POV: Maya SantosEthan visited Daniel in federal prison three days after buying his Ferrari. I went with him because facing Daniel alone felt too heavy, and honestly, I wanted to see this for myself.The prison was medium security, not the violent hellhole Daniel had probably feared, but definitely not comfortable.Daniel was brought to the visitation room in an orange jumpsuit, thinner than I remembered. He saw Ethan and started crying immediately. Just broke down right there while the guard was still uncuffing him.Ethan sat down across from him and waited."I'm sorry," Daniel said, his voice cracking. "For everything. The betrayal. The accident. The conspiracy with my father. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I convinced myself you were weak and didn't deserve Cole Industries."He wiped his face with his sleeve."I thought ruthlessness was strength. Now I know ruthlessness without loyalty is just cruelty."Ethan listened without interrupting, and I could see the complicated emo

POV: Maya SantosEmma showed up at the Santos Justice Foundation the morning after the gala, ready to volunteer. I was surprised she actually followed through, but I put her to work immediately. The Foundation helped families affected by corporate fraud and medical malpractice, exactly the kind of people Morrison Pharmaceuticals and Cross's network had victimized.Emma spent her first day filing paperwork, answering phones, and listening to victims' stories. I watched her carefully, looking for signs she was faking commitment or seeking publicity. But she was genuinely engaged.When a mother broke down crying about losing her husband to Morrison's falsified drug trials, Emma sat with her for an hour just listening.Ethan called during lunch asking how it was going."She's trying," I said honestly. "Whether it lasts remains to be seen."By the end of the week, Emma had become invaluable.She'd organized our filing system, created a database for tracking cases, and connected several vic

POV: Ethan ColeThomas Cross was everything his father was but worse. Younger, smarter, connected to European criminal networks instead of American political ones.Victoria's intelligence reports confirmed he operated Apex Security, a private military company in Eastern Europe specializing in corporate espionage and targeted assassinations. He'd been watching from a distance while his father went to prison, waiting for the right moment to strike. That moment was now.Adrian looked exhausted just thinking about Thomas's seventy-two-hour deadline. "Maybe he should have it," Adrian said quietly. "I'm tired of fighting. Tired of the violence. Tired of watching good people die for technology that seems cursed.""No," I said immediately.Everyone looked at me."My father created this technology to help people, not to enrich criminals. Thomas Cross represents everything Dad fought against. If he gets the system, he'll use it for mercenary work, corporate terrorism, and building a criminal

POV: Maya SantosCatherine's cottage was warm and inviting, filled with music, she'd started teaching piano again, and the smell of home cooking that made my childhood memories feel inadequate. She'd insisted on preparing everything herself despite Ethan offering to hire caterers."I spent months unable to move or speak," she'd told him firmly. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life doing both." She greeted everyone at the door with hugs.Even Emma, who looked terrified but was trying. Baby Catherine was passed around and cooed over, Marcus held her awkwardly like she might explode, Lily took a thousand photos, Victoria looked surprisingly comfortable with an infant in her arms."You're remarkable for hosting after everything you endured," Victoria said, handing Catherine a bottle of wine."I'm alive and my son is happy," Catherine replied simply. "That's worth celebrating."Marcus and Lily arrived together, officially a couple now, holding hands and finishing each other's sentences.

POV: Maya SantosThe bar complaint landed in my email at six AM. From first glance, I knew it’s professionally crafted to cause maximum damage with minimum evidence.Accusation: Maya Santos provided legal counsel to Cole Industries while holding only paralegal certification, practicing law without a license in violation of state bar regulations.It was complete bullshit.I'd never represented the company legally, just worked as a consultant on cases where we needed paralegal research and document preparation.But the accusation triggered mandatory investigation. Lawyers, evidence gathering, even disciplinary hearings. My bar admission could be delayed indefinitely while they investigated lies.Eight years of night school, student loans, and sacrifice. Thomas was trying to take it away because I was engaged to Ethan.Ethan saw the complaint and went ice cold."We fight this aggressively. Victoria's lawyers, private investigators, whatever it takes to destroy whoever filed this.""That'