Devon's Pov.The meeting was over in seconds and not because the deal had been sealed or because of any sheer luck but because I completely messed things up.I was in the room but my thoughts were elsewhere. They didn't look the least bit interested when I walked into the room. Heck, I wasn't even in my right state of mind and considering what happened at the Masquerade banquet, I doubted they'd want anything to do with Grey Tech.The meeting with Seashores was another one scheduled after I'd finished with the European division, the plan was only to seal a deal with the Europeans earlier but after the whole scandal they only saw me as a shadow of my former self..Splashing the handful of water on my face, I looked at the bathroom mirror and my devastated reflection stared back at me. The Seashore meeting was just five minutes away and I looked like complete trash, something that was completely disregarded after being spit out.Taking my towel out from itshook I wiped the last droplets
Devon's povMy car pulled up in front of the house, and I stepped out before the engine fully died down. There was still a lot to be door but with each passing second I felt like the ground should have just consumed me. My eyes narrowed at the sight of a man lingering near the edge of the driveway caught my attention. He was tall, dressed in a worn-out suit that seemed to struggle against the December wind. “Can I help you?” I called out, my voice sharp as I approached. The man immediately turned, his face slipping into a practiced professionalism expression.“Mr. Grey, I presume?” “Yeah. Who’s asking?” i responded back almost immediately. “Alan Greaves,” he said, holding up a clipboard. “I’m here on behalf of Mr. Liam Falcon.” My jaw clenched, Liam. Of course, it would be him. Who else. The man didn’t just want to win—he wanted to completely strip everything that was in my name. I kept my face blank, though my fists clenched at my sides. “Whoever sent you has no business
Devon's pov. “I'm sorry sir but I don't think I can work here anymore,” Philip, a member of the tech team said. He stood at the front of them, a group of people who had once trembled under my gaze. Some kept their expressions neutral, while others couldn’t hide the way their hands shook or the way they avoided looking me in the eye. Still, they were here, together, facing me like they never had before. My jaw tightened as I met Philip’s gaze. “What are you saying, Philip?”“We…” He paused, exchanging glances with the others before continuing. “We’ve all decided to leave. With everything happening, we’re not sure if you’ll be able to pay us anymore. And… there are no more investors willing to back the company.”My fists clenched at my sides. I stayed silent for a minute thinking of the right words to say. They were wrong, I didn't know how I was going to pay them off and even the ones I had in my account had been mostly invested in the resources during the partnership with Lex Oper
Devon's Pov.“I’m her neighbor, Lena,” she said when her panting finally stopped, her hands resting on her knees as she caught her breath.She straightened up and gestured for me to follow her. And the next moment, we were walking back into the neighborhood. The woman led me to her apartment at the far end of the house. It was just a mini apartment, it was tidy, with a warm, lived-in feel. She gestured toward the couch, but I shook my head. Sitting felt too passive for the storm brewing inside me. I needed answers.“Come on.” She repeated, and this time I took my seat on the plush grey sofa.Lena disappeared into the kitchen and returned back to the room with a steaming mug of coffee in her right hand, placing it on the table before sitting across from me. “So..?” She rubbed her hands against each other while pulling a strained smile that didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes scanned my entire future from head to toes as if investigating me. Her eyes held a quiet curiosity as she waited
Devon's Pov. 5 YEARS LATER…The air in the upscale restaurant buzzed with muted conversations from the people already seated. I could hear the clicking of the glasses from the happy couples and friends in the background and faint jazz music. I sat at the private both, holding a glass of water that had long gotten warm. Across from me was Mr O'Hara, he sat, his gaze piercing through me as though he could see my insides. The silence between us was deafening.Mr O'Hara, one of the wealthiest and most influential investors in the industry. His suit was perfectly tailored. He was a very important man, his demeanor was cold and his eyes made it clear that he didn't tolerate mediocrity.The meeting was my very first in over five years, each before that was always rejected as soon as the investor knew who they were going to address. I'd also let Gemini go a few months later, I couldn't pay her so there was no use keeping her around. I'd had to leave San Francisco and move to Los Angeles j
Devon's Pov. The evening arrived faster than I expected. I spent most of the day pacing my apartment, nerves twisting in my stomach like a coiled spring. Every second that ticked by was a reminder of the stakes. I couldn’t fail—not this time.My eyes met the wall clock and as it an alarm rang in my head. I had an hour left before midnight and that was all the time I had to get the artifacts. I quickly bolted into the bathroom, I showered quickly, the water was cold on my skin beating at my back as if preparing me for what I was about to face. I finished up in the next ten minutes and was out. I fished out a suit from my wardrobe. The suit was an old one, slightly outdated but the only one I had left with me and still it was a little oversized. I brushed off the faint hint of dust from the shoulders and threw it on it the next minute. It wasn't glamorous but it was the most expensive looking I had. The auction was going to be filled with a lot of fancy men and women of high standin
Devon's POVThe entire room was frozen and in complete silence as all eyes turned. The silence was so deafening that one could almost hear a pin drop.Karen's voice was clear and deliberate and pierced through the tension of the room. My breath caught in my throat and my throat ran cold as I saw her.“Thirty million dollars. “ She repeated, her voice echoing in my ears.The auctioneer blinked, visibly taken aback by the huge amount gap but he was quick to recover.“Thirty million dollars! Do I hear thirty-five million?” But the room had gone still. No one dared to challenge her bid.Who would, it was an insane price for just a mere artifact despite its value. I couldn’t move. My gaze was locked on Karen as she lowered her sunglasses, revealing the same piercing eyes I’d thought about every night for the past five years. Her expression was calm, almost emotionless, as if she hadn’t just dropped a fortune without hesitation. “Going once…going twice…” The auctioneer’s voice filled
Devon's Pov The evening air was cool and carried a faint scent of rain as I exited the auction house. My steps were heavy, every echo against the pavement a stark reminder of my failure. Karen was alive—alive and thriving. I should have felt relief, joy even, but the cold indifference in her eyes, the sheer lack of emotion in her voice, had turned my victory into ashes. I hailed a cab and gave the driver my address, leaning my head against the window as the city blurred into streaks of light and shadow. My mind churned with memories of Karen, her sudden reappearance, and the venom dripping from Liam’s words. “She doesn’t want you, Devon. She never did.” Her words had cut deep but not as deeply as the icy gaze on her fame and the cold demeanor she carried. I spent five dreadful years looking for her, sacrificing pieces of myself along the way, just for her but all that was gone because the woman I loved was now a stranger. The cab pulled up in front of the auction building an
EpilogueSix Months LaterThe shopping mall bussied around Karen as she wove through the aisles, her heart hammering in frustration."Austin!" she called, glancing around the shelves filled with colorful toys.No answer."Paris?" she tried again.She spun around, her eyes scanning the store, but the two little troublemakers were nowhere to be found. A pang of panic crept up her spine. Jordie, who had been helping her keep an eye on them, jogged up, her face mirroring Karen’s concern."I swear, I just saw them two minutes ago," Jordie said, glancing around.Karen let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through her hair. "They're fast. Too fast."She pushed past the rows of toys, checking behind shelves and peeking into play areas, but the kids were gone. Her heart pounded harder.Then, suddenly—"You might want to be careful with these two."A deep voice—steady, familiar.Karen turned sharply, and her breath caught in her throat.A man stood a few feet away, holding both Austin and
Karen’s POVThe door burst open with a thunderous bang, the sound echoing through the cold night air. My breath hitched as a swarm of armed officers stormed in, their guns raised in precision, their movements swift and practiced.“Hands in the air! Nobody move!” a commanding voice barked.The room shifted instantly. The arrogant smirks on Liam and Troy’s faces faded, replaced by something I had never seen before—fear.“What the hell is going on?” Liam hissed, his eyes darting toward the doorway.And then she walked in.Lauren.Clad in a sleek black jacket, her presence radiated confidence. She stepped forward, unbothered by the chaos around her, her gaze sharp and unyielding."You forgot about me," she said, her voice dripping with amusement.Troy’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing. "Lauren," he spat. "I should’ve known you’d stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong."She smirked, stepping closer, her gaze sweeping over the room before landing on me. There was something in her eyes—
Karen's POV I forced my eyes open, but my mind felt sluggish, struggling to catch up with my surroundings. A dull ache pulsed at the base of my skull, and my body felt impossibly heavy, as if every limb had been weighed down. The sharp sting of cold air sent a shiver down my spine, and a strange, salty scent filled my lungs. This wasn’t the alley. I blinked rapidly, my vision adjusting to the dim light. Instead of damp concrete and graffiti-stained walls, I saw open space. The ground beneath me was rough and uneven, dirt and gravel scraping against my skin as I tried to move. A cold breeze brushed against my skin, sending a shiver through my body. My limbs felt heavy, but I forced myself to move, shaking off the haze.Where had I been?The last thing I remembered was the alley—Devon tied to the chair, Troy’s grip on my arm, Liam’s smirk—then, darkness.As my vision slowly sharpened, I realized we weren’t there anymore. The damp, suffocating alleyway had been replaced with an op
Karen’s POV“Alright, they’ll be back this afternoon.” Jordie’s voice came through the phone, warm and reassuring.In the background, I could hear the kids giggling and playing. My heart ached with how much I missed them.“Let them stop over at the ice cream shop, okay? There’s no rush,” I said with a small smile.The response was immediate—excited squeals and the sound of tiny feet shuffling around.“Mommy!” Austin’s voice piped up next. “Luna and Lucas told us stories!”I chuckled. “Oh? What kind of stories?”“About a pirate and a lost treasure!” he said excitedly. “But Lucas says the treasure was actually a puppy!”“That sounds like a fun story,” I mused. “Did you like it?”“Yes! But Aiden said the pirate should’ve had a pet parrot instead.”Aiden’s voice came in the background. “Because pirates always have parrots, Mommy!”I laughed softly. “Well, I can’t argue with that.”“Can we tell you the story when we get home?” Austin asked hopefully.“Of course, sweetie.” I smiled, my hear
Devon’s POVThis was it.The final move.If I wanted to fix the mess I had created, if I wanted any chance of making things right—not for myself, but for Karen—this was what I had to do. Even if it was the last thing I ever did.Stepping out of the cab, I adjusted my coat and walked toward the elevator. The security at the front barely acknowledged me; Liam had always been arrogant enough to think no one would dare come after him.The elevator ride up was suffocating each passing second amplifying the weight pressing down on my chest.As soon as the doors slid open, I stepped into the hallway leading to Liam’s office. The air carried a faint scent of cigars and leather, a familiar stench that brought back too many memories I’d rather forget.I pushed open the doors without knocking.Liam was seated behind his oversized desk, a whiskey glass in one hand, his other hand lazily flipping through documents. The moment he saw me, his lips curved into an amused smirk, his dark eyes glinting
Devon’s POVThe night was thick with silence, the kind that settled deep into the bones and made a man question everything. The cold metal bars in front of me felt heavier than they should, the dim flickering light above casting elongated shadows across the small, suffocating cell.I leaned back against the wall, running a hand through my hair as my mind spiraled into the past—into the mess that had landed me here.Karen.Her name echoed in my head like a ghost refusing to be forgotten. I remembered the accusations, the way they had thrown my name into the fire, claiming I had been the one threatening her and the kids. The sheer disbelief in her eyes had stung more than I cared to admit.Had it really come to this?A sharp rattling sound jolted me out of my thoughts.I straightened, my instincts kicking in as I turned toward the cell door. The metal groaned, the lock shifting before it swung open.Troy stood there, his face impassive but his eyes burning with something close to contem
Karen’s POVMy breath caught in my throat as I stared at Lauren. The weight of her betrayal hit me like a punch to the gut. I had suspected, but now the reality of her involvement was undeniable."You've been sending me messages," I said, my voice trembling with a mixture of rage and disbelief. "Threatening me, threatening my kids. What the heck do you want? And then you go ahead and kill somebody. You're a psychopath." The words spilled out, the anger rising in me with each passing second.Her lips curled into an almost sinister smile. She didn’t even flinch at the accusation. Instead, she laughed—a soft, mocking sound that made my skin crawl."I hate you Karen,” she said. "And yes, I’ve been sending some messages. But it was only to check up on you. Nothing much. Just checking how things were going." Her voice dripped with sarcasm, as if everything she had done was just some petty game.I could feel my blood boiling. "You killed somebody," I snapped. "How can you sit there and act
Karen’s POVI sat in the small office at the station, my fingers curled into my lap as I tried to steady my breathing. The tension in the room was suffocating, thick with the weight of everything that had just happened. Troy stood in front of me, his arms crossed, his gaze hard and unyielding.“They have leads, Karen,” he said, his voice firm. “And all of them point to Devon.”I shook my head, my stomach twisting uncomfortably. “That’s impossible,” I whispered. “Devon wouldn’t do this. He—”Troy cut me off, stepping closer and placing a file down on the desk in front of me. “We just got this,” he said. “And I need you to face it.”Slowly, I reached forward, my hands trembling as I flipped the folder open. My breath caught in my throat.It was the same photo. A blurry image of a man, caught in the act of what looked like a secret exchange. The shadows obscured his features, but the shape, the stance—It was Devon?I felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs.“No,” I murmured, m
Devon's pov.The next day, I walked into Karen’s office, my mind still reeling from the night before. The memory of her lips, her body pressing against mine, and the raw emotions we had shared clung to me like a second skin. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, couldn’t stop feeling it.I had barely slept, replaying every detail in my head, wondering what she must be thinking now. Did she regret it? Did it mean anything to her? Did it mean as much to her as it did to me?Her office door was slightly ajar, and I caught a glimpse of her inside. She was seated at her desk, her expression neutral, focused on something on her computer screen. But I knew her well enough to notice the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers tapped absently against the edge of her desk.She was thinking about last night too.I took a deep breath, steeling myself, and pushed the door open fully. She looked up, her green eyes locking onto mine. For a moment, neither of us spoke. The air between us felt char