LOGINThe striking, facial structure. Sydney is an absolute, undeniable replica of the woman in the vintage photograph—Tobias’s mother. The almost psychotic protectiveness Tobias has shown toward Sydney from the very first moment he met her. The massive financial safety nets he threw under her, the fact
Before I can even open my mouth to apologize for breaking into his house, Tobias speaks. His voice is incredibly quiet, completely devoid of its usual sharp authority, yet it carries a heavy, haunting weight that pins me right to the carpet. "For years..." he murmurs, his finger continuing its slow
I stand frozen on the gravel path, the engine of Sydney’s departing car roaring in my ears. I watch the taillights of her vehicle bounce over the cemetery threshold, disappearing completely from sight, and with every inch of distance she puts between us, my heart shatters into a million jagged, irre
My throat locks up. I’ve seen Owen angry, I’ve seen him arrogant, and I’ve seen him lethal in a courtroom. But I have never seen him cry like this. "I am so sorry for leaving you in that jail cell, Sydney," he whispers again, his voice cracking completely now as he stares down at my lips. "I know n
The second Owen’s fingers touch the chrome handle of his sleek black sedan, I violently twist out of his reach. I yank myself away from his side, clutching the lapels of his oversized designer suit jacket against my chest like a shield. He freezes, his hand dropping from the door as he whips his he
My stomach completely drops. The press. The paparazzi who were banned from the main service have already spotted the commotion from the outer gates. Long, heavy camera lenses are already poking through the iron bars, the rapid, machine-gun clicking of shutters filling the air as they capture every
I pump them again, panic surging through me, but the car just keeps hurtling forward. The last thing I see is the gnarled bark of a massive tree rushing toward me. CRUNCH! The world turns into a cacophony of shattering glass and groaning metal. Airbags explode in my face like a punch to the gut.
I watch the two of them disappear into the hallway, and the house settles into that heavy silence, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the lingering scent of the tea Caroline made. I take a breath, shaking off the tension in my shoulders and remind myself what I actually came here to do. I move
"You're in the city, but you never come to see me? You're like a ghost. A handsome and intelligent ghost, my son is." Mother’s voice rings out before I even reach the parlor. She’s sitting in her favorite wingback chair, looking as calm as she always does, though the grief lines from crying over my
"Finally." I feel like a thief...or maybe a detective. Or maybe just a man who is about to have his entire world shifted on its axis. In my hand, I’m clutching a crumpled tissue I dug out of my office bin. Why? Well... because it's smudged with Sydney's blood. I was looking for a hair sample, a







