로그인Three months after Sophie's death, the silence she left behind still lingered heavily inside the mansion. The chaos was gone now. Kade was dead. The police investigations had ended. Reporters had stopped camping outside the Thoreau company. London had finally moved on from the nightmare that had consumed the city for months.But healing was not as easy as people imagined. Some wounds stayed long after the danger disappeared.Maya understood that more than anyone. Most mornings she woke up automatically before sunrise because Diya would start crying from her nursery room. The child had grown healthier gradually after months of treatments and medications, but she still needed constant attention. Maya carried her carefully through the mansion hallways almost every day while soft lullabies played quietly from her phone.At first, Lucas worried Maya was exhausting herself too much trying to care for Sophie's child while still carrying her own emotional pain, but Maya never complained. She
Sophie's burial left a silence inside everyone that no conversation could fix. The mansion no longer felt like the same place. The once luxurious penthouse now carried grief in every corner. Even the staff moved quietly, as though speaking too loudly would reopen wounds nobody was ready to touch again.Maya had not fully recovered from Sophie's death. Some losses stayed inside people differently.Sophie's death was one of them. Three days after the burial, Maya stood quietly inside Diya's nursery watching the little girl sleep peacefully in her crib. The soft afternoon sunlight entered through the curtains gently while the child slept without knowing how much chaos surrounded her existence.Maya slowly adjusted the baby's blanket.Her chest tightened painfully. Diya had lost her mother before she could even remember her face.That thought alone hurt deeply. Behind her, Damein stood leaning quietly against the doorway. Since Sophie's death, he had become calmer, quieter, almost emotion
They rushed to Sophie, who was already spitting out blood from her mouth.Maya was crying, shaking violently."Stay with me Sophie... please... your daughter needs you," she kept repeating, her voice breaking into fragments as if her lungs could no longer carry the weight of the words.Lucas shouted through tears, his hands hovering over Sophie like he was afraid touching her would make it more real."Why did you have to put yourself in the way?" he said, voice cracking at the end, anger and grief twisting together.Sophie, despite everything, still smiled faintly. It was weak, uneven, but it was there."It was my redemption," she whispered.Damein stood frozen. His eyes were wide, unfocused, as if his mind had left his body entirely. The shock had locked his tongue in place. He had seen violence before, betrayal, even death but not like this. Not someone choosing to sacrifice so deliberately.Sophie's breath became shallower. "I'm sorry... for what I did," she continued, blood staini
The warehouse remained swallowed in chaos after Kade's final words. while police sirens echoed louder outside the Bellmont district. Nobody moved for a few seconds after Kade whispered, "It should end here."Then everything exploded at once. Kade suddenly pushed Maya forward violently.Lucas caught her before she hit the floor. "Get Layrus!" he shouted immediately. Gunshots erupted from the second floor instantly as Kade's men opened fire. The entire warehouse became chaos again. Maya screamed when bullets struck the metal rails above her head while Lucas dragged her behind a stack of wooden crates."Stay down!"Damein fired back immediately toward the upper floor while police voices started echoing outside the building."Armed police! Drop your weapons!"Kade laughed loudly through the chaos. "You're too late!"One of his men tried escaping through the back exit but was immediately tackled by officers rushing inside the warehouse. Another opened fire recklessly before being shot in t
The moment Maya entered the car, the headlights suddenly flashed directly toward her, forcing her to shield her eyes instinctively. Tires screeched against the wet road before a black SUV stopped barely inches away from her. The driver's door opened immediatelyMaya looked shocked. "You followed me?"Lucas walked toward her immediately, anger burning across his face. "Did you honestly think I would let you walk into Kade's trap alone?""My family is there," Maya snapped. "Layrus is there.""And you think going alone will save him?" Lucas fired back.Maya looked toward Sophie next. "You told him?"Sophie nodded quietly. "I had to tell you, you can't risk your life like this"Maya laughed bitterly."So everybody just keeps making decisions for me now?""No," Damein interrupted calmly. "We are deciding not to bury another soul in this kade shenanigans."The words silenced her.Lucas stepped closer."Kade wants to use you to get to me" he will never release Layrus easily he has Thoreau blo
Sophie's hospital room had fallen into another heavy silence after her explanation about Vanessa Voss. The air itself felt tense, suffocating almost, Lucas stood near the window with his arms folded tightly across his chest while Damein leaned against the opposite wall quietly. Maya remained seated beside Sophie's bed, her injured leg stretched carefully beneath the chair.Lucas finally exhaled slowly. "We should've caught him already.""We almost did," Damein replied calmly. "That's exactly why he's becoming reckless now."Sophie looked down at her hands weakly. "No... Kade isn't reckless."That drew their attention."He's angry," she corrected softly. "And angry people like him become dangerous because they stop caring who dies with them."Maya remained quiet, but deep down she knew Sophie was right.Kade was spiralling. The ballroom bombing proved that much already.Lucas rubbed his forehead tiredly before turning back toward Sophie. "You said Vanessa was your last card.""She was,
Maya walked into the hospital, her mind focused and determined. She had to know the truth no more lies, no more games. Every step echoed in the quiet lobby, her resolve unshakable.She approached the front desk. "I need to access Sophie Thompson's recent medical appointments," she said calmly, keep
The sharp scent of antiseptic filled the private recovery room, thick and suffocating.Sophie lay against the white hospital sheets, her fingers clutching the fabric so tightly her knuckles had turned pale. Her body felt weak, heavy, as if someone had drained all the strength from her bones. A dull
Damien carried a small container of strawberry ice cream. He placed it gently on the kitchen counter. "Here," he said softly. "I know it won't reach the baby, but... I wanted you to have it."Maya's fingers brushed the lid. She smiled faintly, her lips trembling with exhaustion. "Thank you, Damien.
The cold Swedish night wrapped around Maya as soon as she stepped outside Damien's family's house.The warmth, the laughter, the comfort she had briefly allowed herself to feel vanished the moment the door closed behind her. Snow crunched softly beneath her boots as she walked, her breath uneven, h







