LOGINSHAWN"Get out!" I dismissed the maid with a harsh wave of my hand, ignoring her frightened scramble out of the room.Then I bolted back up the stairs into the suite, my pacing frantic and erratic as I grabbed my phone again. What the fuck was Miranda up to now?! How dare she preach to me about respecting boundaries and avoiding trouble, when she was actively going out of her way to court absolute catastrophe?!Somehow, deep in my gut, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was sitting across from Elara at this very second. But why?! What sick, twisted leverage was she trying to play?!"FUCK!" I screamed in pure frustration, slamming my fist against the doorframe.I zoomed in on the photo Miranda had posted, clicking on the subtle, automated geotag embedded in the corner of the image. The application immediately resolved the coordinates, pulling up the name of an elite, top-tier establishment in the heart of the city: L'Étoile Prime.I cussed violently under my breath, turning on
SHAWNI turned off the water, wrapped a plush white towel around my waist, and walked into the walk-in closet to select a casual outfit. My mother had, thank heavens, conveyed my clothes from the family house to the Senator's estate.My grandfather though… unfortunately, hadn't spoken a single word to me since my arrest. Not a call. Not a visit. Not even a text message. Even a cold one would have been better than nothing.I let out a heavy, bitter sigh, ignoring the stinging flash of pain that pierced my heart. The old man had finally given up on me. He must have, undoubtedly, heard the widespread rumors that I had orchestrated the fake truck accident, and he had believed every word of it.Yet was it right that he would discard me completely?I was his own blood for fuck sake. Even if I killed someone, he should help me bury the person, not push me away! What manner of grandfather was he? Tch!My face still set in a scowl, I finished dressing in a simple charcoal crewneck sweater and
SHAWNI was running.The night was a suffocating, impenetrable wall of blackness, and I was running like my very existence depended on it. My chest burned with every frantic, ragged breath I sucked in, the frigid air scraping against my lungs like broken glass. I couldn't see my own hands in front of my face, couldn't see the ground beneath my feet, but I could feel them. Shadows. Entities. Monstrous, unseen things were right behind me, their cold breathing echoing directly against the nape of my neck.I whipped my head back in absolute terror, trying desperately to glimpse whatever was hunting me—and because I looked back, I never saw the edge.My feet suddenly hit empty air.A breathless gasp escaped my throat as my balance vanished completely. I plunged downward into a pitch-black abyss, the force of the fall dragging me into its terrifying depths like a physical hand. Gravity ripped the air straight from my lungs as I screamed, a long shriek of pure horror that echoed into nothin
KILLIAN"Miss Elara arrived at the venue approximately seven minutes ago," Vance reported smoothly, the faint hum of street traffic audible somewhere behind his voice. "She entered the main dining area under guard with Ben and Marcus. She's currently seated at a secluded window table near the rear section.""And Miranda?""Already at the table when Miss Elara walked in," Vance said, his tone carefully professional. "My team has two positions secured—one inside near the service bar with a clean line of sight to the table, one in a civilian vehicle parked across the street covering the main exit. Everything's reading calm from where I'm standing. No physical threats. No unexpected arrivals.""Keep your eyes on that table, Vance." My voice dropped into something sterner, colder, the register I reserved for instructions that mattered more than anything else on my calendar today. "Miranda is desperate, and desperate people do stupid, ugly things when they think they've got nothing left to
KILLIANI barely glanced at the glowing laptop screen in front of me, my fingers idly flipping through a thick stack of printed financial reports while three high-level executives on the encrypted video call droned on about regional market projections in the flat, interchangeable cadence of men who'd said the same sentences a hundred times before.These were the people I'd abruptly abandoned days ago, the moment the news of Elara's accident had ripped through my phone and every other consideration in my life had simply ceased to exist. I'd made it abundantly, coldly clear to their board afterward that I would not be stepping foot on a plane or leaving this city again anytime soon. If they wanted to close this multi-billion-dollar deal, they'd do it virtually, on my terms, according to my schedule, or they wouldn't do it at all. It had been wildly inconvenient for their international legal counsel of course. But I hadn't cared. And because I held the capital they desperately needed t
ELARAThe moment I stepped out onto the sweeping marble portico of the mansion, I found Mason already waiting beside the sleek, armored sedan, arms folded, expression unreadable in the way only Mason's ever was.I offered him a playful wink as I reached for the door handle. He stepped in immediately, his large hand gripping the top of the door to stop it from swinging shut before I'd properly settled onto the leather seat."Make me a promise right now, Elara." His dark eyes drilled into mine with an intensity that left no room for deflection. "Tell me you have every single variable of this meeting under control."I smiled up at him, tilting my head. "Don't you know your own sister by now, Mason?"He held my gaze a beat longer, and I watched the tension finally break across his broad shoulders as he let out a low, defeated sigh. He leaned into the cabin and pressed a firm, brief kiss against my forehead. "Be careful."Then he shut the door gently and stepped up to the front passenger w
SHAWNThis wasn’t happening. This wasn’t real. Maybe I was in a dream, or trapped in some cruel alternate reality. Surely, that was the only explanation. My wife couldn't be S.N. She couldn't be the elusive tech billionaire who had appeared out of the blue, invested in our company, and worked beh
SHAWN“If anything happens to Elara, just know that you will lose your position in the company! Every single share…!”Grandfather’s voice thundered across the hospital room, heavy with an authority that usually made my blood run cold. But I didn't look at him. Instead, I rolled my eyes discreetly,
ELARAI was drowning.I fought the water with every ounce of strength I had left, but I was fighting the panic too. The trauma dragged me under like a physical weight—the jagged memory of the first time I had met Shawn. He had saved me then, a nerdy girl being tormented by bullies who thought it w
ELARAI’m not a mean girl by nature, I promise, but seeing the look of pure, startled shock on Miranda’s face at the insult made something inside me purr. “What is the meaning of that, Elara? How can you say such a thing to your best friend? What is wrong with you?” Shawn shouted, his voice boomin







