LOGINChapter 215Ethan's POVI glanced at the rearview mirror one last time before pulling away from the Laurent mansion, and what I saw made my jaw clench so hard I thought my teeth might crack.Bryan.Standing there with his hand on Cynthia's shoulder.Touching her.Comforting her.Like he had any right.Like he belonged there.My hands tightened around the steering wheel until my knuckles went white.Did Bryan have a death wish?Acting all affectionate with Cynthia right there in front of Kevin Laurent's house?And where the hell was Kevin, anyway?I hadn't seen him come out. Hadn't seen him hovering protectively around Cynthia the way I'd expected. In fact, I hadn't seen any sign of him at all.Had he traveled?Was that why Cynthia felt comfortable inviting Bryan over?The thought twisted something ugly in my chest.What the hell was Cynthia up to?Why did it feel like I knew nothing about her anymore?She was my wife. The mother of my child. The woman I'd spent eleven years married to
Chapter 211Nikolai's POVI stood in the security room long after everyone else had left, my arms crossed, my jaw tight, watching the monitor replay the footage of Amber running from that woman.I was told the police had arrived. Taken statements. Promised updates. Assured everyone they'd track down the taxi and locate the child as quickly as possible.But none of it felt fast enough.Not when Cynthia was out there somewhere, terrified, falling apart, blaming herself for something that wasn't even remotely her fault.Despite Ethan's obnoxious demand that I stay behind, I'd continued my own investigation.I wasn't about to sit idle while Cynthia suffered.I'd pulled the head of security aside and instructed him to coordinate directly with the police. I'd personally called the officer in charge and requested priority status on the case. I'd made it clear that Cross Energy would cover any costs associated with the search — overtime, additional personnel, whatever was needed.Money talked
Chapter 210Kevin's POVJulian wasn't supposed to be back.He'd left for his "vacation" earlier today—or what everyone else thought was a vacation but I now knew was time with Tony. He should have been halfway across the city by now, settled into whatever hotel or apartment they'd chosen for their two weeks together.But instead, he was here.In his room at the Laurent mansion.And I knew exactly why.He wanted to talk.Needed to talk.Because I'd shown up at that restaurant, seen him with Tony, confirmed the truth he'd been hiding his entire life.And now everything had changed between us.Downstairs, the house was alive with conversation. Cynthia was still making phone calls, Helen was fussing over him with blankets and hot chocolate, Nathaniel was making calls to update the police, and Mom was dozing off on the couch.No one noticed when I slipped away.I climbed the stairs slowly, my chest tight, my mind still struggling to fully process what I'd learned tonight.I reached Julian'
Chapter 209Ethan's POVI was drowning.That was the only way to describe what the past few hours had felt like—like I was trapped underwater, lungs burning, vision blurring, struggling desperately for air that never came.The Walker mansion felt suffocating.Empty and suffocating at the same time.I sat in Amber's room, still clutching his stuffed bear, my eyes burning from tears I'd finally run out of. My throat was raw. My chest ached. Every part of me felt hollowed out, scraped clean of anything resembling hope or strength.My phone had been ringing nonstop.Work calls. Board members. Executives demanding updates on the company crisis. Investors wanting reassurances. Journalists fishing for statements.I declined every single one.I didn't care.None of it mattered.The only thing that mattered was Amber, and he was still gone.Or so I'd thought.When Cynthia's name flashed across my screen, I stared at it for a long moment, my thumb hovering over the answer button.Part of me wan
Chapter 208 Cynthia's POVI pulled out my phone with trembling fingers, my heart still racing from the relief of having Amber safe in my arms.Ethan needed to know.No matter how angry I was at him—and God, I was furious—he was still Amber's father. He deserved to know that our son was safe.He was probably losing his mind right now, just like I had been.I scrolled to his contact and pressed call, lifting the phone to my ear.It rang once.Twice.Three times.Four.Then voicemail.My brows furrowed in confusion.I ended the call and tried again immediately.Same thing.Ring. Ring. Ring. Voicemail.Heat flushed through my chest.He had the nerve.The absolute nerve to ignore my call right now.After everything that had happened tonight. After he was the reason Amber went missing in the first place. After he had dragged our son to that event without telling me, without thinking about the consequences, without caring about anything except his own jealous obsession with monitoring my ev
Chapter 207Bryan's POVDamn.Damn.I'd been so close.My hands tightened on the steering wheel as I drove, my jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached. The memory of that moment on the beach replayed over and over in my mind like a film reel I couldn't shut off.Cynthia's face, inches from mine. Her eyes wide, vulnerable, glassy with unshed tears. Her lips slightly parted as she struggled to breathe. The way she'd frozen—not pulling away, not stopping me, just… waiting.I'd been seconds away from kissing her.Seconds away from finally crossing that line I'd been dancing around for months.And then Kevin's call had shattered everything.Part of me—a selfish, bitter part I wasn't proud of—resented the interruption.But the larger, more rational part understood that it had probably saved me from making a catastrophic mistake.Cynthia wasn't ready.She was grieving. Terrified. Overwhelmed. Kissing her in that moment wouldn't have been romantic or meaningful—it would have been taking advantage







