เข้าสู่ระบบEvelyn’s POVEvelyn didn’t realize how tightly she’d been holding herself together until the courtroom doors closed behind her. The sound was soft, controlled, almost polite, but something inside her loosened all at once. Her shoulders dropped before she could stop them, her fingers, clenched since the moment she’d taken her seat inside, slowly curled open at her sides.She stood there for a second too long, just inside the hallway, staring at nothing in particular.People were moving around her— lawyers speaking in low voices, footsteps echoing against the tiled floor, someone laughed quietly down the hall, and the normalcy of it all made her feel strangely out of place, like she was walking through a world that hadn’t noticed how close she’d come to breaking.She swallowed and took a deep breath.The hearing was over, at least the first one. It hadn’t been intense, there had been no shouting, no accusations thrown across the room. It was all formal language, c
Damian’s POVDamian sat at the defense table, his suit impeccable, posture controlled, expression unreadable. To anyone watching, he looked like the same man who dominated meetings and crushed opposition with calm precision.But inside him, something twisted. It had been weeks since everything unraveled.Weeks since Evelyn left the mansion with Jayden in her arms and Carmen beside her. Weeks since he wired the remainder of the surrogate fee and convinced himself that money could close wounds. Weeks since sleep had become shallow and restless, haunted by the same questions he refused to voice.Was he right?Or was he just afraid of being wrong?The courtroom buzzed softly as lawyers shuffled papers and clerks prepared documents. Damian barely noticed, his focus sharpened the moment the opposite side took their seats.And then he saw him.Reed.Reed Dawson stood at the plaintiff’s table, dark suit tailored but less rigid than Damian’s, his stance calm, eyes sharp w
Vanessa’s POVVanessa was in the middle of rocking Jayson when the burner phone vibrated in the drawer. That alone made her pause, but she didn’t rush to pick it up. She never rushed, rushing was for people who were afraid of missing something. Vanessa knew that whatever or whoever was on that phone would wait. Everything always waited for her.Jayson stirred slightly in her arms, his tiny fingers curling against her silk robe. She hummed softly, the sound automatic, soothing. Once he settled again, she carefully laid him back in his crib, adjusting the blanket so it sat perfectly beneath his chin. Only then did she reach for the phone.The screen lit up, it was an Unknown Caller.She smiled. It was Nurse Felicia calling, she had deleted her number from the phone, and that was why it was labeled “Unknown Caller".She picked up calmly, her voice soft, unbothered.“Hello?”There was a brief pause on the other end, then a familiar, slightly anxious voice slipped throug
Evelyn's POV It had been three weeks since Evelyn left the Blackwood mansion, three weeks since the iron gates closed behind her without ceremony. Three weeks since her life, as she knew it, cracked open and reshaped itself into something quieter, smaller, but painfully real.The apartment was nothing like the mansion, it didn’t have endless corridors or marble floors that sparkled because of how clean it is. It didn’t have staff moving silently in the background or rooms that felt too big for the emotions inside them. Carmen’s apartment, their new shared apartment was modest, cozy and comfortable. And somehow, it felt more like home than anything Evelyn had ever lived in before.She sat on the living room rug with her legs folded beneath her, Jayden stretched out in front of her on a soft play mat patterned with bright animals and shapes. Carmen lay on her stomach opposite them, chin resting on her palms, shaking a small sensory rattle gently in the air.Jayden’s eyes followed the m
Damian’s POVReed didn’t wait to be invited in, he closed the door behind him with more force than necessary, the sound sharp in the silent room. Damian didn’t turn around immediately, he remained where he was, standing near the desk, his back now turned to the door, hands braced against the edge like the weight of his own thoughts might knock him over if he let go.He could feel Reed’s presence before he heard his voice, that familiar tension in the air. The shift that always happened when Reed walked into a room already loaded with trouble.“So,” Reed said finally, voice flat, dangerously calm. “I just passed Gregory on my way in.”Damian exhaled slowly. “Then you already know.”“I know something happened,” Reed replied. “What I don’t know is why the hell Evelyn’s room is empty.”Damian straightened, then turned. His expression was unreadable, his face already set into that cold, controlled mask Reed had known for years, the one Damian wore when he was convince
Evelyn’s POVThe apartment smelled fresh, laundry detergent, and something warm Carmen must have cooked earlier and forgotten to eat because she was in a hurry. It wasn’t large, not compared to the mansion, and certainly not old or small like their previous apartment, but the moment Evelyn stepped inside, it felt real, comfortable and peaceful.Carmen closed the door behind them with her foot and dropped the keys on the small console table by the entrance. “Okay,” she said briskly, already moving into action, dropping the bags. “Welcome home.”Evelyn stood there for a second, Jayden still asleep against her chest, her arms wrapped around him instinctively as if she still expected someone to tell her she wasn’t allowed to be there. The walls were light-colored, the furniture modest but clean, and there were boxes stacked neatly in one corner, still unopened.“This is… nice,” Evelyn said softly.Carmen snorted. “Nice is generous, but I’ll take it. It’s temporary a







