LOGINXAVIER'S POVI slammed my fist against the door, the impact reverberating through my arm. "Open this fucking door!"No response.I pounded again. "I said open it! Let me out!"Silence.Frustration boiled over. I grabbed the nearest object, a heavy wooden nightstand, and hurled it across the room. It shattered against the wall, splintering into pieces."Fuck!"I paced the room, my footsteps heavy against the polished floor. My mind raced with worst-case scenarios: Reed missing since last night, Aria laying in the hospital bed with no one by her side, Ian's recklessness, the chaos that seemed to follow our family everywhere.Then an idea hit me.I walked to the back door and pulled it open. The balcony stretched out before me, the city sprawling beneath. I leaned over the railing and looked down. Three floors. High enough to get me killed, but manageable with the right approach.I rushed back inside and grabbed the longest bed sheet I could find. I twisted it into a makeshift rope, tyin
IAN'S POV I walked slowly beside Aria, my hand hovering near her elbow in case she stumbled. She had insisted on taking a walk through the hospital corridors, claiming she was going stir-crazy in that room."You're going to fall," I said flatly."Stop treating me like I'm made of glass, Xavier." She shot me a glare. "I'm fine. Just sore.""Sore?" I repeated the word dryly. "Your ribs are cracked. That's a little more than 'sore.'"She waved me off. "When can I be discharged? I want to go home. I hate this place. The lights are too bright, the food is terrible, and the beds are…""Discharged?" I cut in. "Have you seen your face?"She stopped walking, her hand flying to her cheek. "What's wrong with my face?"I said nothing. I simply led her toward a nearby window where the glass reflected her image. Her face was still swollen with bruises on her cheeks, a cut above her eye, and her lip still slightly puffed.She stared at her reflection for a moment. Then she screamed."No! No, this c
ARIA'S POVFor someone who had been in deep sleep for hours, waking up felt like fighting my way through layers of thick fog.I struggled to open my eyes, the bright fluorescent lights stabbing into my skull like needles. Everything was blurry at first: shapes, colours, objects… until my vision slowly focused.The first thing I saw was the ceiling. White, sterile, and unfamiliar.Then I felt my body. Every inch of me ached. My ribs throbbed with each breath I took. My face was stiff and aching, my skin tight and tender. Even my fingers hurt.I looked around, taking in the machines beeping rapidly beside me. IV lines snaked into my arm. Monitors displayed my heart rate, my oxygen levels, and my blood pressure. The steady rhythm was the only sound in the otherwise silent room.Just then, the door burst open, and a doctor rushed in, his face lighting up with relief."Mrs. Weston!" He hurried to my bedside. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"I tried to sit up, but he gently pressed a h
IAN'S POV"Please, have a seat, Sebastian." I gestured toward the empty chair across from me, my voice calm but carrying an edge that brooked no argument.Sebastian remained standing, his eyes sweeping across the room. The guards groaned on the floor. The blood pooling beneath them. Isabella kept whimpering in the corner, her face a mask of crimson. Allison trembled beside her, her hair still gripped in Valentina's hand."I think I'll stand," Sebastian said carefully.I placed my gun on the table and sat back, crossing my arms. "Now that you're all here, I'll state the reasons for my visit."I slid my phone across the table. "That's a picture of my wife in the hospital. Next to it is a video of her, beaten by Allison and Isabella."Victor's face went pale. Dean's eyes widened. Sebastian picked up the phone and watched the footage, his expression unreadable."As if that wasn't enough." My gaze locked on Victor. "Your son right here…" I pressed my boot hard against Dean's back, "...sent
IAN'S POVThe car tore through the gates of Weston Estate at full speed, gravel spraying beneath the tires as we skidded to a halt in front of the main house.I stepped out first, my boots hitting the ground with purpose. My eyes swept across the familiar facade: the grand columns, the sweeping staircase, the windows that had witnessed decades of family secrets.Some people return to their childhood homes after years away and feel a wave of nostalgia. They tear up at the memories, at the ghosts of happier times.For me?Not a single one.I turned to Valentina as I pulled two guns from my pockets, the metal cold and familiar in my hands."Two rules." I held her gaze. "One, you follow my orders without hesitation. Two, I don't hit women and kids, so you'll have to be my weapon for today."She frowned. "It's a woman? The person who did that to Aria is a woman?""Two women, actually." My voice was flat. "Her cousin and my stepmother."She reached into her bag and pulled out a sleek gun, t
XAVIER'S POV"Are you sure you don't want to go home and freshen up?" Valentina stood across the room, her gaze fixed on me. "Maybe get something to eat while you're at it? You've been here for hours.""No." I shook my head, my eyes fixed on Aria's still form. "I have to be here when she wakes up."She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "The people who did this... you know them, don't you?"I went quiet. And that was enough for her."Give me their names." Her tone hardened. "I'll make sure…""Sir."My head snapped toward the door. Jane stood at the entrance, her expression unreadable.I shot up from my chair immediately. "Where the fuck have you been?" I snapped, my voice laced with barely contained fury. "I've been trying to reach you for hours. Do you have any idea…"I stopped, forcing myself to breathe, to keep my voice down because of Aria."Jane, I need you to find Reed. I can't reach him, and I need to know if he's…"She stepped aside. "I'm sorry, sir."I blinked i
XAVIER'S POVEven while we owned a house in the same estate, going to my father's house had never been easy for me. The driveway was the same. The entrance was the same. The smell of polished wood and expensive candles never changed.But the problem is, walking through those doors always felt like
XAVIER’S POV“Pick up. Ian, please… pick up.”I paced across my office, my phone pressed tightly to my ear as the call rang endlessly.He had to know.He had to know that child wasn’t Dean’s before he did something reckless. Before he turned this entire situation into something bloody and irreversi
ARIA’S POV The loud crash from outside my door woke me from a deep sleep, making my heart leap into my throat.I groaned, blinking against the early morning light filtering through the curtains.“Isn’t it too early to piss people off?” I muttered under my breath.Dragging myself out of bed, I shuf
ARIA’S POV “Hello, Aria, what’s up?”“I can’t reach him.” I paced back and forth across the living room, dragging my fingers through my hair for what felt like the hundredth time. “Zara, it’s almost midnight and he’s not picking my calls.”The silence of the penthouse pressed in on me, heavy and s







