Inside one of the coldest cells at Fort-tight, Frank lay stretched across the narrow metal cot in his cell, staring at the ceiling with tired, hollow eyes.For the longest time, since the day he arrived here, he had learned to understand that no one truly cares, ad everyone would do anything to protect that which was precious to them. He had learned to live with the chains around his heart long before he learned to live with the ones around his wrists.And he had survived all these years with only one burning thought keeping him alive:One day… I will make the Robbins pay.He didn’t know how nor did he know when. But he knew that someday and somehow, he would. And when that day comes, he’ll make sure to make it happen in such a way that the Robbins’ would have wished that he was the one who had died in that plane crash instead of Richard.And that was because every time he thought of the life they had stolen from him, the happiness of a family that they deprived him of enjoying, it o

Emma stared down at the open files on her desk as she sat at her office desk that fateful morning, but the words felt like wet paint sliding off glass. No matter how hard she tried to focus, her mind kept dragging her back to the same sharp loop:Her father, her mother Uncle Frank, and Aunt Margaret.All the lies, the cover-ups, and a twenty-three-year-old ghost of a crime they all pretended didn’t exist.Before now, her family name used to feel like a crown. But now it felt like a weight hanging from her spine, pulling her down inch by inch.She may not have met her father, but she never expected to uncover something like this about him—except maybe the stories were not true and that there was a very important aspect of it that was missing.After all, Grandfather Robbins had been the most respected man she knew, and that was not because he was her grandfather, but because he embodied it. And so, hearing that he was part of a mess that sent his uncle to prison felt like a lie and she

The rest of the day was a blur of activities for Emma and the rest of the Robbins’ employees that before she knew it, it was evening. With everyone else almost gone from the office, Emma returned to the window where she stayed for a few more breaths, letting the city’s noise settle her nerves the way the rumble of waves settles shifting sand. The skyline outside slipped slowly toward dusk, dipping the streets in that honey-orange glaze of early evening, but somewhere in the depths of her thoughts, she still tried to understand what could have happened twenty-three years ago in the Robbins’ family that no one was ready to talk about.And when there was no way ahead to give her the answers which she sought, as all hopes was now on Mr. Blackwood who had promised to give her feedback in twenty-four hours, Emma knew it was time to go home.Although, with the never-ending chaos that was seemed to sweep everyone in the Robbins’ mansion, making her almost never wanting to go home, Emma still

Emma blinked hard, as if the words might change if she stared long enough. But they didn’t. The whole case involving his father and uncle Frank was taking a different twist already and it was like the whole thing had just begun to look even more interesting.She swallowed, forcing her trembling fingers to fold the paper shut. Her heart hammered in her chest as she looked up at Oliver, who was still watching her like a man who knew the exact effect of every word and gesture.“Where did you even get this?” she asked quietly.Oliver didn’t flinch. “Some archives are not meant for the public eye,” he said. “Let’s just say… this one found its way to me.”Emma rose slowly from her seat. “If you’re trying to unsettle me, Mr. Powers, you’ve succeeded. But I suggest you stay out of my family’s history.”“Be careful what you call your family’s history, Miss Robbins,” he replied coolly, leaning back in his chair. “Sometimes, even bloodlines are rewritten.”She didn’t respond. Her silence was the

The man stepped further into the light, and in that single moment, Tracy’s breath caught in her throat. Her glass froze midway to her lips, her expression twisting between disbelief and shock.“Wait—” she whispered, blinking rapidly. “Isn’t that… Ethan?”Her voice was trembling, laced with confusion and something else — fear, maybe. Leif was already turning around to see who had just walked in, but before his eyes could properly focus, Tracy was already speaking again, louder this time.“What the hell is he doing here?” she demanded, staring wide-eyed. “Ethan! That is Ethan, right?”For a brief moment, Tracy thought he had come to look for just another lady to have a one night stand with like it happened with Emma, and could only imagine what kind of man Emma was actually getting married to.As far as Tracy was concerned, Emma deserved someone better and as long as she wasn’t ready to see that for herself, she wasn’t ready to go back to being friends with her either.The noise of the