LOGIN“Knows what?” Edward asked.“Enough.”Edward looked at her sharply.“She knew Kennedy’s companies,” Mrs. Vale continued. “She knew which contracts were his before they became ours. She knew he trusted you with the machinery agreements.”“She never saw the private accounts.”“You don’t know what she saw.”“I know what was kept from her.”“You thought she was dead. We both did. For twenty seven years, no one worried about what Amelia might remember because Amelia was not supposed to be alive.”Edward’s face darkened. “Lower your voice.”“There’s no one here except us. Our children have left because they think we helped steal that woman’s daughter, and now we discover the one person who might connect everything is alive.”“Amelia cannot prove I ordered Shannon’s disappearance because I didn’t.”“But she can prove everything that happened before it.” Mrs. Vale pointed towards Sean’s phone. “Once they prove the contracts, the bribes and the shell companies, why would anyone doubt the rest?
Mrs. Vale moved between them. “Whatever happened, everything we did was for you and your sister.”Aria’s face drained of colour.Sean looked at his mother as though he no longer recognised her. “For us?”“We were building something you would inherit. Kennedy had already made it clear that there was no place for your father beside him. If we had waited, he would have destroyed everything before either of you were old enough to understand.” Edward’s voice turned cold. “We did what we had to do. Kennedy would have destroyed us if we hadn’t moved first.”Sean took a step back.To Edward, the admission belonged to stolen contracts, bribed officials and assets purchased from a collapsing Miles empire.To Sean, it answered a far more terrible question. “You paid them.”Edward frowned. “I told you that Meridian made payments.”“You paid the people who took Shannon.”“What?”“And you called it protecting us.”“I didn’t say that.”“You just admitted it.”“I admitted nothing of the sort.”Sean
Amelia descended the front steps as quickly as her injured wrist allowed.Sean had already started the engine by the time she reached the car. He watched her through the windshield but made no move to lower the window or open the door.Aria did not appear to notice her approaching.She remained folded into herself in the passenger seat, one hand pressed over her mouth.Amelia stopped beside the car and tapped lightly against the glass.Sean hesitated before unlocking the doors.The moment Amelia opened the passenger door, Aria wiped at her face and turned away.“I’m sorry,” Amelia said.Aria shook her head. “You didn’t do anything.”“I should have said something before you left.”“What was there to say?”Amelia looked towards the estate. The front doors had closed again. Shannon had not followed her. “I don’t believe you or Sean had anything to do with what happened.”Aria’s chin trembled. “Then why did everyone let us leave?”“Because they’re frightened, and frightened people make cr
Shannon stared at him.The request was painfully small compared with everything he had given her.One sentence, that was all he needed. But Shannon looked towards the records and then at her mother’s injured wrist.Fear held her silent again.Sean swallowed. This time, when he nodded, there was no anger left in his face, only defeat. “All right.”He turned towards the door. Aria stood there. She must have returned after hearing the raised voices. Tears streaked her face, but her expression was no longer broken, it was empty.Her gaze moved to Kennedy. “When you said no Vale could stay near Shannon, you meant me too.”“Aria,” Shannon whispered.Kennedy’s expression shifted. “This isn’t personal.”A short, disbelieving laugh escaped Aria. “It feels personal.”“You know what Edward may have done.”“He’s still my father.”“That’s exactly the problem.”The words were out before Kennedy could stop them.Aria stared at him.Amelia turned sharply. “Kennedy.”But the damage had already been d
The words struck him.Aria looked down.Shannon’s voice trembled. “I don’t know Edward well enough to defend him. I don’t know enough about what happened twenty seven years ago to condemn him. All I know is that everyone is already choosing sides, and my child is standing in the middle.”Sean moved towards her.She stepped back.The small distance stopped him.“I need the truth,” she said. “Not your loyalty to your father. Not Dad’s hatred of him. The truth.”“You’ll have it,” Sean promised.Kennedy gave a cold laugh. “From the son investigating his own family?”Sean turned sharply. “What is that supposed to mean?”“It means I will not trust Shannon’s safety to a Vale.”Aria’s head lifted.Sean went still.Shannon stared at her father. “Dad.”Kennedy looked at her stomach. “Until we know who controls that account, Sean’s family stays away from this estate.”“You can’t decide that,” Sean said.“I just did.”“You don’t decide whether I see Shannon or my child.”“This is my house.”“And
Kennedy was already reaching for the laptop. “Show me everything.”The security chief opened the corporate records.Meridian Industrial Holdings had been established more than thirty years earlier. Edward Vale had served as its controlling director before transferring most of its assets into Vale Group. The company was technically inactive, yet one of its surviving accounts had transferred money through two intermediaries until it reached Northstar Risk Management. And Northstar had paid Leon Mercer.Kennedy looked at Sean. “Your father’s company paid the man who pushed Amelia away while Evelyn attacked my pregnant daughter.”“An old account connected to one of his companies paid a firm that paid Mercer,” Sean corrected. “That is not the same as my father instructing him.”“How many coincidences do you require?”“I require proof.”The security chief continued searching through the documents, then another result appeared. This one was older, much older. He frowned as he opened the scan
The guest room was at the end of the hall.Shannon paused at the doorway, her fingers resting lightly against the frame before she stepped in.It used to be a storage room now it was neat, cleaned and prepared.A bed, fresh sheets and a wardrobe that looked barely used.Shannon exhaled slowly and s
The hospital discharged them the next day.Shannon didn’t know whether that was fate or cruelty.She stood just outside the building, her fingers gripping the thin discharge papers in her hand as the sunlight hit her face. Too bright. Like the world hadn’t just ended for her.A few steps ahead Rowa
Shannon’s knees weakened beneath her. Three months of silence. Three months of absence. Three months where she wasn’t there. Her breathing grew uneven. Three months where someone else was. Her gaze slowly shifted back to Rowan. And this time she understood. Rowan watched her, something sharp
Rowan sat on the bed, his arm wrapped loosely around Evelyn.Evelyn stood close, too close, and Rowan leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek like it was the most natural thing in the world.Like he had done it a hundred times.Like it belonged there.“Stop!”The word tore out of Shannon befor







