James turned back to Harvey, his face set in the same cold mask he always wore when addressing the man his daughter loved."Go upstairs," he ordered, voice low and absolute. "Sit there, and do not move an inch. Do not call her, and do not even entertain the thoughts of leaving this house until the matter at the company is resolved."He spoke in the manner a man speaks to someone who had never and would never raise his voice in return.For an entire year Harvey had absorbed every insult, every dismissive glance, and every public reminder that he was the much lesser partner in the marriage. He had never snapped or pushed back. Not even once.James had grown used to Harvey's silent and puppet-like treatment. He expected it now like the way he expected the sun to rise every morning.But today was different.Harvey knew with very striking clarity that Harvax Inc. would collapse if he stayed back in the house.With every digital system and artery severed and corrupted, the company would los

Jonathan's face twisted, his voice ripping through the lobby."He's making it worse!" he shouted, pointing toward the stairwell Harvey had taken. "That man is sabotaging every remaining system we have. Does he think this is a joke? That Harvax is some playground for his amateur games?"He spun toward the nearest security officers. "Get up there. Drag him out before he finishes destroying what's left!""No," Jane's voice cut across his command as she stepped forward. "I'll go myself."Jonathan turned to her and chuckled, closing the distance between them in three strides. Then he shook his head, the false calm already cracking."He'll only end up filling your head with nonsense about fixing it, and you'll end up believing him–""Jonathan–""Because he's your husband."Jane shook her head. "No, Jonathan. Leave it to me–""You know nothing about cybersecurity!" Jonathan suddenly blurted out, his voice loud enough that everyone in the lobby froze.Silence fell, all conversations ceasing.

Jane shoved the front door open hard enough that it slammed against the stop. She stormed straight into the sitting room, fury still burning in her chest and sharp words already lined up on her tongue.But the room was empty.She stopped short, her chest rising and falling as a long, exhausted sigh left her. She dropped heavily into the nearest chair and shut her eyes.Then a dry, humorless chuckle slipped out of her lips.This was the exact opposite of everything she had pictured for their anniversary.Harvey had never been anything but good to her. He had found her at the lowest point of her life—when depression had sunk so deep that she stood on the very edge of ending her life.But he had pulled her back and given her a love that felt bottomless, steady, and real. Even as the officers led him away in cuffs, she had still seen that same love looking back at her from his eyes.“Jane?”The familiar voice pulled her out of the dark spiral. She opened her eyes slowly to see Elena, the

Jane left the station more confused and panicked than she had walked in only minutes earlier. She had never seen Harvey like that. Not once in the three years she had known him. The way he had yanked his hands free of hers as if the table itself had burned him, and the raw panic in his voice as he begged, “No… please… she must not do that,” still echoed louder than the traffic on the street.She reached her car on unsteady legs, slid into the driver’s seat, and immediately pulled out her phone. Her thumb found the unknown number from earlier and hit call. It rang severally, but there was no response.She tried again, pressing the phone harder to her ear as if sheer will could force the stranger to pick up. But she got the same result. After a third attempt, she let the phone drop into her lap and stared out through the windshield at the station's glowing entrance.Tired, exhausted, and suddenly very alone, she turned away and started the engine.As she joined the traffic, her mi

Harvey woke to the soft gray light of early morning and an empty space beside him. Jane’s side of the bed was cold. No warm body pressed against his, and no familiar scent of her shampoo lingering on the pillow. And most telling of all—no gentle kiss to pull him from sleep the way she always did when she woke first.She was still angry.He sat up slowly, rubbing a hand over his face, then swung his legs out of bed. The apartment felt too quiet. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt and padded barefoot toward the kitchen.Jane was already there, standing at the counter with a mug of coffee cradled in both hands. She was fully dressed—dark blouse, tailored pants, hair neatly pulled back. The sight of her ready for the day while he was still half-asleep only confirmed what the empty bed had already told him.He walked up behind her, voice low and careful. “Morning, love.”He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the side of her neck. She didn’t pull away, but she didn’t lean