LOGINAlex might have been able to feel some pity for Sienna once upon a time, but every trace of that disappeared the moment he found out she had sent thugs after him because if Franklin had not been one step ahead and arranged protection for him, Alex knew there was a very real chance that he and his entire family would already be dead.Maybe he could have forced himself to move on if she had only wanted to hurt him.Maybe he could have found some excuse to justify her actions if she had only wanted revenge against him alone.But the hitman had admitted that the order was not only to kill him, because Sienna wanted his entire family wiped out too, and that truth hurt far more than any knife ever could.“Alex, somebody set me up,” Sienna said quickly as tears rushed into her eyes again. “I would never hurt you because you know I have always loved you.”She changed tactics so quickly that it was almost frightening to watch because
Sienna could not believe she did not see it coming. For someone who had always been on top of her game, this came as a surprise she did not welcome and the only way, was to resolve to her last card.“Cassie, why do you hate me so much?” Sienna asked, her voice trembling as tears gathered in her eyes. “If this is because of Fred, then you can have him back.”She sounded pitiful, broken, helpless. It was the only card she had left to play after digging herself into such a deep hole.Cassie only frowned at her.“To take back your leftovers when I already have a full-course meal standing right in front of me?” Cassie asked as she glanced at Franklin. “You must be out of your damn mind if you think I want your husband.”The room grew even quieter.Sienna’s face twisted with humiliation. “Then do not ruin me, Cassie,” she pleaded, looking completely pitiful. “Please just let m
How could Cassie possibly know the truth about how Sienna lost her womb unless she had real proof hidden somewhere?The moment those words left Cassie’s mouth, Sienna felt panic clawing at her chest because there was no way Cassie would make such a claim unless she was prepared to back it up with evidence.Sienna was not ready for that.Her original plan had been simple because all she needed to do was pretend to faint, let everyone panic, and then allow herself to be rushed to the hospital where she could pay a doctor to support whatever lie she needed, fake a few test results, or create some other excuse to escape before anyone pushed too hard for answers.That was the plan she had carefully built in her head.Unfortunately for her, Nathan and Debbie stepped forward before anybody else had the chance to get close.“There is no reason for anyone to panic because my wife and I are medical professionals,” Nathan said calmly.
The humiliation pressing down on Frederick felt unbearable because no matter where he looked, he found people staring at him.Some people looked entertained by what had happened, some looked curious, and others watched him with pity written all over their faces, which only made the situation even harder for him to endure.Their eyes stayed on him everywhere he turned.Franklin had introduced him to countless important people over the years, and because of those connections, the Novarian Group had managed to establish a branch in New York without much difficulty.Most of the billionaires and influential figures gathered in the ballroom tonight were people Franklin had personally brought into Frederick’s circle.Frederick had always appreciated that.He had always believed Franklin was the one person in his life who would never betray him.Now, standing there in front of everyone, he no longer knew what to believe.He and F
Frederick was no match for his twin brother, and every cruel word he had ever spoken about Cassie seemed to give Franklin even more reason to keep hitting him.Each punch landed harder than the one before, and with every blow, more blood spilled from Frederick’s nose and mouth until the front of his shirt was stained red.The crowd stood around them in stunned silence, watching everything unfold without trying to interfere. Some people looked horrified, some looked entertained, and others had already taken out their phones to record the fight because it was painfully obvious who was winning.“Please, stop them,” Sienna cried, her voice breaking with panic as Franklin drove another fist into Frederick’s face.“For every disgusting thing you ever said about my wife,” Franklin roared, his voice filled with so much anger that it sent chills through the room.Frederick had stopped fighting back a while ago because he knew there was no point. He could barely block the punches anymore, and e
It took several long seconds for Franklin’s words to fully settle over the room. Nobody moved, nobody spoke, and for a moment, it almost felt like the entire world had stopped spinning.Sienna trembled where she stood, her fingers curling tightly against the fabric of her dress as she stared at Franklin with wide, disbelieving eyes.“Franklin?” she whispered, her voice shaky and weak. “No.”Pearl and Audrey looked just as stunned. Their mouths hung open, and the envy in their eyes was so obvious that neither of them could hide it. Lucien and Asher looked like they had just seen something impossible, and both of them turned toward Frederick, expecting him to be surprised.Instead, Frederick was smiling.The sight of it was unsettling because although there was a smile on his face, there was nothing warm about it. His eyes remained cold, and there was something heavy sitting behind that expression, something ugly and painful that looked ready to break free at any second.“Frank,” Freder
Franklin sat there in silence, digesting Frederick’s words one heavy drop at a time. His mind drifted back unwillingly to the look in Cassie’s eyes during their encounter. Those tears weren’t fake. Sebastian’s immediate defense, Evan’s subtle disappointment… It all rolled through Franklin’s mind li
When Cassie slipped out of the café a month earlier, she hadn’t vanished into thin air the way Frederick and Sienna hoped.She simply went home, moving with a calmness born from exhaustion, packed a small suitcase with the essentials, left behind the car she never legally owned, and ordered an Uber
Sebastian’s presence should have infuriated her. Those photos had ruined seven years of her life, but as Cassie pushed herself upright, she found her anger dissolving into something far more complicated.The pictures were not pleasing, yes, but Sebastian wasn’t the enemy here.He cleared his throat,
Sebastian went silent, so silent that Cassie could hear the muffled hum of downtown Chicago through the restaurant’s tall windows.The city was alive even on a weekday afternoon: taxis honking along Michigan Avenue, pedestrians wrapped in coats against the late-winter wind, the metallic groan of the







