Enemies are closing in. The next move could cost them everything even Mason. Your comments keep me writing….thank you for the support!
The war had taken many forms: lawsuits, media onslaughts, digital espionage, and betrayals stitched into boardroom smiles but Damon never imagined he’d find himself face-to-face with Logan Vance again.Once the COO of Thorne Global, Logan was one of Damon’s fiercest rivals, ousted years ago after a failed coup. His exit nearly shattered the company and left a scar on Damon’s leadership. Their fallout had been public, brutal, and definitive.And yet, here he was, seated in the Thorne penthouse as if nothing had happened, sipping coffee with arrogant ease.“I’m not here to gloat,” Logan said finally, breaking the thick silence. “I’m here because you have a leak. And I have your plug.”Damon didn’t move. “You have a reputation for selling what people need. Usually right before you stab them in the back.”Logan smirked. “Still good with words, I see.”He leaned forward and slid a thin folder across the glass table. “Celeste has a mole in your legal advisory team. That’s how she knew about
The skyline of Manhattan glowed faintly in the hours before dawn. The city never slept but for once, Damon Thorne did.Exhaustion had finally dragged him under after days of unrelenting war, press conferences and betrayals. Juliette stood wrapped in a cashmere throw on the penthouse balcony, the breeze tugging at her hair as she stared out at the city below.She hadn’t slept. Not since the scandal broke. Not since Mason’s eyes fluttered open in the hospital, whispering “Mom” through cracked lips. Not since the anonymous video revealed a past she couldn’t explain.Too many wounds. Too much left unspoken.Behind her, Damon stirred. Moments later, his arms slipped around her waist from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder.“You’re up early,” he murmured.“Didn’t sleep”.He held her tighter. “We’ll get through this”.Juliette didn’t answer. Because she wasn’t sure “getting through” would ever be enough again.----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The penthouse was quiet….. too quiet. The kind of silence that came not from peace, but from the weight of decisions still waiting to be made.Damon stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, the New York skyline glowing in a haze of steel and shadow. The chaos of the past few weeks clung to him like ash. His shoulders — once squared with purpose but now slumped with the burden of choices no one should have to make.Juliette sat at the kitchen island, a statement in front of her that she’d revised at least ten times. Mason was stable, the doctors said, but the emotional scars would take longer to mend than any bruises. And the clock wasn’t pausing for any of them.Damon turned, voice gravel-edged. “We release this… and we lose everything”.Juliette met his eyes. “No. We release this - and we finally stop lying to ourselves”.He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “You think the board will care about our redemption arc? Or the investors? We’re already bleeding. This could kill the comp
The Thorne estate was unusually quiet. Not the kind of quiet that came with peace but the eerie, heavy silence that followed destruction.Juliette stood by the window of Mason’s room, arms crossed tightly around herself. Her gaze rested on her son’s small figure curled under blankets, IV lines snaking from his arm and a bandage across his temple where he had struck the pavement after the attack. The rhythmic beeping of the monitor was the only sign of normalcy in the chaos that had gripped their lives.She hadn't left his side since the incident.Damon paced outside the room, rage barely leashed. His fists were clenched, jaw locked. Every bone in his body screamed for retaliation.But revenge had to wait.“Juliette,” he said, stepping inside softly.She turned but didn’t speak.“Doctor says Mason’s vitals are stabilizing,” he offered. “No permanent damage... physically”.Juliette exhaled slowly, and then nodded. “Emotionally?”He had no answer.----------------------------------------
Morning light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse, casting warm amber rays over the glass and marble interior. But the rising sun did little to thaw the frost between Damon and Juliette.Since Leo’s betrayal, they hadn’t spoken - not truly. Only clipped updates, curt logistics, and glances too loaded to ignore. The emotional fracture between them was widening with each passing hour.Juliette stood at the kitchen counter, fingers curled around a mug of untouched coffee. Her hand trembled slightly as she gripped the marble edge, steadying herself.They had survived murder plots, media storms, corporate warfare, and a child in critical care.But this?This silence was starting to feel like the real undoing.Behind her, footsteps broke the stillness.“I didn’t expect you up yet,” she said without turning.Damon entered in a crisp charcoal suit, tie loose around his neck. “Didn’t sleep”.She nodded. “Me neither”.He reached for a file on the kitchen island, proba
The cold light of dawn crept through the high-rise windows of Thorne Global Headquarters, casting pale shadows over a room littered with coffee cups, scattered Intel files, and blinking laptop screens.No one had slept.Juliette leaned over the edge of the primary monitor, eyes locked on a flashing red alert from Theo, their black-market tech ally."Massive data breach attempt detected. The leaking sequence was traced to anonymous offshore servers. Block protocol engaged. One hour before full release”.Her stomach dropped. “It’s happening”.Behind her, Damon’s jaw tensed. He stood like a coiled spring, his fists clenched at his sides. His eyes locked onto the countdown at the corner of the screen.**00:59:56**“Where are they pulling from?” he asked sharply.Juliette didn’t look up. “A mirror vault. Someone cloned your entire private drive. Strategic memos, offshore accounts, every file on Celeste, the board, and even our contingency blueprints. If this hits the public wire, they’ll t