Melissa had never felt this alive in weeks.For the first time since everything collapsed, since the humiliation, the losses, and the whispered mockery behind closed doors, hope flickered in her chest. It wasn’t peace—but it was something close enough to taste.She stood near the wide glass window of the living room, holding her tablet with trembling fingers. Outside, the estate looked emptier than before. The gardeners were gone. The luxury cars had been sold. Even the fountain no longer worked.Yet Melissa smiled.“This is it,” she said quietly, almost to herself. “This is finally it.”Turner looked up from his seat. His face was worn, his shoulders slumped, like a man who had aged ten years in a single season.“What are you smiling about, Melissa?” he asked.She turned sharply, eyes shining.“The new development,” she said. “The international project Daniel is attached to. The world leaders are watching him now.”Turner frowned. “And?”“And when they watch closely,” Melissa continu

Melissa and her father sat in silence inside the cold detention cell. The air was heavy—thick with fear, regret, and words that had waited too long to be spoken. The iron bars cast long shadows across the damp concrete floor, as if even the light itself had been imprisoned with them.Her mother was gone.She had fled the country days earlier, disappearing without a farewell, without a backward glance. Fear had driven her across borders, abandoning her husband and daughter to face the storm alone. Melissa understood the fear—but understanding did not lessen the sting.She broke the silence first.“Father,” Melissa said, her voice trembling but sharp with restrained anger. “Why must you do this? You know very well that with my persistence, and once my lawyer gets involved, I would have gotten out of this place. I had a plan. I still do. But now you’ve dragged yourself into this mess too.” She paused, swallowing hard. “I pray I will be free… but now, I’m not even sure anymore.”Turner di

MelissaMelissa sat alone in her room, the walls closing in on her with every passing second. The once-familiar space felt foreign now—too quiet, too honest. There was no audience here, no one to impress, no one to manipulate. Just her thoughts.She has been wounded in heart the more for her foolish and selfish desire.Fighting Daniel had gotten her nowhere.She replayed everything—the confrontations, the accusations, the cold pride she wore like armor when he tried to reach her. She had believed she was strong, unbreakable. But strength without direction was just destruction.“What will I do right now?” she whispered, pressing her palms to her temples. “I think I have to stop fighting him… and start thinking of how to amend things with Daniel.”The words felt strange, fragile, but real.“He loves me,” she added softly, as though saying it louder might make it true again. “I’m sure he does.”Her chest tightened.Memories flooded in—Daniel’s voice when it softened, the way he watched h

When the door to Daniel’s private office closed behind them, the world outside seemed to dim, as though the building itself understood that something fragile—and powerful—had just crossed its threshold.The office was nothing like the cold, intimidating space people imagined when they thought of Daniel Kane, the world’s youngest self-made trillionaire. Yes, it was expansive, framed by floor-to-ceiling windows that revealed the city in quiet, glittering obedience beneath them. Yes, the furniture was expensive, the kind that whispered wealth rather than shouting it. But beneath all that was warmth—subtle, deliberate, and deeply personal.Clara noticed it immediately.The leather couch near the window bore faint creases, as though someone actually used it to think, not just to intimidate guests. The bookshelves weren’t decorative; the spines were worn, dog-eared, lived-in. Framed photographs lined one wall—not of yachts or awards, but of moments: Daniel in a cramped workspace years ago,

Melissa’s fingers tightened around the gun again, but her courage was collapsing.Clara leaned closer.“Put it down,” Clara ordered.Melissa didn’t move.Clara’s voice became colder.“Melissa… put it down. Or I swear to you, this beach will be the last place you ever breathe.”Melissa swallowed hard.She hated Clara.She hated her calmness.She hated her confidence.She hated that Daniel looked at Clara like she was the answer to his prayers.But Melissa also hated fear.And right now, fear was creeping into her bones.Slowly, Melissa pulled the gun away from Clara’s stomach.Clara didn’t relax yet.She kept her own gun pressed against Melissa.Melissa scoffed bitterly.“You think you’ve won?” Melissa asked.Clara’s eyes didn’t move.“This is not a competition,” Clara replied. “It’s a warning.”Melissa’s voice shook with frustration.“Daniel is mine,” she whispered.Clara’s lips curled slightly.“No,” Clara corrected her. “Daniel is not anyone’s property. But he chose me. And that is