Se connecterBella pov “They won’t see me. I used the secure route.” His voice was low, rough. “I needed to see you. Just once before this really starts.”My pulse spiked. I should have told him to turn around and leave immediately. Instead I reached up, cupping his sharp jaw. “This is dangerous. You have to go.”He didn’t answer with words, instead he backed me against the wall in one smooth motion as his mouth crashed down on mine—hot, demanding, almost angry. I kissed him back just as fiercely for a moment, then pulled away, breathing hard.“Caleb, please… you have to leave,” I begged, even as my hands fisted in his shirt. “If anyone finds out you came here”He silenced me with another bruising kiss, hands sliding under my clothes to grip my waist. I tried again, voice shaking. “Caleb—stop. I need you to go, this isn’t safe.”Instead of pulling away, he spun me fully against the wall, pressing his hard body into mine. One large hand yanked my blouse open, buttons scattering. He squeezed my bre
Bella POVThe hardest part was not the plan itself, the hardest part was telling Tom.Not the truth — we'd agreed on that, Diana and I, after minutes of logistics at the kitchen table while Caleb handled Lena's team. Tom was four, he did not need the real version, he needed the version he could carry without being afraid."Mummy's going to stay somewhere else for a little while," I told him, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Just a few days. You're going to be with Daddy and Diana."Tom looked at me with his serious grey eyes. "Because of the bad person?""We're sorting out the bad person," I said. "This is part of sorting it."He chewed on this. "Are you going to be safe?""Very safe," I said. "Lots of people keeping an eye on me.""Like Leon with the biscuits?""Similar to Leon," I said, and didn't let my voice change. "And you'll be able to see me on a call every night. And when it's done, I'll be home."He looked at me for another long moment with that unsettling perceptiveness he
Caleb POVBy seven the next morning, the dining room table had been taken over.Bella had been awake since before me — I'd found her in the study at five, laptop open, three pages of handwritten notes beside it and a cold cup of coffee she'd forgotten about I think hours ago. She'd looked up when I came in and said, "I have a framework," and I'd made her fresh coffee and sat down and listened to her walk me through it, and by the time Tom woke up and the ordinary morning began on top of everything else, we had something to work with. I called James, James called Lena and Bella called Diana.Diana arrived at seven-thirty with croissants, which she has been doing for a few days now, and it always seemed to surprise everyone including her, judging by her expression when she put them on the table, like she'd made the decision in the bakery and was now only partially committed to it.Tom took two immediately and informed her she should come every morning."I'll consider it," Diana said,
Bella POVForde broke in under a few hours. That was faster than I'd expected, and Diana, sitting at the dining table reviewing the recording from the restaurant, said it meant he'd been looking for an exit for a while. "Men like Forde don't hold secrets because they're loyal," she said. "They hold them because the alternative scares them more, it takes the scare away""And they talk," I finished.Lena and Caleb had handled the Forde meeting in a conference room on a floor of Black Tower that had been cleared for the afternoon. I hadn't been in the room. That had been a deliberate choice — Caleb's, supported by me — because my presence would have made it about the family, and this needed to stay about the company, the evidence, the clean legal record we'd need afterward. I'd watched through the building's internal video feed with Diana, who had provided a quiet, running commentary on Forde's body language with the detached interest of someone watching a wildlife documentary.When Cale
Caleb POVThe name on Lena's message was Daniel Forde. My corporate CFO, years with Black Enterprises, three of them reporting directly to me. The man who had sat in the war room during the SEC frame job and helped Bella and I build our counter-case. Who had shaken my hand at the press conference and said, It's good to see things working out, Caleb.I read the name and said nothing for a long moment."Caleb," Bella said again, from the window.I turned the phone so she and Diana could see the screen.Diana's expression didn't change. Bella went very still, then shifted into something controlled. Diana looked at the name and then at me. "How long has he been your CFO?""Twelve years.""Victor hired him?""No," I said. And then, because she'd asked for a reason: "He was already in the company when I took over, he was father's hire."Diana nodded once. "Then he was never yours."We didn't move immediately. That was Bella's call, and it was the right one."If we pull him now, whoever is
Bella POVDiana arrived at the penthouse at nine in the morning with a laptop bag, a second phone, and the particular expression of someone who has decided to do a thing they find personally distasteful but strategically necessary.I let her in because Caleb asked me to. I stood in the kitchen doorway with my coffee and watched her set up at the dining table and reminded myself that her file on Caleb's phone had been thorough, accurate, and had given us three names we wouldn't have had otherwise.That was the only reason she was here."Tom's at Maya's," Caleb said, coming in from the hallway. "We have the morning."Diana looked up. "I'm aware you both have questions about my methods," she said."Questions are generous," I said.She looked at me steadily. "I've been investigating my brother's life for years using means that were not always strictly legal. You can be angry about that or you can use what I found. I'd recommend the second option."I sat down across from her. "Walk us thro
Bella pov "I don't know yet, but I'm going to find out," Caleb said, his voice hard with controlled fury. "Bella, I'm sending a security team to the hotel right now. They'll create a perimeter and extract you through the service entrance. My car is waiting two blocks away.""Extract us where?" I d
Jade POVI stared at my phone, scrolling through the photos that made my blood boil. Bella, looking radiant and powerful in her designer suit, walking into Hart Worldwide's Silverton headquarters. Bella, laughing with some associate at a business lunch. Bella, living the life that should have been
Caleb pov "Do you want to rest for a bit?" Maya suggested, moving closer."Can Caleb read me the penguin book?" Tom asked, already grabbing it. "Please?"I looked at Bella, asking permission without words. She hesitated for a long moment, then gave a small nod."I'd love to read to you," I said.T
Bella pov "They are," I said. "And they always have been."After Jennifer left, I sat alone in my office, staring at the city below. Somewhere out there, Richard and Margaret were probably already planning their next move, figuring out how to spin this to their advantage, trying to find another wa







