LOGINLeander POVI didn't tell him where we were going.I told him it was a drive. I told him to bring Shen's beach bag and a sweater for himself and not to ask questions. That request worked on Avelin like it always had. Not at all. But he learned not to interrogate me when I had made up my mind, so he packed the bag. Put on his sweater. We stood in the hallway while Shen said goodbye to each of his toy dinosaurs. It was a thing that was going to cost us five minutes every time we left the house."Shen," I said."Almost done," Shen said. "I am telling the Triceratops we are going to the beach."I looked at Avelin. He looked at the ceiling.Eventually, we left.The drive took an hour. The city gave way to the coast. The buildings thinned out. The light changed to that brightness that only exists near the water. Shen fell asleep twenty minutes in. He used up the last of his energy from the dinosaur goodbye ceremony. He woke up when the car stopped, looked out the window at the ocean, and sa
Avelin POVElias came to our apartment on a Thursday evening. He was holding a paper bag from the bakery on Mercer Street. Shen had been waiting by the door since five. He had his face pressed against the glass until he saw Elias, the head of the department, step out of the elevator. It was quite a contrast. Elias in his charcoal suit, looking like he had just walked out of a high-stakes merger. Then he was immediately brought to his knees by a three-year-old demanding to see the crust on the bread."It is the one," Elias said. His voice was entirely serious as he handed the bag over. "I checked with the baker personally."Shen took it like a prize. His small shoes squeaked on the hardwood as he marched toward the kitchen to show Leander.I watched them from the counter. The chicken was already roasting in the oven, filling the room with the smell of rosemary and garlic. It was the time we had hosted anyone since the restructuring. For three years, this apartment had been a place, a p
Avelin POVWe did not plan to stay up all night. That is what happened. We had a lot to talk about. Important conversations like this one just happen when you stop trying to control them and let them go where they need to. We moved from the kitchen table to the couch at some point. We started with tea, then switched to water. Finally, we did not need anything to drink. The city outside our window changed from evening to night to the light of dawn. We did not notice any of it because we were too busy talking about things that had been on our minds for three years and longer.Leander told me about the journal my father-in-law had read. I had no idea he had read it. I did not know that Richard Voss had sat alone in his office at night with my pages and understood what his son was capable of being when he was not a Voss. Leander told me what his father had said in the sitting room afterward. I did not say anything. When he finished, I put my face against his shoulder for a moment because
Avelin POVThe apartment was really quiet.It was not empty feeling we had when Shen and I lived here by ourselves. That old silence was like a weight on the walls. This was the quiet that comes after a big storm has passed. All the noise and fear just stopped. I stood there in the room, listening to my own breathing.Conrad was in jail. The police had officially charged him. Elena had told her story. That part of our lives was finally closed. The people in charge of the company had changed. Our lawyers were handling all the details now, so we did not have to deal with the stress. Even the guards outside our apartment were not watching us closely as before.Shen went to bed at eight without any fuss. He seemed to know that this night was different. He asked me to tell him one story, not two. He fell asleep before I even finished. His favorite toy, a wolf, was tucked under his arm. His face was relaxed. He was breathing slowly and steadily, like a child who feels safe.I sat at the kit
Conrad POVThe holding facility smelled like disinfectant. It was a flat smell that reminded me I wasn't living my life anymore.I sat on the bed and stared at the wall. The concrete blocks were grey and rough with chips near the floor. My mind worked like it always did, going over each detail without feeling anything. I needed to know where I went wrong. I didn't feel scared or sad. Those were feelings for people who let emotions control them. I just needed to look at the facts.The charges against me were made official two hours ago. My lawyer read them out with a tone, watching my face for a reaction: kidnapping, conspiracy, and asset fraud. The last charge was trying to kidnap Avelin Mirei. My lawyer said that name carefully, pausing to see if I would react.I didn't react. I had already reacted two nights ago in the back of the car, watching the police surround me on my phone. The numbers didn't work out in my favor. I had no moves left.I was right about Leander's intelligence a
Avelin POVI had never been to a courtroom before.The courtroom was really big and really quiet. It had ceilings and wood on the walls. The air in the room felt special, like it does in places. The seats were hard. Every little sound was loud.Leander was sitting in the row. He had saved me a seat. I sat in the back instead. I wanted to see him and the door through which Elena would come in. He did not say anything when I told him I was going to sit in the back. He knew I needed some space. I could feel him from far away. He smelled like cedar and rain. That smell reached me even where I was sitting.Shen stayed with Madam Lia. I had kissed him goodbye that morning. He knew something big was happening. That he needed to stay away. He asked me if the bad person was going to go now. I told him yes. He. Went back to playing with his dinosaurs.The courtroom started to fill up with people: lawyers, police officers, and reporters. Some of these people were from the board meetings and the







