LOGINElara I woke to another quiet morning in the hospital, though “quiet” no longer meant peaceful. The steady rhythm of the heart monitor and the distant footsteps in the hallway had become familiar over the past day. Physically, I felt a little stronger. The pain was still there—sharp whenever I moved too quickly—but it was no longer overwhelming. The emotional wounds were another matter. Every time I closed my eyes, I found myself back inside my car. The sound of Alistair’s voice over the phone. The headlights rushed toward me. The violent impact.Shattered glass.Then darkness. I had never truly understood how fragile life was until now. One second had separated me from death.One second. I stared out the window at the city below.Someone had tried to kill me. That truth should have terrified me. Instead, it slowly hardened into something else. Determination. If the people behind the attack believed they could frighten me into hiding, they had chosen the wrong woman. I had
Alistair I watched through the tinted glass as the police officer entered Elara’s hospital room. She deserved answers. Unfortunately, the authorities were asking the wrong questions. By the time they finished taking her statement, every piece of useful evidence would have already disappeared if I left the investigation in their hands. I had no intention of making that mistake. Turning away from the observation window, I walked into the temporary command center my security team had established on the hospital’s private floor. Computer monitors displayed traffic footage, satellite images, financial records, and live updates from operatives spread across the city. The room fell silent the moment I entered. “Report.” My security chief stepped forward. “We’ve identified the vehicles involved in the collision.” He projected several photographs onto the largest screen. “The sedan that boxed Miss Dubois in was reported stolen three days ago. The truck that struck her was purchased
Elara The first thing I became aware of was the steady, rhythmic beeping somewhere beside me. It echoed through the darkness, pulling me upward one painful breath at a time. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy. Every muscle in my body protested as I forced them open, and bright white light flooded my vision. For several seconds, everything was blurred. The ceiling above me swayed slightly, and a dull ache pounded inside my head. I blinked slowly, trying to focus. A hospital. The realization came before my memories did. The sharp scent of antiseptic filled the air. An IV was taped to the back of my hand, and my right wrist was wrapped in a thick cast. Every breath sent a sharp pain through my ribs, making me wince. What happened? I searched my mind, but everything came back in broken fragments. I remembered leaving my apartment.Talking to Alistair on the phone.His voice sounded unusually serious. Then… Headlights. A horn. A vehicle rushing toward mine.The deafening crash.Sha
Alistair The call ended so abruptly that silence echoed through my office. “Elara?” No answer. Only the memory of her frightened voice repeating my name before the sound of twisting metal and shattering glass swallowed everything. Every instinct I possessed screamed that this hadn’t been an accident. I was already moving before my phone left my ear. “Get every available unit on the road,” I barked at my security chief as I strode out of the conference room, leaving a table full of executives frozen in confusion. “Trace Miss Dubois’ phone. I want her exact location now.” No one dared ask questions. Within seconds, my entire security network came alive. “Lock down every road leading to the coordinates.” “Send medical support.” “I want drones overhead.” “And nobody touches that crash site until my people arrive.” The elevator seemed impossibly slow. By the time the doors opened, my driver already had the car waiting. I didn’t wait for him to open the door. “Drive.” The
Elara The morning after the summit was surprisingly quiet. Sunlight streamed through my apartment windows as I settled at my dining table with a notebook, my laptop, and the stack of documents I’d brought home from the conference. For the first time since the summit had begun, I had the opportunity to organize everything without interruption. I carefully transferred handwritten observations into a digital file. Names of investors. Companies that had announced partnerships. Executives who had appeared uncertain whenever the Valmont Group entered the conversation. The more I reviewed my notes, the clearer certain patterns became. The same investment firms had repeatedly delayed commitments. Several influential executives had quietly avoided private meetings with Valmont representatives. None of it was enough to prove anything. But it was enough to suggest that Alistair’s instincts had been correct. Something beneath the surface was shifting. My phone buzzed. Denise: Still
Celia I woke up with Elara Dubois already occupying my thoughts. No matter how hard I tried to push her out of my mind, she remained there—calm, composed, infuriatingly impossible to ignore. The corporate summit should have reminded everyone where they belonged. Instead, it had only confirmed my worst fear.She was becoming impossible to overlook. Louis’ grandfather adored her.Louis himself wasn’t behaving the way he used to. Even the people who mattered—the powerful executives, influential investors, and respected business leaders—seemed drawn to her quiet confidence. She wasn’t supposed to belong in that world. She had been ordinary.Forgettable.Easy to replace.So why did it suddenly feel like she was everywhere? I threw my blankets aside and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows of my apartment. The city stretched beneath me, glittering beneath the morning sun. Usually, the view helped settle my thoughts. Today, it only reminded me how quickly everything was slipping
ElaraThe ocean stretched endlessly before me, its quiet waves lapping against the shore of the private resort like a secret only the elite could afford to hear. Everything about this place whispered wealth—discreet, controlled, and cold. Exactly like the man standing beside me.Alistair.Even his
ELARAThe resort looked like something out of a dream,white marble floors that reflected the chandelier lights like a thousand tiny stars, walls of glass overlooking an endless stretch of blue water, and a silence so deliberate it felt curated. Even the air smelled expensive, like vanilla and somet
Elara's POVDenise, despite all her protests, still helped me pick out a dress. For some reason, she’d gone with the color black, the kind that swallowed light. A single strap of diamonds held the dress up, leaving one shoulder bare. The bodice clung to my ribs waist, and the skirt pooled at my fee
Elara“I’m in town, Miss Dubois and I thought of reaching out to you. I hope you’ve been well? Three years ago, when you chose to walk out such a promising career, I didn't think I could advise you against it. Honestly, I believed it was your choice to make and hoped you were happy with it. But the







