LOGINSerena The screen went dark.The room was quiet.Then Ethan made a sound.Low and short. Not quite a laugh. Something quieter than that. The sound a man makes when he has just watched something that impressed him and doesn't want to make a large thing of it.I turned to look at him.His expression was composed but his eyes were doing something else entirely."Raymond," he said."I know," I said."We have full confidence in your leadership," he said, in a voice that was a precise recreation of Raymond's tone.I pressed my lips together. "Stop.""Said the man who wanted you to sell your company thirty seconds before.""Ethan.""I'm simply observing," he said.Desmond was gathering his things by the door, carefully not smiling and doing a poor job of it."Friday," I said to him. "Make sure the numbers are ready. Full breakdown.""Already started," he said. "I'll have everything prepared."He nodded to both of us and left.The room settled.Ethan came and sat beside me and looked at me w
SerenaEthan and I looked at each other for a long moment after Desmond left.Neither of us spoke.The document sat on the blanket between us like something alive.Twenty percent to my father's son I never knew.The same twenty percent that had just been acquired by an unknown entity while Lawrence Global bled on the open market. The timing was too precise to be coincidence. Whoever was buying those shares knew about this document. Knew about the son. Knew about the provision.Which meant they either were the son. Or they were working with him."Get some rest," Ethan said finally.I looked at him. "How am I supposed to rest after...""Calm down, babe," he said. "The meeting is tomorrow. You have to rest and handle the board tomorrow." He picked up the document carefully and set it on the side.I looked at the ceiling.Everything in me wanted to get up. To call Desmond back. To start pulling at the threads of this immediately.But my stomach was still aching and my body felt like it h
Serena We heard a knock on the door fifteen minutes later.Desmond stepped through the door in his usual composed way, briefcase in hand, suit immaculate. He looked at me first with the particular expression of a man who was deeply relieved that I was awake and conscious and would have said so if Ethan wasn't in the room."Mrs. Ashford," he said. Warm and respectful. "I'm glad to see you looking better.""Thank you, Desmond," I said. "Sit down."He nodded to Ethan. "Mr. Ashford."Ethan acknowledged him with a look that was civil enough.Desmond set his briefcase on the small table and opened it. Then he paused."Before the meeting materials," he said, "there's something else. Something I found this morning while I was looking for the contract files in the archive room."He reached into the briefcase and removed a document. Old paper. The kind that had weight to it beyond its physical mass."It was behind a false panel at the back of the lower cabinet," he said. "Your father's handwri
SerenaMy heart dropped straight to my stomach."Say that again," I said."Three major contracts," Desmond said, his voice clipped and controlled but only barely. "All three pulled out within a twenty four hour window. The timing is not coincidental, Ma'am. Someone coordinated this.""Which contracts?"He listed them. I closed my eyes as each name landed. Those weren't small accounts. Those were relationships Lawrence Global had built over years. Relationships my father had started and I had maintained with everything I had."The board called an emergency meeting this morning," Desmond continued. "They're concerned about the company's stability. The stock started dropping around midday yesterday and it hasn't stopped. We're down significantly.""How significant," I said.He told me.My jaw tightened."And that's not everything," Desmond said. He paused in the way people pause when the next thing they have to say is worse than what came before. "Someone is buying the shares as they dro
Serena Dr. Nwosu cleared his throat and came forward professionally. "Mrs. Ashford. Good to see you more alert.""Thank you," I said.He began his checks. Blood pressure. Temperature. He asked me questions about the pain and I answered while Ethan set my foot down and turned to face the doctor with the particular expression that meant questions were coming."Why is she still in pain," Ethan said. Not aggressively. Just directly. The tone of a man who expected complete and accurate answers.Dr. Nwosu didn't flinch. To his credit he had found his footing with Ethan somewhere in the last several hours."The stomach discomfort is expected," he said. "The body absorbed a significant amount of the toxin before treatment began. The pain will reduce progressively over the next twenty four to forty eight hours. It is not a cause for concern at this stage. It is the body finishing its recovery.""And the pregnancy," Ethan said."Both babies are stable," Dr. Nwosu said. "Heartbeats strong. We w
SerenaI woke up to pain.Not the sharp tearing kind from before. This was duller. Deeper. A steady ache sitting low in my stomach that made me lie still for a moment before I tried anything else.I opened my eyes slowly.The room was quiet. Warm light coming through the curtains. Equipment humming softly beside the bed. The steady beep of the monitor that had become the background sound of my world in the last several hours.There was no Ethan in the room.I looked at the chair beside the bed. Empty. His jacket wasn't on it.He must have stepped out. Gone to get something. Or handle something. With Ethan it was always one or the other.I tried to push myself upright.The pain in my stomach pulled tight immediately and I stopped halfway, pressing my hand against it and breathing through it slowly.I rubbed small circles against the swell of my stomach with my palm.Easy, I thought. We're okay. We're still here.The thought of what had almost happened moved through me like cold water.
Ethan Ashford I woke up with a headache.It was sharp and heavy, and it stayed even after I sat up.I didn’t sleep well. I rarely did, but this time it was worse.I rubbed my temples. My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Messages. Calls. Updates.I ignored them.I got out of bed and went straight to
Ethan Ashford My jaw tightened.How could a man leave his wife… and act like this in public?I knew it's none of my business but... It's annoying.“Where is your wife?” I asked suddenly, my eyes fixed on Marcus.The smile on his face vanished.The room changed.Margaret scoffed. “That woman? She’s
Ethan AshfordI stood there, still smiling like an idiot, watching her walk away.I didn’t even realize I was smiling until my face started to hurt.God… she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.And that scares me.I’m not the kind of man who loses sleep over a woman. I’ve built my life on
MarcusI woke up with a heavy headache, the kind that sits behind my eyes and refuses to leave. I didn’t sleep well all night. I kept turning from one side to the other, my mind restless and my chest tight for no clear reason.I sit up slowly and rub my face. This house has felt strange since Sere







