LOGINBella’s POVA horrible feeling settled deep inside my chest as I watched Sarah from across the table.Something was wrong.I could see it in the way her hands trembled against the wooden surface. I could see it in the way she kept avoiding everyone’s eyes. Most of all, I could see it in the guilt written all over her face.The room had become painfully quiet.Nobody spoke.Nobody moved.It felt as though all four of us were holding our breath, waiting for whatever bombshell Sarah was about to drop.James noticed it too.His eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned forward in his chair.“Sarah.”His voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable warning hidden beneath it.Sarah immediately froze.The color drained from her face.My stomach tightened.Because I knew that look.I had seen it before.It was the look people got when they were carrying a secret that had become too heavy to hold.The look people got when they knew the truth was about to hurt someone.And judging by the fear in Sar
Ethan’s POVNobody spoke after James’s last sentence.The silence felt suffocating.Victoria wasn’t acting alone.The words hung in the air like a storm cloud waiting to break.I looked down at the folder sitting on the table.For months, I had believed there was one person responsible.One liar.One manipulator.One person who had destroyed everything.Now I was finding out it wasn’t that simple.It never was.My jaw tightened.“Who?”The question came out harsher than I intended.James looked exhausted.Like he hadn’t slept properly in weeks.Honestly, none of us looked much better.“We’re not completely certain yet.”My patience snapped immediately.“Then why say it?”The room became quiet again.Bella glanced at me.Not angry.Not upset.Just tired.And immediately guilt hit me.Because she was carrying this too.This wasn’t just my anger.This was our pain.James rubbed his forehead.“Because somebody inside the medical system altered records.”Every muscle in my body locked.“Wh
Bella’s POVThe room felt like it had stopped breathing.Nobody moved.Nobody spoke.Nobody even seemed willing to blink.My baby.The words echoed inside my head.Again.And again.And again.The report was about your baby.My hands started shaking immediately.I looked at Sarah.Then at Ethan.Then at the man sitting beside her.Nobody looked away.Which somehow made everything worse.Because it meant this was real.Actually real.My throat felt dry.Painfully dry.“What report?”The words barely sounded like my voice.Sarah swallowed hard.I could tell she hated this.I could tell she wished somebody else was sitting here instead.Unfortunately for all of us, there wasn’t anybody else.The man beside her opened a folder.A thick folder.Far too thick.My stomach twisted.“I should introduce myself first.”His voice was calm.Professional.“My name is James.”I stared at him.He continued.“I worked as an internal investigator for the Wade family.”Ethan immediately looked up.“What
Bella’s POVI barely slept that night.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the files.The emails.The reports.The dates.The proof.It felt like somebody had taken the foundation of my life and shaken it until every piece came loose.By three in the morning, I was still awake.By four, I had given up completely.I sat on my couch with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders while staring out the window at the empty street below.The city looked peaceful.I wasn’t.My phone sat beside me.Silent.But my eyes kept drifting toward it.Toward Ethan’s contact.Toward the conversation we had shared in the café.Toward everything that had changed.I hated it.Not because I didn’t want answers.Because I did.I wanted every answer.The problem was that answers came with consequences.And I wasn’t sure either of us was ready for those.The next morning arrived far too quickly.I somehow made it to work despite feeling like I had been hit by a truck.Maya noticed immediately.She took one look at
Bella’s POVNeither of us spoke for a long time.The files remained open between us.The truth sat there on the laptop screen.Ugly.Unavoidable.Real.I watched Ethan stare at the evidence like he was trying to force his brain to reject it.Like if he looked long enough, maybe the words would rearrange themselves into something less horrifying.They didn’t.The emails remained exactly where they were.The dates remained exactly the same.The missing documents remained missing.And Victoria’s name remained attached to all of it.Finally Ethan pushed his chair back.Not violently.Not angrily.Just slowly.Like he suddenly needed space to breathe.His hands moved through his hair.Then he laughed.A short, broken laugh that contained absolutely no humor.“Oh my God.”My chest tightened.Because I had reacted the same way.The moment everything clicked.The moment I realized how many lies had been sitting underneath the surface.Ethan stared down at the table.“I remember that day.”His
Ethan’s POVFor a second, I forgot how to move.The phone continued vibrating in my hand.Bella.Calling me.Actually calling me.Across the desk, Derek looked like he had just witnessed a miracle.Neither of us spoke.The ringtone continued.“Dude,” Derek whispered.I blinked.“Dude!”“I can hear it.”“Then answer it!”My heart was pounding so hard it felt painful.Because Bella wasn’t the type of person to call without a reason.Especially not after everything.Something had happened.Something important.I took a deep breath and answered.“Hello?”Silence.For a moment, all I could hear was breathing.Then Bella spoke.“Ethan.”My chest tightened immediately.Just hearing her voice did that.“What happened?” I asked.Because I knew.I knew this wasn’t a casual phone call.The silence stretched.Then Bella said something that made my entire body go rigid.“I think we need to talk.”Every muscle in my body tensed.Not because of the words.Because of the way she said them.There was
Ethan’s POVA week passed.Seven long days.Seven painfully quiet days.And somehow every single day felt longer than the one before it.I kept my promise.No calls.No texts.No surprise visits.No showing up outside her apartment.Nothing.I gave Bella exactly what she asked for.Space.The probl
Bella’s POVThree days passed.Three long, frustrating, confusing days.And Ethan kept his promise.No calls.No surprise visits.No flowers.No letters.No attempts to find me.Nothing.The silence should have made me happy.That was what I wanted, wasn’t it?Space.Distance.Freedom.That was wha
Ethan’s POVI did not sleep.Not really.I spent most of the night sitting in the nursery with Bella’s old note in my hands while memories I had spent months trying to outrun caught up to me one by one.By the time morning arrived, I felt exhausted.The kind of exhausted that had nothing to do with
Bella’s POVI didn’t sleep.Not really.I spent the entire night tossing and turning in bed while memories I had spent months trying to bury clawed their way back to the surface one by one.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Ethan.Standing outside that bathroom.Looking at me like his entire world







