Niko’s Betrayal

The courtroom felt different today. Not in a good way though. It was filled with thick tension that was enough to make someone feel uneasy.I sat in the front row of the gallery, back straight, my sweaty hands clenched tightly on my laps.Elias’s trial had dragged into its third week, but today felt different.The air was thicker, heavier, like the moment before a storm breaks. The judges weren't even smiling.It felt like waking up on a monday to resume work. Alaric sat a couple of rows behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know he was there… I could feel it. His life hadn’t gone back to normal. His license was still suspended. His name is still dragged in rumors and headlines. But he was here… watching, supporting, refusing to hide.He stayed.Niko Voss took the stand.He looked exactly like he always did, controlled, polished, with an unreadable expression.His navy suit fit him perfectly, his blond hair was in place.If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was here to give a l

Mariel’s Support

The morning after Niko’s testimony, the world felt… smaller and strange. Like the walls had shifted in overnight.My phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.Calls. Messages. Unknown numbers lighting up the screen one after another. A few names I actually recognized slipped in between, some old colleagues, people I hadn’t heard from in months. “Just checking on you.” “I’m so sorry you’re going through this.”But under their fake pretending concern, they were fishing for details.The headlines weren't left out. Tweets, posts all over the internet.“Doctor’s Secret Affair Exposed – Patient Testifies in Son’s Assault Trial.”“St. Lucia Scandal Deepens: Was It Love or Grooming?”I sat on Mariel’s couch in the same clothes from yesterday, knees drawn to my chest, staring at the glowing screen.Niko’s voice kept replaying in my head.The affair wasn’t mutual… It was manipulation.Mariel walked in with two steaming mugs and that look on her face… the one that meant she’d already decided how this was g

Alaric’s Return

The knock came at 2:17 a.m.I was half-asleep on Mariel’s couch, the TV playing softly in the background, when three sharp knocks sounded on the door.My heart jumped instantly. Elias was still in custody, but the fear hadn’t left me, it never really did.I reached for the baseball bat Mariel kept beside the couch and moved slowly to the door, peering through the peephole.Alaric.He stood in the hallway, coat pulled tight, eyes scanning the corridor like he expected danger to follow him.Relief hit so hard it almost made my knees weak.I unlocked the door quickly and pulled him inside before he could say anything. The moment it shut, he had me against it, his mouth crashing onto mine with months of pent-up hunger. His hands cupped my face, thumbs brushing my cheekbones as if making sure I was real.“You’re here,” I whispered between kisses, tasting rain and desperation on his lips.“I couldn’t stay away any longer,” he said, breathing unevenly.And in that moment, nothing else matt

Elias’s Escape

The call came at 3:12 a.m.Mariel’s phone rang first. Then mine.The ringing tone woke the whole house up.I was half-asleep on her couch, Alaric’s arm still wrapped around my waist, when it pulled me upright. Mariel stumbled out of her room, hair a mess, still half in a dream as she answered. “Hello?”Then her face changed instantly. Just like that.“Put it on speaker,” I said, already sitting up.She did.“Ms. Dane, this is Detective Ramirez. Elias Stone has escaped custody. He made bail yesterday afternoon and disappeared sometime after midnight. We believe he is armed and dangerous. Do not leave your apartment. Officers are on their way.”Alaric’s arm tightened around me without thinking, his body going still beside mine.And just like that, the fear we’d been trying to outrun was right back in the room with us.The room tilted.Everything felt suddenly unsteady, like the ground beneath me had shifted.Alaric was already moving out of bed, pulling on his clothes, his expression

Underground Hunt

The lake house didn’t feel safe anymore.It felt exposed. Alaric stood at the kitchen counter, at 5:47 a.m. beside him. A cup of coffee sat untouched, already going cold. His attention was fixed on the photo Elias had sent, the one taken from outside our bedroom window while we slept. His jaw was clenched so tightly that his muscle tickled. The gun lay beside his mug, loaded and ready.“We can’t stay here,” he said quietly. “He’s too close.” A pause. “And he’s not doing this alone.”I wrapped my arms around myself, the oversized sweater of his I wore doing little to chase away the chill. “Who else would help him? He’s broke. Disgraced.”Alaric turned, eyes dark with something dangerous. “Helena. Or someone connected to her old network. People who owe her favors from the days when she ran half the board. People who don’t ask questions if the price is right.”He opened his laptop on the table. For the next two hours we worked in tense silence. Alaric still had people he could call.

Helena's Confession

The rain had stopped, but the air still felt heavy, like the sky itself was holding its breath. Alaric’s safe house in the Catskills sat in near-total silence, broken only by the occasional creak of old wood and the distant call of a night bird. We had been here three days, living like ghosts—sleeping in shifts, jumping at every sound, surviving on canned food and the fragile hope that the police would find Elias before he found us.I was curled on the couch with a blanket when the knock came.Three measured raps. Polite. Controlled.Alaric was instantly on his feet, gun in hand, motioning me to stay back. He moved to the window, peering through a crack in the curtain.His entire body went rigid.“It’s Helena,” he said, voice low.My stomach dropped. “Don’t open it.”But he did.The rain had stopped, but the air still felt thick, like the storm hadn’t fully passed.The house was too quiet.Alaric’s safe house in the Catskills sat in total silence, except for the occasional creak of ol