Lara pressed the phone closer to her ear as the car idled in the driveway.“Really?” Her voice carried a sharp edge of disbelief.Her jaw tightened as she listened, while the voice on the other end spoke.She sighed heavily, her free hand moving to rub her forehead. The gesture did nothing to ease the pressure building behind her eyes. "You need to understand that I’m trying my best,” she said, her tone worn thin. "It just seems like he knows what’s going on.”Silence stretched between them.“I know, I know,” she muttered. "Just… give me more time. I’ll handle it.”She ended the call before the person could respond and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. For a moment, she just sat there, staring at the mansion through the windshield. She drew in a slow breath before tucking the phone into her pocket and stepping out of the car.The cool air hit her face, but it did nothing to clear her mind. She was heading toward the entrance when her eyes caught a hooded figure, who was

Dawn hadn’t broken yet when Lucas finally woke up in his room, groggy and disoriented.He needed answers on how he had ended up back home and headed to Adrian’s room to ask him.Adrian looked up when Lucas knocked.His face showed clear signs of exhaustion and confusion from everything that had gone down tonight and what he’d discovered.Relief flashed across his face when he realized Lucas was the one at the door.He didn’t hesitate to let him in.“Dad, you’re still awake,” Lucas said as he stepped inside, immediately asking why he wasn’t sleeping.Adrian stood up, crossing the room toward him."You're awake," he said instead.Lucas nodded and apologized to Adrian for making him worried, concluding that it was because of him Adrian was yet to sleep.Lucas leaned against the doorframe, still unsteady. "What happened? How did I—”“Sit down first.” Adrian guided him toward the leather couch against the wall, his grip firm but gentle."You shouldn’t be walking around yet.”Lucas sank int

The moment an uber pulled up in front of a modest mansion, Blanche stepped out first.She adjusted her purse on her shoulder, the weight of it somehow heavier than usual. Everything felt heavier these days.Yvonne followed, closing the car door with more force than necessary. That’s how bad things had gotten for them—they went from having a garage full of luxury cars, enough to drive a different one each day of the week, to now having to call Ubers just to get around.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​"A million dollars,” Yvonne muttered, staring at the mansion before them. "For a property worth at least five times that.”“But it's still more than the offers we've had,” Blanche replied, her voice tight. "We can’t afford to be picky anymore, Yvonne."The past few weeks had been a nightmare they couldn’t wake up from. First, they sold off the last few cars they had left—the ones that had been keeping them going and reminding them of what their family used to be—for way less than they were worth.Desp

The evening started perfectly.Ethan took Jessica to an upscale rooftop restaurant that overlooked the whole city. They laughed over dinner until their stomachs hurt, bouncing from topic to topic, completely lost in each other’s company. The food was amazing, but neither of them could remember much about what they’d eaten later, because they were too focused on each other.After dinner, they wandered through the rooftop garden, fingers intertwined. It was during their walk that she asked him something that had been bothering her: why he had stopped calling her Jess.He stopped walking and turned to face her, holding both her hands. “Because you said you hated being called that.”She shrugged, a small smile playing at her lips. “And why do you think I hated it?”He shrugged back, looking genuinely confused.“I don’t know…” He tilted his head. "But the only reason I can come up with is that maybe it was traumatizing for you? Like maybe someone you hated used to call you that, and yo

Hours had passed since Ethan’s arrest.The interrogation room was small and bare—just a metal table bolted to the floor, two chairs on opposite sides, and a dark glass panel covering one wall.Ethan sat in one of those chairs, hands resting loosely on the table in front of him.He looked like a man waiting for a delayed flight, not someone who’d been dragged from his home in the middle of the night and accused of running a criminal empire.His posture was relaxed.No fidgeting. No demands. No complaints.Just calm.Finally, after what felt like forever, the door opened.The commanding officer from earlier walked in, carrying a laptop under one arm. He closed the door behind him with a soft click before crossing the room.“Sorry for keeping you waiting,” he said, setting the laptop down on the table.Ethan tilted his head slightly. “Sorry?”He shook his head with a faint smile. “No, I don’t think you abandoned me on purpose. You were probably busy with something important. It’s cool.”