As soon as Maria realized Cole had been inside his room for over five minutes—and that the chances of him coming back out were close to zero—she moved fast.She gently persuaded Cole’s mother to go lie down and rest. Her health was the perfect excuse, and Maria knew how to use it. Bella still hadn’t returned, but a message had come in saying she’d be spending the night wherever she was.That left only one obstacle.Maria walked into the kitchen, where Amanda was still working herself to exhaustion. Whether she was trying to prove something to Cole’s mother or genuinely enjoyed the chores, Maria didn’t care. Either way, Amanda looked exactly where Maria wanted her: busy, distracted, and alone.“Hey,” Maria said, leaning casually against the doorframe. “When you’re done, can we talk?”Amanda snorted. “You’re being a little too nice for the history of our relationship.”“Think whatever you want,” Maria replied calmly. “But this is important. For Cole.”“You can try to have him if you dar

They held their breath as Cole walked past.One step.Then another.A few seconds later, he turned and headed back inside.Neither of them realized they’d been holding their breath until the door finally closed.They looked at each other.And then—ridiculously, uncontrollably—they burst out laughing.The kind of laughter that comes after almost getting caught. After your nerves have been stretched too tight and suddenly snap.They slid down and sat on the floor, backs against the wall, still trying to quiet themselves.A few seconds passed.Amanda exhaled deeply. “I don’t know…” she said softly. “But ever since he came back, he’s been acting strange. Like… he’s too careful with me. He gets into trouble, and he won’t tell me about it.”Maria snorted. “What kind of man gets into trouble and runs to cry to his wife?”“I’m not saying I want him to cry to me,” Amanda said. “But at the same time… it would make sense if he could. I don’t want him hiding things from me. Not like that.” She he

Tyler woke up that morning exactly when his alarm was supposed to go off. It was a good day—but not just good. It was already proving to be more than good. He’d spoken at length with his baby mama on the phone last night. He told her all about his plans, assuring her over and over that he really had this. He even mentioned how their kid would inherit the Whitmore empire once the matriarch was gone—which would happen in the next twenty years or less.He didn’t care if it took long or happened fast. He was already planning—the school their kid would go to, the networks they’d be building.Since meeting Rica, he hadn’t believed the guy at first. But now? Everything was proving to be a miracle. The collaboration was taking shape, and results would be announced in a couple of days.His phone rang in his pocket. His baby mama. He stopped jogging to answer.“Hey, babe,” he said, breathing hard into the phone, like a man who already had the world on a leash.“I love you, Tyler. You’re really

“Alright, I’m here. You can mail me anything else you have to tell me,” Amanda said smoothly, then ended the call.Everyone stared at Tyler awkwardly.“Is he that jealous of her success?” someone whispered.“Maybe this is all he’s been doing to earn Grandma’s affection all along,” another muttered.“This is not acceptable in the family,” the matriarch barked, utterly infuriated.“Do you think this is a joke? Do you know what you just did on that call?” she shouted at him, voice cracking.“I was—”“No more words,” the matriarch cut him off, calm but deadly. “I’ve been too lenient with you. Right now, I’ll have the staff pack your things. You will leave this house immediately. I’ll freeze all your cars, all your positions will be revoked. If you can become even half of who Amanda was when I stripped everything away from her, then I might consider letting you back into the family.”“No, Grandma… you can’t do this!”And that was how Tyler watched himself get thrown out of the family house

Cole was more than fascinated with the lawyer on his team—the guy was surgical, moving through everything so flawlessly that it made Cole’s head spin. In the past two days, the ten of them had worked like machines, each second inching closer to their goal: getting the masters out of prison.Wright had initially resisted cooperating, but there are limits to the torture a man can endure. Eventually, he spilled everything he knew—the plans Rica had orchestrated down to the tiniest detail. And thank God they acted fast: when Rica manipulated the necklace that Dre had been wearing, it was the fake one. Dre had no clue, and Cole—he hadn’t the slightest idea of the web being spun behind the scenes when he was first contacted that day.It wasn’t until Marcus called and filled him in that the puzzle pieces clicked. Acting natural in front of his mother, Maria, and even Amanda had been a cakewalk compared to the storm of revelations that had just hit him.Everything that had happened all from