LOGINANYTAâS POVThe night before, Everett and I spoke about the emergency injunction Marcus Webb filed. We spoke in low voices for twenty minutes and finally agreed to deal with it another day. It was already late, and neither of us had the energy left to pick apart another threat.Now Clayâs voice cut through the speaker in my car, tight and serious. âWe have a problem. You should sit down.âI was pulling into the playgroup parking lot, one hand on the wheel while Teddy sang the family song off-key in the backseat. The reception kept crackled. âClay? Youâre breaking up. Whatâs going on?âStatic swallowed his reply. The call dropped completely after a few seconds of distorted noise.I frowned at the screen and told myself Iâd call him back in five minutes. Teddy was already twisting in his seat, determined to unbuckle himself so he could show his friends the new dinosaur figure clutched in his small hand. I helped him out, smoothed his shirt, kissed his forehead, and watched him run insid
CLAYâS POVI read the text from my attorney at 7:42 a.m. and felt the familiar cold focus settle over me. Marcus Webb had moved faster than I expected. His emergency injunction was a bastard move, but a smart one. It bought him time and dragged everything else into the open.As Owen Grayson I had levers most people in this city only dreamed about. The kind of resources that made Everettâs old empire look like a regional operation. I started pulling them without hesitation.First call went to my lead counsel, Margaret Holt. She picked up on the first ring like sheâd been waiting for it. âHow bad?ââBad enough. Emergency injunction on the inheritance. I want your best team on it within the hour. Challenge every technicality. Tie them up in procedure until weâre ready to bury them.ââAlready pulling the filing,â she said. âWeâll file for expedited dismissal by close of business.âI ended the call and moved to the second front. Philip was already in my study when I walked in on him.âFind
Anyta POVThe shadow at the door turned out to be nothing more than the delivery driver dropping off a package for Alice. Everett and I both exhaled at the same time once we checked the porch camera. The relief felt almost ridiculous after everything we had been through, but it reminded me how thin our sense of safety had become. We settled back into the living room with Teddy, who had not noticed a thing. He kept right on talking about his dinosaur collection.Teddy looked at Everett for a very long time with those his enormous green eyes. The same eyes that stared back at him from the man kneeling on the rug. Then he turned to me, searching my face like he needed one more confirmation that this was real. I gave him a small nod and a smile I hoped looked steadier than I felt. He looked back at Everett.âYouâre very tall,â Teddy said.Everett let out a sound that was almost a laugh, rough and surprised. I saw tears gather in his eyes for the first time in all the years I had known him
Anuraâs POVThe power came back on with a weak flicker after some minutes, but the fear stayed.Clay moved through the house, checking every lock and window twice. There was nothing; no footprints we could clearly see, no signs of forced entry. Teddy eventually fell asleep on the couch between us, his small hand fisted in my shirt. Clay and I just sat there in the low light, quietly processing our thoughts.I barely slept.Long after Clay finally dozed off in the armchair, I lay awake staring at the ceiling, Teddyâs even breathing is the only steady sound in the room. My mind kept circling back to my own childhood. The way my parents had vanished in a single rainy night, gone before I was old enough to really know them. That hollow ache never really left. I remembered standing in their empty bedroom for weeks afterward, touching their things like they might still hold some piece of them. Nothing ever quite filled that space.Grandma Jo had tried. She moved me into her house, fed me, c
ANYTAâS POVThe message was still glowing on my screen when Everett reached across the table and turned my phone face-down without asking.âDonât,â he said quietly. âNot here at least.â He added with a small voice.How did Webb know I was with Everett? I looked at him, and could tell he had the exact question.He quickly scanned the room, his green eyes flicking to the door, the window, to the two men at the corner table who were very deliberately not looking our way.âHe knows about Italy,â I said, my voice lower than I meant it to be. âAbout my accounts being frozen. That was years ago, Everett. And I know you did it. But why would he bring it up now? How would Marcus Webb even know that?ââI donât know.â His jaw tightened. âBut Iâll find out.âI slid my phone into my bag with hands that werenât quite steady, and for a moment neither of us spoke. The coffee shop noise, which had faded into a dull roar seconds ago, came rushing back â the espresso machine hissing, someone laughing to
Anyta POVMy phone rang just as I finished wiping Teddyâs hands after lunch. He had managed to get peanut butter everywhere again, including a stubborn smear across his cheek that made him look like a mischievous little warrior. I smiled despite the exhaustion tugging at my bones and answered without checking the caller ID.âAnyta Rushmore,â I said, balancing the phone between my ear and shoulder while steering Teddy toward his toys.âMs. Rushmore, this is Harlan Whitaker from Whitaker, Kline, and Associates. I was Grandma JoâsâMrs. Josephine Ashbourneâsâestate attorney.âThe formal tone stopped me cold. I motioned for Alice to watch Teddy and stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind me. âYes, Mr. Whitaker. Whatâs happened?âHe didnât waste time on pleasantries. âIâm afraid the full execution of the will is being formally challenged. A group of Ashbourne relatives has filed motions claiming Mrs. Ashbourne was of compromised mental faculties when she executed the final updates
ANYTA'S POVThe old lady's hardened as she folded her hands on the table. âI said Siennaâs planning something stinky. I just haven't found out what yet.âMy stomach tightened. I tightened my fingers around the fork and swallowed again as I felt my brows knit together. âWhy do you think that?âShe w
CLAYâS POVThe elevator doors slid open with a soft whoosh, and I stepped into the foyer of my penthouse.The walk from my car to the elevator had left the wound under my feet throbbing, making me limp a bit.âFinally,â I sighed as the dim lighting enveloped me, a warm contrast to the bright LA sun
ANYTAâS POVThe glow of the computer screen cast muted blue light over my fingers as I scrolled through listings.Auctions, blogs, social media posts which I was beginning to think were engagement baits, archivesâŠmore auctions.I pressed my fingers to my forehead as I narrowed my tired eyes a bit,
ANYTA'S POVâYou look tired, sweetheart,â Clay murmured in the gentlest voice. âHave you been sleeping well?ââIf you think I'm ugly just say that.ââI've never thought you're ugly,â he replied. âYou're very beautiful, Anyta. You just have slight dark circles under your eyes.âI snorted, tucking my







