Chapter 31

Avery sat quietly in the hospital’s waiting lounge beside Shane, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. The sun had started to rise outside the tall window, casting a soft orange glow across the sterile white floors. Neither of them had slept, and their father still hadn’t fully woken. The last few hours felt stretched thin, like fragile glass about to crack.“Can I see him now?” Avery asked gently as a nurse passed by with a chart.The nurse smiled politely. “We’re preparing his private room now. Just a few more minutes.”Shane leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, his face shadowed with exhaustion and barely held-together emotion. “He looked so pale when they wheeled him in,” he muttered. “I’ve seen him tired, angry, even sick… but never like that.”Avery said nothing, because she didn’t have a comforting reply. She had never seen their father as vulnerable either. It terrified her.Not long after, a nurse reappeared, gesturing to them. “You can go in now. He’s awake but weak.

Last Updated : 2025-05-19

Chapter 32

The hospital corridors had quieted now, the chaos of the earlier hours fading into an uneasy calm. The night outside pressed softly against the glass windows, bringing with it the gentle hum of city lights and the occasional cry of an ambulance far in the distance. The scent of antiseptic lingered in the air, oddly comforting in its own sterile way.Avery stood by the vending machine, though she made no effort to make a selection. Her hand rested against the cold metal, her thoughts far from snacks or caffeine. Her gaze was fixed ahead, but her mind was still in that hospital room—watching her father’s chest rise and fall with labored breaths, hearing his voice as he spoke of Stephen like he was still part of their family.She could still feel the guilt clinging to her chest, a dull ache that wouldn’t leave.A moment later, the soft scuff of footsteps pulled her out of her trance. It was Justin, carrying two paper cups of coffee. He approached without a word, his gaze lingering on her

Last Updated : 2025-05-20

Chapter 33

By the time Avery returned home, the sun had already risen, casting soft amber light across the polished floors of the Rodrigo estate. The housekeeper had opened the heavy drapes in the sitting room, letting in the morning air, and the silence inside the mansion pressed on Avery like the gentle weight of exhaustion she had learned to live with.She didn’t go upstairs to change. Didn’t remove her shoes or pour herself a drink. She simply walked through the quiet, familiar halls of her father’s house, trailing her fingers along the edge of the walnut banister as if grounding herself in something she could still control.Everything felt heavier now. The lie she’d told her father still clung to her like mist, impossible to shake. And the image of him—smiling gently as he asked after Stephen—refused to leave her mind.She paused in the foyer, staring at the wide glass doors. They framed the front gardens, still trimmed and blooming, untouched by the reality unraveling just beyond them.She

Last Updated : 2025-05-21

Chapter 34

The rest of the day passed in a haze of quiet reflection.After Stephen’s departure, Avery didn’t return to bed. She couldn’t rest—not with her father’s condition looming over her, not with the echo of Stephen’s voice still lingering in her ears, haunting and hollow. She’d spent the morning sorting through messages and paperwork in the downstairs study, only half-focused, her fingers flipping through documents she wasn’t truly reading.The silence in the estate had never felt louder. No phone calls. No voices. Just the ticking of the antique grandfather clock near the fireplace, counting down the seconds like a quiet reminder that time, for her father, was slipping away.By early afternoon, she was back at the hospital.Shane was already there, slouched in a chair outside their father’s room, a disposable coffee cup in his hand and dark circles beneath his eyes.He stood when he saw her, wordlessly offering the cup. She declined with a small shake of her head.“Doctor came by about an

Last Updated : 2025-05-21

Chapter 35

The USB felt heavy in her hand. It was so small—harmless at a glance—but Avery knew better. Its weight wasn’t physical; it was the burden of secrets, the pressure of the unknown, the quiet dread of what it might expose. She stared at it in the low lamplight of her father’s study, her breath slow and shallow.For a moment, she did nothing. She simply stood there beside the open drawer with the false bottom exposed, the device cradled in her palm like something sacred or cursed—she didn’t know which.She looked toward the desk, where her laptop waited. She had brought it down earlier, intending to answer emails she never opened. Now, it beckoned her.But just as she crossed the room, a soft knock came at the study door.Avery froze, her fingers tightening around the USB.She quickly dropped it into the drawer, replaced the false bottom, slid the documents back into place, and closed the cabinet with practiced calm. Her heart raced as the knock came again.She composed her expression and

Last Updated : 2025-05-22

Chapter 36

The Rodrigo estate was cloaked in stillness.It was well past midnight, and the house had long since gone quiet. The faint golden sconces cast delicate shadows along the hallways, flickering slightly in the breeze that seeped in through a cracked window on the second floor. A clock somewhere ticked, slow and measured, counting time with indifference.In the study, the air felt heavier. A lamp still burned low on the desk, casting soft light on stacks of paperwork and leather-bound books. The drawer that once concealed the hidden USB was now locked, but its presence had disturbed the balance of things—like a ripple that hadn’t yet settled.From the hallway, a soft sound.A click.The study door creaked open just slightly, a sliver of shadow slicing into the room.The figure stepped inside—tall, gloved, movements silent and assured. His face was swallowed in the black of his hood, shadows draping over his features like a veil. He left the door ajar, not bothering to close it, and walked