Semua Bab Torn between my boyfriend and his boss : Bab 11 - Bab 20

Henry's Point Of View The quiet that followed was heavier than any scream.Naomi sat on the edge of her couch, her arms wrapped around herself as if she let go, she might scatter into pieces. Her window was broken, her life turned upside down, and I had no right being here. But I couldn’t leave. Not when I saw her eyes wide, wet, and afraid. I go down in front of her, lowering myself until we are eye level. You’re safe now, I said softly. “I swear it.” Her gaze flashed up to mine, sharp and wounded. You keep saying that. But nothing feels safe anymore. The words cut through me. I deserved them. I’d held back too much, for too long. And the cracks in my mask… they were starting to show. She said straight to me, You knew my father. My throat tightened. I looked away, looking at the glass sparkling on her floor. “Yes.” Her breath hitched. Why didn’t you tell me? Because I promised him, I said quietly. She leaned forward. Promised him what? I met her eyes, finally, and let her

Naomi's Point Of View“Meet me or lose everything.” And I knew, I couldn’t ignore it. Those five words dug beneath my skin, louder than Henry’s warning, harder than Asher’s ridicule. They left me with no choice. If I didn’t go, I would never know what this stranger knew about my father. And if I did leave, I might not return at all. I stared at the clock. Ten minutes until midnight. I told myself not to shake, but my body failed me. My hands shook as I drew my coat about me and shoved the phone into my bag. I didn’t tell Henry. I didn’t tell anyone. I fib to myself, saying, I’ll be careful. I will be short. However, what is the reality? I was afraid. The streets of the city were extremely silent, so quiet that you could hear every step twice. An hour after the threat, I moved toward the address that had appeared in my messages, keeping my head down and pulling my scarf closer. An empty road. Naturally. The sort of town where bad decisions made the news. I stopped when I got

Point of view of NaomiIt weighed more than my phone and my keys altogether. Every time I moved, that tiny flash drive pressed into my ribs in my coat like a live thing. I was unable to open it just yet. Not until I got the thing I was missing. The password. The name of my mother. I felt lightheaded at the thought. Elaina, my mother, had only ever been a ghost in my life. She went when I was old enough to understand what it was like to be abandoned but still young enough to remember songs. I had made up a story about her disappearance for years: she was weak, self-centered, and she put her freedom before her family. Now, however, her name held the secret to my father's truth. This suggested that she hadn't simply disappeared. She had been involved from the beginning. Before I could talk myself out of it, I called her number. After three rings, her voice came through, friendly but careful. Naomi? I tightened my hold on the phone. "Hello, Mom. Can we get together? A pause. "Now

Naomi's POVIt was as if they would go to wipe me out. I didn’t sleep that night. The slightest sound seemed to be a threat.The window was being blown by the wind. Somewhere down the elevator was whirring along. I held my phone in my hand until dawn when the screen was black but so full of what it had already revealed to me. By morning terror had become colder and sharper. Anger. When the knock came, I was filling the coffee. Three slow taps. Cool, simply composed and cool. I was aware that it was Asher before I opened the door. He was standing in a black coat, his hair cut off, his face prudent and anxious. Too tender, as though it were a mask that was merely thrown on.You did not come home last night, you see, he said in an affable way. I stepped aside to let him in. “I needed space.”He made a nod, as though that response pleased him. He entered my apartment as though he was part of it and he was scanning every corner of the room without looking conspicuous. Noticing ever

Henry's POVThe alert came through at 2:17 a.m.I was still awake, staring at the ceiling of my penthouse, replaying every conversation I’d had with Naomi over the past weeks. Every pause. Every look she held too long. Every question she didn’t ask out loud.My phone buzzed once on the nightstand.Just once.That was enough.I reached for it, already knowing what I would see. The screen lit up with a single line from a system I’d hoped would stay silent forever.ACCESS GRANTED — MONRO FILES.My chest tightened so hard I had to sit up.“No,” I muttered. “No, no, no.”I swung my legs off the bed and stood, running a hand through my hair. The city lights outside my windows blurred as memory slammed into me all at once.Naomi had opened it.She had found the name.She had crossed the line her father had drawn in blood and silence.I opened the secure channel, fingers moving fast, heart pounding.She had accessed everything. The core files. The private records. The ones only three people h