A full week had passed since Kaelen left Mirella under Arianna’s care.At first, Arianna hadn’t thought much of it.She understood pressure.She understood exhaustion.She understood a parent stretched thin by fear and responsibility.But as the days stacked one after another, something became impossible to ignore.Kaelen had changed.He still came by.He still checked on Mirella with the same fierce focus as always.He still made sure every medication was on schedule, every instruction followed to the letter.When it came to his daughter, nothing slipped.But outside of that?It was as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist.He no longer asked Arianna how her day had been.No longer exchanged the brief smiles they once shared.Conversations were reduced to necessities—pick-up times, medical updates, schedules.Efficient. Cold. Distant.He sent money. Plenty of it.More than enough to cover Mirella’s care, food, transportation—anything Arianna could possibly need.But he almost

The office was way too quiet after the door clicked shut behind Jonah.Kaelen kept his eyes fixed on the spot where his assistant had been standing, his jaw set so tight it actually hurt.Jonah had that pathetic, kicked-puppy look on his face the whole time, like he wanted to help but knew he was just stepping on landmines.Kaelen didn't have the energy for sympathy. He had a company to save, a daughter who was fading away, and a legal team that seemed to be more interested in billable hours than results.He finally shifted his gaze to Arianna.She was just standing there, watching him with those calm, analytical eyes that usually made him feel grounded but right now just made him feel exposed."I really don't have time for this, Arianna," he said, his voice flat and tired."Whatever it is, save it. I have a dozen fires to put out and I’m pretty sure the match is still in Riley’s hand. I can’t attend to you right now. Just... please."Arianna didn't move. She didn't even flinch at the

It was close to midnight when Kaelen finally pulled into the underground parking of his apartment building.The day had drained him, leaving a hollow ache in his chest that no amount of rest seemed able to touch.Meetings had bled into more meetings, each one a tedious battle of wills over spreadsheets and legal jargon.Calls had interrupted the few moments of peace he tried to grab, voices on the other end demanding answers he wasn't always ready to give.Calculations for the upcoming fiscal quarter sat like lead in his stomach, the numbers refusing to align with the reality of his current situation.Decisions stacked on decisions, creating a precarious tower of responsibilities that felt like it might topple at any moment.His body ached with exhaustion, a physical manifestation of the stress that had been tightening its grip on him for months.But his mind refused to slow down, spinning like a rusted gear that couldn't find its stop.Even as he shut off the engine and stepped out o

It was a cool, overcast weekend evening when Arianna finally stepped out of the yellow cab at the dimly lit entrance of Mini Street.The driver pulled away almost immediately, his taillights disappearing into the darkness and leaving her standing there entirely alone with her handbag slung tightly over her shoulder.A heavy sense of uncertainty began to settle deep in her chest as she realized how isolated the corner felt.She glanced around with a furrowed brow, taking in the narrow, jagged road that branched off into several smaller, winding paths, each one twisting deeper into another layer of the urban labyrinth.The streetlights were unevenly spaced and poorly maintained, some flickering with a rhythmic, dying buzz, while others barely managed to illuminate the cracked, oil-stained pavement beneath them.“This can’t be right…” she muttered to herself, her voice sounding small against the sudden silence of the neighborhood.She pulled out her phone, the screen glowing brightly in

The sun was dipping low behind the skyline, bleeding a bruised purple across the horizon by the time Arianna finally managed to untangle herself from the chaotic scene at the docks. The salt air was still clinging to her clothes, a bitter reminder of the damp, dark place she’d just escaped. It had all spiraled so fast. When the ambulance arrived and the paramedics realized the body in the warehouse wasn't a prank or a false alarm, the atmosphere had shifted from tense to clinical. They hadn’t been joking, and neither was she.The police had flooded the zone within minutes, their sirens a jarring contrast to the heavy silence of the industrial district. Arianna had been forced to stay for the preliminary questioning, her heart hammering against her ribs as she watched the investigators snap photos of the man on the floor—the man who shouldn't have been there, but was.Now, she was finally stepping out of the back of a black sedan, the heavy door closing with a thud that echoed in th