LOGINEvelyn’s POVAbbas’s shoulders sagged, the weight of his confession settling on him like a shroud. “Evelyn,” he said quietly, his voice rough with regret, “you have every right to hate me. I deserve that. But I need you to understand—it wasn’t that simple.”I stared at him, the sterile lights turning everything too bright, too clear. “Not that simple?” My voice broke, bitter laughter spilling from me again. “You left me to rot in a world that chewed me alive, and you call it not that simple?”He took a step closer, his limp more pronounced now, every movement deliberate—as though afraid I’d bolt. “If I had stayed, they would’ve killed you,” he said, the words coming fast now, desperate. “Your mother was already in danger because of me. I thought leaving—disappearing—was the only way to keep you safe. To keep her safe.”Something twisted inside me at the mention of my mother. The air around us thickened. I could almost see her face, fading in memory, her voice, the warmth of her arms—a
I staggered back against the wall, my shoulders trembling as if I could somehow push the world away. My hands shook, curling into fists, nails biting into palms until the sting grounded me. The words echoed over and over: He wants control. He’ll use you—and your children—as leverage.The bile rose in my throat, hot and bitter. My chest tightened, ribs aching from the bullet I barely remembered feeling. I pressed a hand to the wound, but the pain didn’t matter. What mattered was the realization that the nightmare hadn’t ended—it had only shifted into a new form, more insidious, more personal.“I—” My voice cracked, then faltered completely. I closed my eyes, willing the memories to stop, but they surged like a flood: Kent’s small, terrified face, Anastasia’s hands clutching her stuffed bear, Rolland’s stubborn, angry scowl as he tried to hide his fear. All of them had already suffered too much. And now he’s coming for them too.Albert’s frail hand reached for mine. “Evelyn… listen to m
The drive home felt like moving through molasses. Streetlights smeared into long, indifferent lines as the city passed by, and I sat rigid in the passenger seat, hands folded so tightly my knuckles ached. Sebastian had left the kids at Peter’s. I’d told myself it was a reasonable compromise — supervised time, a buffer between the past and whatever fragile beginning we were trying to build. Now the distance between me and them felt unbearable.At the gate I paused, fingers hovering over the buzzer like a guilty thief. For a second I wanted to turn the car around, take them straight back, hoist them into the front seat and never leave their sides again. But that was panic, not strategy. Panic was what had led to the messy mistakes of the past. I had to be smarter. I had to be cruelly practical.I climbed the short stone steps and stood on the porch, breathing in the sharp autumn air until the fury simmered to a manageable heat. Peter’s house was all dark glass and angles, an intimidatin
The hospital corridor felt like it was closing in on me. The pale white walls seemed to press closer with each step, the fluorescent lights above buzzing with a cruelty that scraped against my already raw nerves.Each sound — a distant intercom announcement, a nurse’s hurried steps, the squeak of a medicine cart — felt magnified, echoing through my skull until all I could hear was noise. Noise and his voice.Albert’s words still echoed in my head, relentless, jagged.Your father is alive.Alive.Not a ghost, not a fading shadow from the past.Not a name buried with my childhood.Alive.And behind the attack.The syllables circled my mind like vultures. I pressed my hand against the cold railing lining the corridor, trying to anchor myself, but the ground still seemed to tilt beneath me. Every step was a battle to keep from collapsing under the weight of the truth.My father.The man who had abandoned me before I ever had the chance to know him. The man whose face I remembered only in
The doctor hesitated, and those two seconds nearly stopped my heart. Then, finally, he nodded slowly. “He survived the night. The surgery was extensive — multiple transfusions, internal repair, a collapsed lung. He’s in critical condition, but stable. He won’t wake for some time. But…” The doctor’s voice softened. “He’s alive.”The breath left me in a shuddering exhale. My shoulders sagged, my body trembling from relief and exhaustion all at once.Alive. He was alive.The doctor gave a faint, professional smile and excused himself, leaving the door slightly ajar. The quiet returned — heavier now, but less suffocating.Liam reached for my hand. This time, he didn’t hesitate. His palm was warm, grounding, steady — the only thing in the room that didn’t feel fragile.I clung to him like an anchor, my eyes closing as tears slipped down my cheeks. “Don’t let go,” I whispered.“I won’t,” he said softly. And for once, I believed him.For a long moment, we sat like that — silent, breathing, e
I pressed harder against his wound, desperate, tears streaming down my face. “Save your strength! The police are coming, do you hear me? They’re coming!”He blinked once — slow — his eyes finding mine, and in that fleeting look I saw everything. The warning. The regret. The knowledge that this was bigger than both of us.“Evelyn…” he whispered. “They… wanted you…”His hand twitched, reaching for mine, then fell limp.“No—no, no, no.” My sob broke in the small space. I shook him again, harder this time. “You don’t get to die on me! Not like this!”My voice cracked, raw and desperate, but his eyes had already gone distant.Outside, red and blue lights flashed through the shattered glass. The screech of brakes. Doors slamming. Footsteps pounding.I barely heard them. My body was trembling, weak. Every breath was shallow, pain radiating from my ribs like a wave.Blood soaked the carpet beneath me, slick and dark. My fingers slipped when I tried to brace myself. The sirens grew louder unti







