Rain fell softly against the hotel window. Isadora sat at the desk, the envelope Simon had left her lying open beside a small tape recorder. The tape had played three times already, and she could practically recite the message in her sleep. But that wasn’t what held her attention now. It was the name. Dr. Melora Sangaré. Simon’s last breadcrumb. And maybe the final person alive who knew the whole truth. She didn’t know what she would find in Puerto Rico. She didn’t even know if the woman was still there. But the coordinates matched one of the shadow accounts from Marcus’s ledger— disbursements labeled “E/P/OB— Preservation.” She stared out at the blurred skyline. The city pulsed in the distance, modern and indifferent. Behind her, a small duffel sat zipped and ready. There was no place for fear anymore. She wasn’t the secret daughter of a scandal. She wasn’t a mistake hidden by powerful men. She was the mirror Simon had spoken of. And now, she would go where no Ev

The Hour Before the Spotlight.The Everest manor felt like a war room that morning —white marble floors echoing with hurried footfalls, the scent of coffee and printer toner thick in the air, and every flat screen cycling between live market tickers and breaking-news crawlers.Van stood at the balcony railing in shirt sleeves, staring down thirty stories to the traffic snaking along the road. He kept one palm flat on the cold glass, as if anchoring himself to the city while the rest of his world spun.Behind him, Ivy paced the living room rug with a phone pressed to her ear. Her navy blazer was immaculate, but the barely visible tremor in her free hand betrayed how tightly she was wound.“—yes, live, Kim. No embargo. I want every major outlet in the city patched into the feed, plus the BBC and real time. If anyone balks, tell them they’re about to miss the biggest corporate reckoning this region’s ever televised.”There was a pause before she went on. “Good. I’ll send the final deck

After the Storm. Three weeks later, the Everest Tower stood quieter than it had in years.The frenzy had passed. The cameras were gone. Protesters no longer stood at the gates. The media had shifted to newer scandals, louder headlines, faster burns. But beneath the surface —within the legal offices, the boardrooms, and the archives —the shockwaves still moved.The silence wasn’t gone.It had simply changed shape.Andrew Everest hadn’t been seen publicly since the press conference.There were rumors, of course.That he’d flown to Switzerland the day after the broadcast. That he’d been forced to step down from the board with a sealed NDA.That he was facing private investigation for financial obstruction and blackmail.None of the rumors mentioned prison. But none of them mentioned power, either.He had vanished from the building where his voice had once echoed down every corridor.And Van— true to his word— never once spoke of him again.Some truths didn’t need repeating. They simply

Morning in the Everest mansion began with sunlight pouring through the tall windows of the nursery, soft coos from the bassinet, and the rhythmic thump of Chloe and Billy racing each other down the hallway in socks.Van, still in pajama pants and a loose T-shirt, poked his head out of the bedroom.“Hey,” he whispered. “Tiptoe feet, remember? Your sister’s sleeping.”“She’s awake!” Chloe announced proudly. “I heard her squeak!”“She did,” Billy confirmed. “Like a mouse.”Van sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Mouse or not, let’s try to keep it down. Breakfast in twenty minutes, okay?”They both nodded solemnly and vanished in opposite directions— one toward the playroom, the other toward the kitchen. Silence returned, but only for a breath.Behind him, Ivy stirred in bed, hair tousled, face flushed with sleep and warmth. “They’ve been up since six.”“I know,” he murmured, sliding back into bed beside her. “They were playing something about dragons and spies. Leona approved.”She

The Everest home was quieter than usual.That morning, the twins had been picked up by Van's sister Macy, their overnight bags in hand and enough excitement between them to power a small planet."It has been way too long since I've been bothered in the most stressful and adorable way possible." She had said. “Aunt Macy said we can build a pillow castle and eat marshmallows before bed!” Chloe squealed, practically vibrating in her seat.Billy leaned out the window. “Don’t forget to feed the fish! They get lonely!”“I will!” Van called back, laughing as the car pulled away.Then the front door closed, and the house fell into a soft, almost strange stillness.No footsteps.No juice spills.No emergency crayon negotiations.Just the distant hum of the city and Leona’s tiny breathing from her wrap, snug against Ivy’s chest.For the first time in months, Van and Ivy had a day mostly to themselves.Well …sort of.Isadora was still in the house, of course. Somehow she had moved from staying