Michell povI sat in silence for a long while after she left.Ms. Taylor had nerves. That much was clear. Most people folded under pressure, especially when faced with authority they knew they couldn’t challenge. But she had stood there, unwavering, defending her choices as if she had the right to.She didn’t.And yet, I found myself neither irritated nor impressed.Curious, maybe.I turned my attention back to my notes. Amelia’s routine was structured down to the minute—a necessity, not an overcorrection. Audrey saw it as rigid. She saw room for adjustment.She was wrong.But that didn’t mean she was useless.For now, I would let her believe she was doing well.She had two months to prove herself.And I intended to test her every step of the way.***A week later.The morning was quiet, just the way I preferred it. I adjusted the cuffs of my suit as I descended the staircase, mentally running through my schedule for the day. My time was accounted for—meetings, calls, decisions th
Michell povI sat in my office, fingers tapping against the desk, my mind elsewhere. The house was quiet now, but I knew Amelia had just returned from school. The thought alone eased the tension in my shoulders, though I would never say it aloud. A soft knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. “Come in,” I said. The door cracked open, and Amelia peeked inside, her small hands gripping the frame. “Daddy?”My chest warmed at the sight of her. “Come here, sweetheart.”She grinned and hurried inside, her steps light as she approached my desk. I pulled her onto my lap, smoothing a stray curl from her face. “How was school?” I asked. “I got another A in math!” she beamed. “And we learned about planets today! Did you know Jupiter has 92 moons?”“Impressive,” I murmured, genuinely pleased. “You’re getting smarter every day.”She giggled, leaning her head against my chest. These were the moments I held onto—the ones where she still let me be her father, not just the man who ma
Audrey povThe sharp bang of something slamming against a hard surface made me jump.I froze, my hands gripping the edge of the book I had been flipping through absentmindedly. The sound had come from down the hall—Michell’s office.My heartbeat quickened.It wasn’t unusual for him to be harsh, cold, or demanding, but that… that had been different. It wasn’t controlled. It wasn’t calculated.It was anger.Real, unfiltered, dangerous anger.I hesitated before stepping toward the door. I had no business prying, but something in my gut told me this wasn’t about me.Or Amelia.Something else had set him off. Something bigger.Just then, Amelia appeared, looking as lost as me, “What is that sound?” she asked.I quickly put on a smile and took her little hand, “Nothing, probably from the television.”***My mind drifted to his warning.One strike down. Four left. I couldn’t afford another mistake. Mr Garcia had made that crystal clear, and the last thing I wanted was to give him a reas
Michell povI hadn’t meant to stop. I was heading to my study, mind occupied with the day’s mess, when I heard her voice—low, tense, and laced with something I couldn’t quite place. It made me pause. Not because I cared. But because it was… interesting. Ms. Taylor’s tone was different from the one she used with Amelia. Less steady. Strained. Her words weren’t clear, but the emotion was. Frustration. Maybe fear. And something else—something defensive. A lawsuit? I frowned. So she had secrets after all. I should’ve known. Women like her always did. I didn’t stay to hear more. I stepped away, moving down the hall with slow, deliberate steps. My mind turned over what I’d just heard, considering, analyzing—then stopping. Because it didn’t matter. Her personal life wasn’t my concern. She was here for Amelia. Nothing more. I had enough problems without adding hers to the list. Whatever mess she was caught up in, it wasn’t my business. And I intended to k
Michell povI sat behind my desk, my fingers steepled as I watched the time tick by. Harold was late. The man had nerve—posting that nonsense and thinking he could get away with it. The headline alone was irritating, but the video? That was calculated. Designed to drag my name through the mud along with Audrey’s. A mistake. One he was about to regret. So he was the ex husband. Little wonder their interaction that night.The door opened. My assistant stepped in, followed closely by Harold. He looked different than I remembered. His suit was expensive, but it didn’t fit right. Like he’d lost weight too fast, or he didn’t have the money to tailor it anymore. Good. I gestured to the chair in front of my desk. “Sit.” He hesitated. Swallowed. Then obeyed. I let the silence stretch. Let him feel it. Finally, I leaned forward, resting my arms on the desk. “You have twenty-four hours.” Harold shifted. “I—” “Not a word.” My voice was calm, but it shut him up instantly.
Audrey povI sat on the edge of my bed, gripping my phone so tightly my knuckles ached. The screen was still lit with the lawsuit notice, as if taunting me. Infidelity. The accusation burned, not because it was true, but because it came from the man I had given up everything for. Harold. The man I had fought my mother for, the man I had married against her wishes, the man she had disowned me over. And for what? For a marriage that had cost me my dignity? My peace? My entire life? I stared down at my leg, absently rubbing the scar along my ankle. A permanent reminder of that accident—that shattered the life I had built in one single moment. And Harold? He hadn’t been missing. He had been with her. Two years. I had taken care of his family for two years, believing he was in trouble, believing he needed me. All while he was gallivanting with his mistress. And now, after everything, he wanted to take even more from me?No. If Harold wanted a fight, he would get one. I p
Audrey povI barely slept, but when my alarm rang, I forced myself up. If there was ever a day I needed to be perfect, it was today. One more strike, and I was gone.I went over Amelia’s schedule again, making sure every detail was precise. Breakfast at 8:00 sharp, playtime from 8:30 to 9:00, reading at 9:15—not a single second off. Amelia sat at the table, happily swinging her legs as she munched on her toast. “Audrey, did you know some birds can talk?” I smiled. “I did. Parrots, right?” “Uh-huh! Daddy told me that some of them can even copy voices perfectly.” “That’s true.” I reached for her juice and refilled it. “Do you think Mr. Floppy would make a good talking bunny?” She giggled. “Nooo. Mr. Floppy only talks to me.” I laughed softly. Then footsteps approached. Mr Garcia.He stopped by the dining table, eyes immediately flicking to Amelia’s plate, then to me. “She’s still eating.” I frowned slightly. “She just has a few bites left.” “The schedule says breakfast
Michell povThe door clicked shut behind her. I didn’t look up. Didn’t acknowledge the way she hesitated for half a second before leaving. Good. That should’ve been the end of it. I returned my attention to the contract in front of me, scanning the figures and clauses with practiced precision. It was a multi-million-dollar deal, one that required every ounce of my focus. But for the first time in years, I found myself rereading the same paragraph. My mind was elsewhere. On her. On the way her voice trembled, not with fear, but with anger. On the way her hands clenched at her sides, like she was holding back more than just frustration. She had come expecting rejection. And yet, she had still asked. I exhaled sharply, setting the contract down. I shouldn’t care. Ms. Taylor Taylor’s life—her past—was not my concern. She was here to do one thing: take care of Amelia and follow my rules. That was the agreement. She has proof.That changed things. The scandal Har
MICHELL POVI found them in the garden.Amelia was sitting cross-legged on a blanket, holding a daisy crown that Estelle was helping her tie together.Her laughter rang like bells—unrestrained, bubbling up every few seconds. The kind of laugh I hadn’t heard from her since the last time she’d won something at school.But it wasn’t Audrey sitting beside her. It was Estelle.Wearing white. Always white. Like she was trying to brand herself as purity reincarnated.I stayed by the glass doors, watching.“You know,” Estelle was saying, her voice low and conspiratorial, “your mother used to wear crowns like this. She said they made her feel like a woodland queen.”“Really?” Amelia giggled. “Did she really call herself that?”Estelle laughed. “She had such an imagination. Just like you.”She reached out and tucked a loose curl behind Amelia’s ear. And the way she did it—it wasn’t just affection. It was possession. Like she wanted to rewrite her role in this child’s memory.I didn’t like it. I
AUDREY POVI knew he didn’t sleep.He hadn’t said a word about it, and hadn't needed to. But I’d felt it in the way his body remained taut beneath the sheets, in the way his hand never left mine even when I drifted off. His mind had been far away—haunted, as always.And now, morning sunlight flooded the estate like everything was fine.But it wasn’t.I could feel it in the strained silence between him and Estelle over breakfast.The sound of cutlery and Amelia’s cheerful humming filled the space, but Michell hadn’t looked up once. Not when Estelle complimented the decor, not when Amelia talked about the science project she was building with bottle caps and glow sticks.Estelle, on the other hand, looked like she belonged.Too much and too quickly.She was good at smiling. At tilting her head just enough to make it seem sincere. She wore guilt like it was a designer scarf—elegant, tasteful, a little too polished. But Amelia didn’t notice.“So your mom and I,” Estelle was saying gently
Michell povI heard a crash just as I stepped out of the home office.“Amelia…” I warned, already bracing myself.“She started it!” Amelia squealed, barefoot and giggling as she darted past me like a blur of sunshine and wild curls.“Traitor!” Audrey’s voice echoed a second later. She skidded into the hallway wearing one of my shirts—my shirt—and holding what looked suspiciously like a pair of water guns.I blinked.“Why are my cufflinks floating in a bowl of jelly?” I asked flatly, pointing toward the mess on the console table.Audrey froze. “That… may or may not be part of our science experiment-slash-war strategy.”I opened my mouth.“Don’t. Just don’t.” She held up a water gun like it was loaded with truth serum. “We’ll clean it. Pinky promise.”Amelia peeked out from behind the couch with a triumphant grin. “He looks mad.”“I’m not mad,” I muttered, dragging a hand down my face. “Just… confused. And slightly alarmed.”“You’re cute when you’re confused,” Audrey teased.Later in th
MICHELL POVThe towering glass walls of my father's penthouse gleamed under the late afternoon sun as I stepped in. The silence inside wasn’t unusual, but today it felt heavier. I found him standing by the massive window, a tumbler of untouched whiskey in his hand, his gaze distant—anchored somewhere between memory and regret.He turned as I approached. “You came.”“I did.” I tucked my hands into my pockets and nodded. “Thaylon’s staying.”His brow lifted, confusion flickering across his features. “What?”“I spoke with their head team. Explained the situation. Apologized for the mess. Reassured them we could still deliver—without Victor.”He blinked, processing. “They agreed to continue?”“They did.”He sat down slowly, almost stunned, the whiskey forgotten on the glass table. A moment passed, thick with the things we hadn’t said for years. Then he finally spoke, his voice quieter than I’d ever heard it.“I didn’t think you’d be able to pull it off. I—” He paused, swallowed. “I thoug
AUDREY POV.Two days had passed since Victor’s sentencing, and something in the house had shifted—like a storm had finally passed, and the sun had dared to peek through the curtains. The air no longer felt thick with secrets. The walls no longer echoed with tension. There was calm.Not the kind of explosive relief that made people cheer, but the quiet kind. The kind that came when hearts were tired but held a little hope again.Michell had barely spoken that morning at breakfast. He’d sat with Amelia, brushing a gentle hand over her head as she ate her cereal, her legs swinging beneath the chair, humming a tune under her breath.Then he’d looked at me with that quiet look of resolve.“Today,” he’d mouthed.I’d nodded. I’d known it was coming.After breakfast, he took the day off work—no calls, no interruptions. He spent the morning going through an old box I hadn’t seen before, buried deep in his closet. I’d watched from the hallway as he gently sifted through photographs, small tr
MICHELL POVHe was gone.And Emilio… Anna… they could finally rest.A strange stillness settled over me as I walked out of the courthouse. Not peace, exactly. But something like it.Ethan and Audrey were waiting just outside. He stood with a protective stance beside her, but I could see the lines of tension on his face, the way he kept glancing at me like he was checking I hadn't shattered under the weight of everything.Audrey... she was pale, her arms wrapped around herself as if the truth had chilled her to the bone. Her eyes searched mine, and for the first time in a long while, I let her see me—really see me.“I’m proud of you,” she said softly. Her voice was tentative, like she wasn’t sure if now was the time.But it was. It meant everything.I gave a short nod. “Thank you… both of you.”Ethan placed a firm hand on my shoulder and squeezed. No words were needed between us. He’d stood by me when no one else would. When even I wasn’t sure I’d make it out of this with my sanity int
MICHELL POVThe police station was a storm of flashing lights and the hum of chaos. Cameras flashed, reporters shouted questions, and the air was thick with tension. The arrest of Viktor Garcia—the bastard—had become a spectacle. News had spread like wildfire, and now, everyone was clamoring for a glimpse into our shattered world.As I stood there, watching Viktor, still in handcuffs, being processed, I couldn't shake the feeling of disbelief. This was the moment I had worked so hard for. The moment I had planned for. When my father arrived, the chaos momentarily stopped. His expression was unreadable, but I could see it in his eyes: the pain, the shock, the betrayal. He stepped toward Viktor, the son he had taken in, brought from the slum. But even he couldn’t deny the truth. He stopped in front of Viktor, and his voice came out in a broken whisper. “I raised you… you were my son. How could you—” He stopped, his breath catching in his throat. He was visibly shaken, his hands tre
MICHELL POVThe house felt like a tomb as I stepped through the grand entrance of Ethan’s mansion. The heavy, expensive scent of wood and leather mingled with the taste of anticipation in the air. The night was closing in fast, and I could feel the weight of the plan on my shoulders.I had waited for this moment for weeks. Hell, I had been waiting for this my entire life. To see Viktor finally break. To see the man who thought he could destroy me cower at my feet. But this—this was going to be different.Tonight wasn’t just about catching him; it was about forcing him to own the truth. He had lived with lies for so long, and now it was time for him to face what he had done.Ethan was already there, as planned. The connection between us had always been transactional, but tonight, he was more than just an ally—he was a partner in this.“You ready?” Ethan asked, his voice low, almost sympathetic.I nodded, already feeling the familiar coldness settling into my chest. This wasn’t about s
MICHELL POVIt was deliberate. The word Ferrum slipped from my lips, almost as if it was a song. I couldn't help myself.I let it hum under my breath as I walked past Viktor. I watched as his back stiffened, his fingers pausing mid-air like he had been struck by lightning. Ferrum.It wasn’t just the name of the Brotherhood anymore; it was a key. A key to everything hidden beneath the surface. And I was determined to turn the lock.I could see his breath catch in his chest. His gaze shot up to me, but he said nothing. A flicker of panic passed over his face before he quickly masked it, like a guilty man trying to hide his tracks. But I saw. I always saw. I walked slowly, deliberately, like I had all the time in the world, watching Viktor’s muscles tense in real-time as he tried to ignore the way his skin crawled.It didn’t take long before the mask slipped again. He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat, looking for an excuse to leave. But I wasn’t about to let him off the hook t