LOGINANYTAâS POVI didnât even wait to explain it to Clay. The second Aliceâs voice cracked on the phone, I grabbed my keys and ran for the car. My hands shook so badly I almost dropped them twice as I managed to start the engine.âAnyta, waitââ Clay called behind me, already on his own phone.I didnât wait. I drove home like the devil was chasing me, my heart hammering so loud it drowned out everything else. The three minutes it took to get there were the worst of my life. Every slow car in front of me made me want to scream. I didnât believe the woman who was panicking. I didnât believe that I would be this wild, screaming at every patrol officer.I slammed the car door immediately and ran through the front door. Alice stood in the hallway, white-faced and shaking, her eyes rimmed red.âMiss Anyta, Iâm so sorry,â she said, her voice breaking. âHe was playing right there in the garden. I stepped inside for just few seconds to get his juice. When I came back he was gone. The gateâââWhere
ANYTAâS POVClay walked into my living room and shut the door. I was already sitting on the couch waiting. He didnât waste time.After our meeting with Jodie, there was nothing else I couldnât imagine. I left Clay with her to finish up, because the manager at the Art studio called in for a quick meetup.âThereâs a mole on your legal team,â he begun. âA Junior attorney named Rachel Kemp. Marcus recruited her eight months ago.âI didnât say anything at first, because there was nothing to say. I just sat there staring at him while the words sank in. Everything I had told them about the will, about Teddy, about Everett, about my fears. Everything had gone straight to Marcus.After a long silence, I finally spoke. My voice came out calm, shocking even me. âSo what strategy will work at this point? Iâm tired of it all.âClay sat on the coffee table right in front of me. âWe flip her. We use Rachel to feed Marcus exactly what we want him to hear. We will let him think weâre falling apart. He
CLAYâS POVThe warehouse on the edge of the industrial park smelled like dust and old oil. I picked it because it was off the grid, and my people had swept it twice before we arrived. Jodie showed up exactly on time, her black coat pulled tight, her kholed eyes scanning every shadow. I watched her from the moment she stepped through the side door. Anyta had insisted on coming, her arms crossedunder her chest stubbornly. I knew she didnât fully trust Jodie yet. She was here to read her, and watch for the lie in her eyes. According to her, she reads through people. Part of me hated that she had to be in this room at all. The other part was glad she was.âYou brought company,â Jodie said flatly, as she sat at the metal table.âAnyta stays,â I replied equally firm. I studied Jodieâs face closely, and the tired lines around her eyes, were so obvious. She looked like someone who hadnât slept in days. âYou said you have records. Show us.âJodie opened the bag she carried and slid a thick env
ANYTAâS POVThe morning light crept through the kitchen blinds. Clay sat across from me at the table, the coffee I made for him untouched and lukewarm. His cheek still had the bandage Iâd put on last night, and the bags under his eyes told me he hadnât slept much either. Teddy was still asleep down the hall, and my head hurts from the amount of information I heard between yesterday and today.I set my mug down. âWe need to call Jodie.âClayâs head snapped up immediately. âNo.ââIâm serious, Clay. She warned you, that means sheâs connected to all of this somehow. It all makes sense that Victor Crane is her father, so, if anyone should have real information, itâs her.âHe leaned forward, his voice low and tense. âAnyta, listen to me. Jodie is neck-deep in this world. Reaching out to her is dangerous. She could even be playing both sides. One wrong word and we tip off Victor or Marcus that weâre onto them.ââI know and understand the risks involved,â I said, holding his gaze steadily. âB
CLAYâS POVAnyta sat across from me in her kitchen, the bandage on my cheek pulling tight every time I moved my jaw. The clock on the wall showed past two-thirty. Dried blood still marked my shirt collar, dark and ugly. She had just finished cleaning the cut, her hands steady even though I knew she was shaken. Then she looked me straight in the eyes.âTell me everything. All of it. Right now.âI swallowed, gulping down my saliva. My throat horse and heavy.âIt starts with my father,â I said. âI already told you how I took over when he died. My father ran the company with all levels of corruption you can ever imagine. It took me a long time before I was able to erase everything.âAnyta kept looking at me, her eyes urging me to continue.âI couldâve easily walked away,â I continued. âBut I felt an overwhelming obligation to keep it sane. I made heavy donations of the money to the orphanage, because I couldnât keep it. I cut ties with everyone who helped my father do dirty deeds, and shu
ANYTAâS POVThe camera feed lit up on my phone before he even reached the porch. Iâd been staring at the ceiling for the last hour anyway, waiting for a call that never came back after the line cut out.I was at the door before he could knock.I saw the blood on his collar first. Dried blood caked at the edge. There was a thin line across his cheek, but no blood was flowing from it. I struggled to maintain my composure.âSit,â I said, pointing at a kitchen chair.âAnytaâââSit down, Clay.â I said, almost screaming.He sat.I grabbed the first aid kit from under the sinkâthe one I kept stocked for Teddyâs scraped knees, and pulled a chair up in front of him. He watched me quietly the whole time.âThis is going to sting,â I said, pressing a clean cloth to the cut on his cheek.He didnât flinch. âIâve had worse.ââThatâs not comforting.â I said with a deep frown.I cleaned the cut slowly, checkinf the depth closely, and happy it wonât be needing stitches. My hands were steadier than I ex
EVERETTâS POVMotherâs parties always felt like funerals with too much booze, to me.Probably because I could see through the fakeness of multiple friends and family who rarely reached out unless they needed help urgently.Or in this case, when they attended parties my mother hosted to lessen her b
ANYTAâS POVThe house felt all wrong the next night.Nothing was out of place when I returned from work to meet a comfy Alice lounging in the living room.Nothing was missing either. And yet every slight sound landed too loud in my chest. It all started after Alice left.My paranoia grew so much, I
EVERETTâS POVâMr. AshbourneâŠMr Ashbourne?âI looked up slowly, irritation already coiling tight in my chest. Twelve faces stared back at me, varying degrees of discomfort and expectation etched into them.The quarterly projections glowed on the screen behind them, numbers Iâd reviewed a hundred ti
ANYTAâS POVâOkay, be honestâŠâI felt a small smile tug at my lips as I stared up at Laura. Then nodded, âsure.ââDo you really think we could be close friends, maybe even bestfriends in the future?âI stirred my coffee and took a tiny sip. âWhy? I thought we'd be something more,â I winked over the







