Charlotte’s voice cracked before the first tear even fell. It was as though the weight of the entire moment pressed down on her chest, crushing her from the inside out. Her heart throbbed painfully.She stepped forward shakily, one hand trembling as she held onto the edge of the cold metal table for balance. Her breath hitched as she tried to steady herself, but her emotions were spiraling too quickly to control.“Please… officer,” she whispered, her voice thin, strained. She swallowed hard, then tried again when her words broke in the middle. “Please show Selena mercy. She… she has changed. She’s turned a new leaf. I know she has.”Her insistence sounded hollow even to her own ears. She could hear the tremor in her voice and could feel the way her chest tightened with doubt. Her knees shook beneath her, threatening to give out. Her vision blurred around the edges, tears collecting faster than she could blink them away. The police officers standing before her exchanged a brief, q

Charlotte’s hands trembled slightly as she looked at her twin, really looked at her—the same face, the same eyes, the same familiar outline of the girl she had grown up with. Yet everything about Selena felt different now, shadowed, worn, unpredictable. Still, Charlotte tried to steady her voice, keeping it gentle but firm.“Remember,” she said softly, “this is your chance to make things right. You need to prove that you want a new life… a better one. Not just for yourself, but for everyone you’ve hurt. Everyone who’s suffered because of you.”For a moment, Selena’s cold exterior cracked. She lowered her gaze, her lashes fluttering, and the faintest trace of gratitude appeared in her expression. “I… I understand,” Selena murmured. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Thank you, Charlotte. Truly. I promise I’ll turn a new leaf. I won’t disappoint you again.”Charlotte nodded, though a part of her heart tightened. She wanted to believe. She desperately wanted her twin back— not th

St. Celestine Hospital was calm that night. Charlotte lay back on her pillow, exhausted but glowing with the quiet joy of motherhood. Her newborn daughter slept peacefully beside her in the cradle, wrapped warmly, the faint rise and fall of her tiny chest the most beautiful sight Charlotte had ever seen.She stroked the baby’s cheek with trembling fingers.“My little angel…” she whispered.Mia had stepped out to call Logan and update him on the birth, leaving the room silent and still.Charlotte let her eyes drift shut.But the peace lasted barely a minute.Because far down the hallway, by the elevator doors, the quiet evening shattered.With a sound like thunder.BANG!The first gunshot echoed through the hospital.Charlotte’s eyes flew open. For a moment, she thought she had imagined it. Hospitals didn’t have gunshots. Hospitals were safe places—clean, sterile, peaceful.Another shot.Then another.Then screams.Charlotte bolted upright, heart pounding violently against her ribs.

At first, Logan refused to believe what the nurse had just said. His mind simply rejected the possibility, pushing it away as if denial alone could alter reality. His chest tightened painfully, squeezing his lungs until each breath felt like a thin, ragged thread being dragged through a needle. “No,” he muttered.It couldn’t be.This was a hospital—a place meant for safety, healing, and new beginnings. His wife had just delivered. His child was supposed to be sleeping peacefully beside her, tiny chest rising and falling in soft, fragile breaths. He was supposed to walk into that room and see two miracles—his wife alive and his newborn daughter resting in her cradle.Not this.Not… this nightmare.Logan didn’t wait for further explanation. He didn’t wait for the trembling cleaner or the panicked intern or anyone else to say another word. Every second felt like an eternity being ripped apart in slow motion.He sprinted.He bolted through the blood-smeared corridors, moving so fast t

Damien stood in the center of the dimly lit room, dressed in black from head to toe, his silhouette sharp and imposing against the flickering lights. The shadows danced behind him like restless spirits, but his expression remained cold and unreadable… until the door burst open with a violent thud that broke the silence. His men entered. They had followed Damien for years through every wicked plot, every calculated scheme, and every dark deed that clawed its way into his twisted legacy. They had seen him at his worst, and they still obeyed. This time, they carried Logan’s child. The infant’s tiny chest rose and fell in trembling patterns, oblivious to the evil it had been born into. The soft cloth around it fluttered as the men approached Damien. Damien’s lips slowly curved into a smile. Then laughter burst out of him, sharp and chilling, echoing off the walls with a manic brilliance. The sound filled the room like the triumphant roar of a man who believed he ha