LOGINAnna’s POVI woke up to the softest touch.For a moment, I thought I was dreaming again…that cruel place where Alex fades, where I’m always too late, where my voice breaks before I can reach him.But this touch didn’t disappear.Fingers slid gently through my hair, slow and careful, like whoever it was was afraid I’d shatter.I stirred, my lashes fluttering open.“Mum…?” My voice came out hoarse, barely there.Her face filled my vision instantly.My mother.Sitting at the edge of the bed, eyes swollen from crying, but smiling anyway…the kind of smile mothers give when they’re trying to be strong for their child.“Hey, my baby,” she whispered, brushing my hair back again. “How are you feeling?”I pushed myself upright slowly, my body stiff from sleep and stress and everything I’d been carrying for weeks. I nodded because I didn’t know how to answer that question honestly.How was I feeling?Broken.Scared.Hopeful.Exhausted.In love.All at once.“I’m okay,” I said finally, even thoug
Mrs. Quinn’s POVThe smell of antiseptic clung to everything.Hospitals always carried that same lie…clean, sterile, controlled…when nothing inside them ever truly was.I stood beside Flora as the doctor spoke, my hands clasped so tightly in front of me that my fingers had gone numb. Across the room, machines hummed softly, steady and indifferent, as if Alex’s life was nothing more than a rhythm to be monitored.“Alex is stable,” the doctor said carefully. “The surgery was successful. No internal bleeding. But he’s still in a coma.”I nodded once.Coma.The word didn’t frighten me anymore. I’d worn it down with repetition.“He’s responding to stimuli,” the doctor continued. “We recommend that people close to him speak to him. Familiar voices can sometimes… pull them back.”My eyes drifted to the other bed.Rissa lay there, bruised, wrapped in bandages, her chest rising and falling steadily. Sedated. Alive.“As for Rissa, she’ll wake up soon,” the doctor added. “She’s strong. Very stro
Anna’s POVSeeing Matt felt unreal.For a second, I just stood there, staring at him like he was something my mind had invented to cope. He looked the same…broader shoulders, familiar eyes but there was something heavier in his gaze now, something cautious, like he was afraid I might disappear if he blinked.“Matt…” My voice cracked before I could stop it.He didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest like he’d done it a hundred times before. I inhaled sharply, the scent of him…clean, faintly woody…hitting a place inside me I hadn’t touched in months.“You look so slim,” he murmured as we pulled apart, his hands still resting on my arms. “Jesus, Anna. What did they do to you?”I forced a small smile. “Prison food isn’t exactly five-star.”His jaw tightened. “How did you even end up there? And who the hell is this Kristoff guy? Why is he after you?”I glanced over my shoulder instinctively, even though we were alone. My mother was stan
Kristoff’s POV“Lock the fucking gate,” I barked into the phone, my knuckles white around the steering wheel. “And don’t let anyone through. Anyone who tries to force entry…shoot.”“Yes, sir,” the guard replied without hesitation.I ended the call and floored the accelerator.The private house loomed ahead, hidden behind high hedges and reinforced steel gates. One of my many contingencies. One of the places no one was supposed to know about. The gate slid open just enough for my car, then sealed shut behind me with a metallic finality that echoed louder than it should have.I slammed the car door so hard the windows rattled.“Fuck!”The word tore out of me, raw and furious. I paced into the house, my shoes echoing against marble floors that suddenly felt cold, mocking. Every step carried the weight of the last forty-eight hours…every plan unraveling, every advantage slipping through my fingers like sand.Rissa gone.Anna free…on bail.Mrs Quinn suddenly playing queen on a chessboard s
Anna’s POVThe cell never truly slept.It only dimmed…breathing, waiting, listening for the next sound that might change everything.Mara sat on the lower bunk, braiding and unbraiding the same section of her hair, her back to me. The afternoon light slanted in through the narrow window slit, turning the concrete walls a tired shade of gold. I watched dust float in the air and wondered how many days I had already lost to this place. Weeks? Months? Time here didn’t move forward,..it folded in on itself.“Did your new attorney call again?” Mara asked quietly, not looking up.“Yes.” My voice sounded thinner than I felt. Or maybe exactly as thin. “The bail request was denied.”She sighed, slow and heavy. “Again?”I nodded. “They pushed the hearing back too. Another three weeks.”Mara finally turned to look at me. Her eyes softened in that way that always made my chest ache. “I’m sorry, Annie.”I pressed my lips together and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t think I’m leaving t
Kristoff’s POVThe first thing I saw was blue.Not the calm, respectable blue of corporate glass buildings or tailored suits but flashing, violent blue lights cutting through the dusk like accusations. Police cars. More than one. Parked right where my warehouse gate should have been invisible.My foot slammed the brake before my mind could catch up.No. No, no, no.I reversed instinctively, tyres screeching against gravel as my heart detonated in my chest. This wasn’t part of the plan. They weren’t supposed to be here yet. Not now. Not when everything was finally lining up…when Rissa was secured, Anna was contained, and the board was almost in my pocket.Then one of the officers turned.Our eyes met through the windshield.“Shit.”The siren wailed to life.I floored it.The engine roared as I spun the wheel, tearing away from the warehouse and blasting down the road. The speedometer climbed fast…eighty, ninety, a hundred…buildings blurring into streaks of shadow and light. My pulse po







