went public.Not louder. Not chaotic. Just dense, like the air before a storm that refuses to break.I spent the morning pretending to read emails while my thoughts looped around the same question. How much of this was happening because of me,
Lila’s POV“SMILE,”Adrian murmured beside me. “This is your night.”The words sounded like instruction, not encouragement.I lifted my chin anyway as the doors to the east hall opened fully, light spilling
Lila’s POV“YOU DON’Thave to stay up,” Michael had said hours ago, his voice already heavy with exhaustion.I nodded, lied, and waited until the house fell quiet anyway.Sleep did not come. It ne







