LOGINEthan The drive to Lawrence Global took twelve minutes.Max pulled up to the entrance and two of the building's security team came forward immediately to open the car door. I walked through the lobby to the executive elevator without stopping.Desmond was in the corridor on the executive floor."Mr. Ashford," he said, nodding.I nodded back and walked to Serena's office.I saw her through the glass before she saw me.She was at her desk, leaning forward slightly, reading something on her screen with the focused expression she got when something had her full attention. Her reading glasses were on. One hand rested on her stomach without her seeming to notice she had put it there.I stood there for exactly three seconds.Then I opened the door.She looked up.Her face changed immediately. The focused expression softened into something warm and real and completely unguarded."You're early," she said."It's four o'clock," I said.She looked at the clock on her desk. "It's three forty seve
EthanI was sitting in the middle of the meeting absentmindedly. The presentation had been going for twenty minutes and I only heard maybe four sentences of it.I looked at my phone again.Nothing.Serena had called once at ten in the morning, exactly on schedule, and then silence. I called her back thirty minutes ago. It rang out but she didn't pick up.I told myself she was busy. But not hearing her voice made me lose focus.I couldn't focus on a single word the man at the front of the room was saying."Mr. Ashford." My CFO, Gerald, paused mid sentence. "The projected figures for Q3 show fourteen percent...""Excuse me," I said.I stood up and walked out.The corridor was quiet. I moved to the window at the far end and called Serena's number again.It rang thrice.Then, I heard her voice."Babe. I'm sorry, I was in a meeting and...""Are you okay?"A small pause. "I'm fine. I promise. The meeting ran long and I forgot to step out. I'm sorry."I looked out the window at the city be
Marcus The wine bottle was half empty. I didn't remember drinking that much. I sat on the floor with my back against the bed and my legs stretched out in front of me and stared at the wall. The room was dark. I hadn't turned the lights on when evening came. I just let the darkness settle around me and stayed in it. My phone has rang eleven times today. I knew who it was each time without looking. I let it ring. The bottle was warm in my hand now. I looked at it for a moment then took another sip and let the burn move down my throat. Kelvin is not my son. I had been telling myself that for twenty four hours and it still hit me the same way every single time. Like the first time. Like something blunt and heavy landing in the centre of my chest. Three years. I had held that boy. Fed him. Sat beside his bed when he was sick. I watched him learn to walk by gripping my fingers. Heard him say daddy for the first time and felt something so large and real move through me that I hadn
Serena I put my hand on his face and turned it toward me."Let me go to work," I said quietly, pouting my lips."Serena...""I will take Clara. I will take four more guards. I will take Amara. I will not attend anything that isn't necessary. I will be home by five." I held his gaze. "And I will call you every two hours."He said nothing.I leaned forward and kissed him softly. Once. Then again, slower.His hand came up to my back automatically.I pulled back just enough to look at him."Please," I said against his mouth.He closed his eyes briefly."Every two hours," he said."Every two hours," I confirmed."Clara stays with you inside the building. Not outside. Inside.""Inside," I agreed."If anything feels wrong...""I call you before I do anything else."He opened his eyes and looked at me for a long moment. Then he exhaled through his nose in the way that meant he was conceding something he wasn't happy about conceding."Five guards," he said. "Not four."I kissed him once more.
SerenaI was lying down, reading a business magazine when the door opened.Dr. Mitchell walked in with her clipboard and I sat up straighter before she even reached the bed.She checked everything. The baby monitor readings. My blood pressure. The chart. She asked her questions and I answered them and I watched her face the whole time trying to read what she wasn't saying yet.She made her final notes.Then she looked up."You're stable," she said. "Blood pressure is good. Both heartbeats are strong and consistent." She paused. "I'm happy to discharge you today."Oh thank God! Finally!I exhaled so completely that Ethan looked over from his chair."Conditions," Dr. Mitchell continued, holding up one finger. "No stress. No long hours. Proper meals three times a day. You rest when your body tells you to rest. And you come back to see me every week without fail.""Yes," I said immediately.She looked at Ethan. "Make sure she means that.""I always do," he said.She signed the discharge
The Boss Vera Sinclair is not someone you summoned. She came when she decided to come and she left when she was finished and there was no version of any conversation with her where you forgot who held the real power in the room.She was also the one person who had more reason to want the Ashford name destroyed than I did.And she had resources that made mine look modest.I got out of the car.The rain hit me immediately but I didn't hurry. I never hurried. It sent the wrong message.Felix walked beside me with an umbrella I didn't take from him.The bar was quiet at this hour. Low lighting. Private booths along the back wall. The kind of place where conversations happened that never made it into any official record.She was in the last booth.Vera Sinclair was somewhere between fifty and ageless. Silver hair worn like a deliberate choice rather than an admission. Dark eyes that watched everything without appearing to watch anything. She was dressed simply and expensively in the way o
SerenaThe plane began its descent, and I pressed my face against the window, eager to catch my first glimpse of the Maldives.What I saw took my breath away.Crystal-clear turquoise water stretching as far as the eye could see. Small islands dotted across the ocean like emeralds on a blue canvas.
Marcus "When is the wedding?" my mother asked, picking up the invitation."One week from today," she read. "Oh my, that's quite soon, isn't it?""It's suspicious," Victoria said. "Why would they rush into marriage unless she trapped him somehow? Maybe she's pregnant. Maybe she's blackmailing him."
Marcus I groaned as I ran a hand through my hair in frustration.My mother stood up, her face hard. "You will fix this, Marcus. You will find a way to get that money. Because I am not losing my home.""How?" I demanded. "How am I supposed to come up with $450 million in thirty days?""I don't know
Serena "What is he doing here?" I asked my secretary."He says he came to check on you," she replied.I frowned slightly. "Send him in."Dave walked in carrying two bags of food, wearing his usual charming smile."I hope I'm not interrupting," he said."A little," I admitted. "But that's okay. Wha







