Chapter 158: Fractured Hearts

The penthouse was quieter than it had ever been. The kind of silence that wasn’t peaceful, but heavy. Suffocating. It pressed into the walls, seeped into the furniture, and weighed down the people inside.

Juliette stood in the kitchen, a mug of tea untouched in her hands. She had made it hours ago. The steam had long faded. The warmth bled out.

Like everything else lately.

Damon hadn’t spoken since the news broke. Since the leak. Since the world began tearing them apart from the inside.

The headline had gone viral:

Charity Funds Funneled to Secret Accounts Tied to Thorne Executive.

And the person at the center of it?

LaRue Evelyn - Damon’s longtime friend. Godmother to Mason. One of the few people Juliette had begun to trust.

Now, she was the face of a public scandal.

And all fingers were pointing to Juliette as the one who let it slip.

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Damon entered the room, pale and tight-jawed. He h