Cole settled his mother’s hospital bills after another chat with the doctor, who assured him she was doing everything to get his mother out of the coma as soon as possible.He glanced at the bill: $120,500.99.Five years ago, that amount would have had him running around the world, sweating over every cent. Now? It barely phased him. Sick family or not, he knew the weight of money then… and the audacity it took back then to even participate in that fateful interview that led to Amanda.He turned, almost colliding with someone.“Cole?” The man’s voice carried surprise, almost disbelief. His smile said it all: shocked to find Cole still standing.“Been a while,” Cole replied, keeping his own smile calm but firm.“I saw the news…” the man hesitated, scanning Cole like a man assessing a wild card. “You… got out of prison?”Cole nodded, composed. “How have you been?”“I’ve been fine, but…” He cocked his head, inspecting Cole closely. “How did you manage to get out in one piece?”Cole’s gaz

Bella was shocked—but Amanda? Amanda was more shocked. They had been watching Cole from a corner all along. She had almost stepped forward to defend him, thinking he’d break down when that puffy guy in a suit started talking—of course, Cole wasn’t a baby, but anyone could tell his heart was that of one.If not for the fact that she just landed a new collaboration, she’d have stepped in fully to defend him. Yet Cole had torn the guy apart in his own way, paid him back with a calm precision that made Amanda’s heart swell with pride.“He’s so cool, right?” she whispered to Bella, her voice barely audible, as they watched him walk away.Bella nodded, tears pricking her eyes. If not for the sunglasses Amanda had insisted they wear, her tears would have spilled over completely.“Let’s go see him,” Amanda said, determination flashing in her eyes. They had only managed to figure out where he was—no idea what he had come to do.She sauntered to the front desk, her stride confident. She smiled

They say if you think long enough, the answers will come—and that evening, Tyler finally got his. After a day lost in meditation, spiraling thoughts, and the chaos Amanda had stirred, the truth hit him. That brat… he’d deal with her.“Pause…” he muttered, forcing himself to stop before spiraling further. He needed to get out of this mess first.He walked into the garden, where the matriarch sat, reading a magazine, the late evening sunlight brushing her face. She had just closed a deal with the governor, and in hours, their fortune had grown beyond years of effort.Tyler lowered himself beside her.“Do you have something to tell me, Tyler?” she asked, flipping a page.“Grandma… am I still your heir?”“Why would you ask that?” she replied, eyebrow raised.“I mean…” he shrugged. “The way Amanda moves… it might get into her head and bring things down.”“I know that,” the matriarch said calmly. “But we should enjoy it while it lasts.”“I’ve brought more to this family than she has,” Tyler

“I haven’t skipped dinner in a long time,” Bella said.“It’s eleven–oh–six p.m.,” Cole supplied.He finally gave up trying to break into their little bubble. He got some pizza from inside, dropped onto the couch, pulled out his phone, and opened the encrypted materials Scarface had sent. Files about the ring—the one his mentors had pressed into his life like a prophecy. Nothing about them was normal. Even opening the documents required codes complicated enough to fry an average brain. Cole had crammed them from memory.Amanda and Bella finally came out minutes later.Cole glanced up from the files on his phone… then went back to scrolling… then froze. His brain absolutely short-circuited. Slowly, he lifted his head again.What. The. Hell.“What’s—” His eyes flicked between his wife and his sister. Both of them had makeup on. Amanda’s look hit him so hard he forgot how to breathe for a second. Bella’s? He immediately understood why fathers carried shotguns in movies. No way she wasn’t

“Have you ever been on a date?” Cole asked Bella as he opened the window, letting more sunlight flood the room. She had woken up a few minutes ago, greeted him, then retreated inside, only to come back out again.She glanced at him, shaking her head. “No.”“Do you want us to go on one?”Bella looked at him again, unsure.“I want to show you what a guy is supposed to do on a first date. If you ever meet someone who does less, you can toss him straight into the red-flag trash,” Cole said.“I watch movies. I know how a date is supposed to go,” she said.“Movies are nothing compared to real life,” Cole countered. “Think of it as a class. I’m giving you a class on dates.”“How many dates have you been on?” she asked, curious.Cole counted on his fingers for a few seconds. “Zero.”Bella blinked at him, both shocked and amused. “You’re the one who needs the date the most!”“Just kidding,” Cole said wi