LOGINThe museum was huge. An old building with classical architecture, white marble pillars towering at the entrance, and above them, golden lettering that read clearly: Natural History Museum. Ethan ran ahead of Ana, his eyes sparkling, impatient to see the dinosaurs he had only ever seen in books and plastic toys."Mom! Hurry, Mom! I want to see the T-rex!" he shouted, waving his arms.Ana smiled. She tried to keep up with Ethan's pace, although deep inside, there was still an anxiety she couldn't shake. Ever since earlier, since the incident on the road, she felt like someone was following them. Every time she turned around, there was no one there."Come on. Slow down. Don't run," she said.Ethan didn't listen. He had already entered the large hall with a giant dinosaur skeleton in the center. His mouth dropped open, his eyes wide."Wow! It's so big!"Ana stood behind him, looking at her son with love. For a moment, she only saw Ethan, her child, happy.But the pain came suddenly.Her l
Author's Pov.The next morning."Mom, where are we going?" Ethan asked as he put on his slightly worn sneakers."To the museum. There are dinosaurs.""Really? T-rex?""Really. T-rex, brontosaurus, triceratops, all of them."Ethan jumped with excitement. "Yay! I want to see the T-rex!"Ana smiled. A smile that had rarely appeared lately."Come on, let's take a taxi."Sebastian couldn't join them; he had business that couldn't be postponed. But he had made sure Ana had enough money, and he had already booked a taxi for them."Take care," Sebastian said, kissing Ana's forehead. "Don't be long. I'll worry.""I'll be fine," Ana replied.She took Ethan's hand and walked out.The taxi they took was an old black one with seats that were starting to tear in some places. The driver was a middle aged man with thinning hair and a thick mustache, friendly and talkative. He kept chatting about his children, his grandchildren, about how much he loved sunny days like this.Ana only half listened. Her
Ana sat on the floor of the small bedroom in Sebastian's apartment. Ethan was still fast asleep in bed, hugging his plastic dinosaur, unaware that the world outside was changing rapidly. Ana looked at her son—his innocent face, his black hair slightly curled at the ends, his lips still trembling slightly as he dreamed. She reached out and touched Ethan's cheek, so gently, as if afraid he would wake up."You don't know what's happening. You don't know that this world is cruel. But I'll protect you. I promise."Ethan murmured softly in his sleep, then drifted back into deep slumber. Ana slowly pulled her hand away. She stood up and walked to the window. Outside, London stretched out—tall buildings, the sky beginning to cloud over, and in the distance, the blurry silhouettes of grand mansions she used to know.She looked toward the west, toward where Leon was—maybe sitting in his office, or in his mansion, or wherever he was hiding from all the memories he didn't want to remember.Leon.
Author's Pov.The next morning, Ana woke up with a heavy head and swollen eyes. She hadn't slept well all night, her mind constantly spinning about Leon, about Richard, about Clara, about all the threats hanging over her and Ethan's heads. She had only managed to close her eyes for a few hours before finally surrendering to the exhaustion that wouldn't go away.The clock showed nine in the morning when the apartment doorbell rang.Ana groaned softly. She looked at Ethan, who was still fast asleep beside her, hugging his plastic dinosaur tightly. Slowly, she got out of bed, straightened her old, wrinkled pajamas, and walked to the door with sluggish steps. Her eyes were still heavy from lack of sleep. Her mind was still a mess from all the unresolved problems."Maybe Sebastian forgot something," she mumbled as she opened the door without looking through the peephole.The world seemed to stop spinning.Adrian stood at the doorway.He was still handsome—maybe more handsome than she remem
Leon stared at Sebastian with a sharp gaze. "Lancaster?""Yes. It's a common name around here," Sebastian said.Leon sighed. Maybe Sebastian was right. Lancaster was a common enough name. There was nothing strange about it. Nothing suspicious. He was overthinking."Why did you bring him here?""I didn't have anyone to watch him. His babysitter is sick. I couldn't leave him alone."Leon nodded. Nothing strange about that.He looked back at Ethan. The boy sat quietly on the black leather chair that was too tall for him, his legs dangling without touching the floor. His big black eyes were still moving around the room, full of curiosity, but no fear. No restlessness. He just sat there, calm, like a child used to new environments.Leon felt something was off. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it. Maybe it was because the child was too calm."How old is he?" Leon asked."Five.""Five." Leon repeated the word, feeling its weight on his tongue. "Is he
Author's Pov.The afternoon sun streamed into Leon's office through the large glass window overlooking the London skyline. His mahogany desk was covered in documents, an open laptop, and three cups of cold coffee. Leon sat in his chair wearing a gray suit, his dark blue tie slightly loosened. His face was still as blank as usual, but his eyes showed a fatigue he couldn't hide—dark circles faintly under his eyes, fine lines on his forehead that never seemed to go away lately.He had just signed the last document when his office door opened without a knock.Sebastian walked in.And in his arms, he carried a small boy.Leon looked up. His eyes immediately went to Sebastian, to his leather jacket damp from the drizzle outside, to the tense expression on his fierce face, to something different about him—then his eyes moved to the little boy.The child was about five years old. Thick black hair, slightly curly at the ends, clinging to a broad forehead. His face was round, his cheeks chubby,
I was still standing in the middle of Mr. Leon's room with the maroon silk nightgown in my hand. My fingers trembled, letting the soft fabric fall back onto the bed. The man's shadow behind the bathroom mirror made my heart pound erratically."Come in, Ana," his voice came from behind the door.I a
I fell silent.Marriage. I'd never imagined getting married, especially not to a man as rich and as mysterious as Mr. Leon. I was just a plain, fat girl who spent her life cleaning up other people's dirt."Why me?" I asked.Mr. Leon was still crouching in front of me, his eyes staring at me without
Two days passed.I tried to avoid Mr. Leon and his guests. I worked harder than usual. I cleaned every corner of the mansion, washed Clara's clothes until they smelled fresh, and even swept parts of the yard I had never touched before. I hoped that if I worked hard enough, everything would go back
I stopped walking.My body turned stiff like a statue. Mr. Leon's words pierced me from behind, sharp and cold, like the edge of a knife pressed against my neck."Who taught you to be so rude?"I didn't dare turn around. My eyes burned. Tears gathered at the corners, but I held them back with all m







