Gavriel’s POV
I picked up a dart, turning it between my fingers while my public relations officer ranted my ears off. My home had never felt so bleak and empty. Everywhere was quiet. A little too quiet. I was alone with my thoughts, and it sucked.
“...Sir?!”
I sighed, tossing the dart against the board on the wall. “What the hell do you want me to do?”
“Sir, there is a video of James Caldwell’s daughter calling you a murderer in public. The company’s reputation, your reputation is at stake.”
With a groan, I reached for another dart and hurled it at the board. It hit the center, quivering from the force. I had bigger things to worry about. I had Camille to worry about, dammit. I could still recall the anger in her eyes. My kitten was mad at me.
And it wasn’t a pretty feeling.&n
Camille's POVMy shoulders dropped and my head felt faint. I stumbled forward and if I wasn't caught just in time by Uncle Robert, I probably would have fallen face-first to the ground."Are you certain?" The policemen asked the truck driver again.Their voices sounded far away. There was a loud ringing in my ears. People spoke around me but only one voice rang clear and true.The truck driver's."Yes-"He was cut off abruptly. My eyes widened as I saw him shake and tremble in the bed. His eyes rolled, pupils disappearing leaving just the whites behind."He's having a seizure!" Someone yelled. "Call the doctor! Now!""Camille,"My head snapped in the direction of the man I had loved with every single fucking fiber
Gavriel's POVI stared at her glumly.I was screwed. If I said I had tailed and monitored, that would sound even worse. I was already in knee-deep shit with the driver's nonsense. I had never seen him in my life, dammit. And yet I could still see the conviction in his eyes as he pointed at me saying I had told him to kill Caldwell."Why won't you speak?" She yelled, her pretty blue eyes were red-rimmed from crying. "Why aren't you saying anything?""He came to stop us from getting the truth."I closed my eyes, trying to hold back from smashing the crazy policeman in the face. I was so fucking close to doing so. I hadn't told Camille about the whole Alan issue and he'd ruined every single thing.I could see the doubt in her eyes. She believed every outrageous nonsense that the idiot spou
Gavriel's POV"You're certain?" I asked, ignoring the wild thumping in my chest.Damn it. None of this made any sense.Benjamin nodded. "All evidence, circumstantial or not, they do point to you, Boss. It doesn't look good. If another is found, it'll be the last straw.""Noted," I said gruffly, tipping my head at him. I watched him walk out of my car to his vehicle before driving off. What on earth was going on? There was no way that I had killed Caldwell.Unless...No.No, it wasn't possible. I didn't bother driving home. I could not stand the voices in my head, mocking me, taunting me with what I knew very well to be lies.I had to see Camille.I dialed Dane's
Camille's POVI watched him leave.The hulk of a man that I had spent the past months with. He stormed out of my bedroom and I could hear his footsteps, loud and heavy on the stairs until they faded away.My fingers brushed my lips. His kiss had been brief. Yet hot and blistering enough to leave my lips sore and tender.I wanted more. And I could have more- If everything was still the same. I glanced around the room. My room was the last place I had seen my father alive.Alive and furious and yelling at me.Tears rolled, hot and burning, down my cheeks.I had shoved him aside like he was nothing. I had ripped his favorite picture of us. I had scorned my father's love and I would spend every second of my life, regretting that.I tried to go back to packing,
Camille's POV"It's today. I'm taking over Dad's company today."I stared down at the text I had sent to Megan. Double ticks meant it had been delivered, but not read. Like all the others I had dropped.I gripped the phone tighter and then dropped my head on the window with a sigh. From the corner of my eyes, I saw the driver glance up at the rearview mirror before fixing his eyes on the road.I shouldn't be angry.I shouldn't be mad at Megan. Or anyone else. Megan was going through things I wasn't sure I could have survived if I were her.Uncle Robert was supposed to come with me to Dad's company but he got a call last night and had to attend to whatever that was. When he texted last night telling me he would meet me at the company instead, I panicked.I had imagined he wo
Camille's POV"Frankly, we don't have very high hopes, girl." The man said sourly and I watched several heads nod in agreement. "We'll see as it goes."And like that, the meeting was over.They rose and walked out of the room before I could say another word. The last to leave was Gavriel. He remained seated, staring at me until they all left.Harley, who stood behind me the whole time, snickered."I guess they weren't too impressed. And who could blame them?"Who could blame them? To them, I was a spoiled brat who would have remained just that if her father hadn't died.Gav rose from his seat, gave me a nod, and walked out. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved that he didn't walk up to me or angry.I could still remember the last kiss. My toes curled at the me
Camille's POVI wiped my tears quickly and turned around to face her."What exactly is your problem with me?"She arched an already high brow. "Why would I have a problem with you? You're already a bag full of them.""That insult is so third-grade," I sniffed, trying to keep the tears behind my eyes. I would cry later. When the sour witch before me was gone.Harley smirked. "But the ones that'll follow, will not be. You've had a taste of how brutal the stakeholders are. Trust me, they get worse when our stock takes a dip. And with you becoming the CEO, I can see just how low the stocks will drop,"I frowned, shaking my head. "You're an employee in this company, why would you want that to happen? Why are you so excited to see me fail?"She pouted, putting on a fake pity face. "Oh no honey, no. I'm no
Camille's POVI was up before four am.My bedroom had a large window and I'd often drag a chair and sit there by the window sill, staring into nothing.What was there to see in Silicon Valley aside from the ridiculously pretty buildings? Perhaps a lot more but I couldn't care less.I had seen them all. With my father. And staying at the sight made me lonelier by the minute.My phone pinged with a text. It was on the bed and it felt yards away. It was probably just a notification from an app or something. Another ping had me moving with a groan.Who was it? It was barely four in the morning and it better not be Harley grinding on my neck, whining about all the tasks I had ahead of myself. I had spent a week as CEO of Caldwell Industries and frankly, I had my work cut out for me.It
Gavriel's POV"Oof!" I grunted when Camille threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and sobbing into my chest.Her tears made me feel like an asshole. I heard her. All while I was stuck in the damned coma, I heard her talk to me. Her voice was mostly muted and I could barely hear the words properly. But I heard enough snippets that made me ache desperately to see her again."Miss, give us a minute and you can hog him to yourself later," The doctor examining me said with a chuckle, trying to pry Camille off.She refused to let go and I grinned. I feared I would never see her again. That somehow I would lose her. With my free hand, I brushed her hair, murmuring in her ears."I'm sorry darling. I should have woken sooner,""No, no," She sniffed, looking up at me with red-rimm
Camille's POV"Miss Caldwell, what would you say about the current health situation of Mr Donovan?"Oh great, the press was here. I hadn't noticed them gathering in clusters until I was out of the car. I had gone out to get something to eat. It was noon and I hadn't eaten since noon the previous day. I hadn't wanted to leave Gavriel's side. It wasn't until my eyes felt dizzy and I was certain I would pass out that I had tried to find a diner.Two burgers later and a diet coke in the parcel bag clutched tightly between my fingers, I was standing before some twenty reporters waving their microphones and cameras at me.I had almost forgotten they existed. "What are your remarks on the scandal?""Did you know Gavriel Donovan had a twin brother?"My eyes widened on the
Third POVVictoria Harrington was done.Done with holding back. Done with keeping up with the mess in her head. She was a dripping mess. It had taken a few trial and error to escape the policemen. They could be incredibly dumb when it came to handling a woman who wanted to pee.Sure she ended up shooting a policeman in the leg and got slammed against the van that was supposed to transport her, but it was just a mere sacrifice she had to make.Right before her was the bane of her existence. Two of them. Gavriel, her ex-husband, and his young stupid lover. Anger surged through Victoria and she gripped the gun tighter, pointing it right at Camille."Victoria," Gavriel's deep voice filled the quiet wardroom. "Put down the gun,"If Nolan hadn't come to pick her up while she escaped the police van, she probably
Camille's POV"Are you sure you will be fine on your own?"The woman who helped me the night before was Faye. She had heard my screams while she was in her home and had looked out the window to see what was going on. She hadn't wasted time rushing out of the house and driving down the road like she was some passerby.I would always be grateful to her. She didn't just drop me off at the police station and be on her merry way. She dropped a witness statement that I had been kidnapped and a team of police was sent to retrieve Nolan while I gave my report and the recordings of what had happened with Gavriel.We stayed overnight at the station. The team sent after Nolan returned empty-handed stating that the building had been abandoned. Of course, he ran away. Faye had stayed with me today until the evening. She had been a darling. 
Gavriel's POVThe first time I felt hunger in the true sense of it, was when I was sixteen. It had been two days after my birthday and I had escaped one of the foster homes the government had tossed me in. I spent the night in an alley. Found a spot behind a pillar to rest and woke the next morning to some barman chasing me away with a stick.That morning, my stomach felt empty. It growled and grumbled but I couldn't get anything to eat. Not in the trash cans and certainly not from the kindness of strangers. By noon, my mouth was dry, my insides were hot. The next day, my arms and legs were useless, my tongue was stuck to the roof of my tongue. I had a maddening headache and everything started to look tasty.That was hunger. Sixteen-year-old me would not have survived if Old Robert hadn't found me.
Third POVGerard Donovan drove his car over the uneven road and let out a series of curses as his car dipped into a pothole and then crossed over a tree root. He would never for the life of him understand why Victoria had picked the warehouse hidden in the woods when one of Gavriel's safe houses would have worked just fine.His brother had to have safe houses right? Didn't rich people with so much money invest in that type of shit? Gerard wouldn't know seeing that his entire adulthood had been ripped away from him.By his parents. By his brother. And by the two policemen who stuffed him in their car at the age of fifteen and carted him off to jail. His life had changed after that.While in prison, he had heard news about his brother. Gavriel considered himself too holy to visit him and so for thirty years, Gerard watched his brother grow on TV in the
Camille's POVWhen I regained consciousness, my head felt so heavy. There was a loud pounding sound that filled my entire head and had me groaning in pain. Opening my eyes burned. It felt as though someone had taped them shut and rippling the eyelids apart was pure hell.When I managed to open them, I breathed heavily. Everything was a blur due to the tears that had gathered from the pain. I blinked them away rapidly, trying to focus.There was a ceiling. White ceilings that connected to green walls and then some rustic brown rug. It wasn't my taste, but it wasn't bad to look at. I rubbed my forehead, trying to ease the headache that threatened to pound my brain to mush. Where was I?What happened? The last thing I remembered was... Shit!Nolan had hit me! The bastard rammed my car lik
Camille's POVI clasped a hand over my mouth.Gavriel had a brother? I had never... I would never have thought that was possible until now. Until I saw Gerard. He never told me.I don't think Dad knew about it. Dad never mentioned Gav had a brother, but at least he knew about Victoria's existence."That's a bit cold coming from his twin brother," Victoria chuckled as if she just told a funny joke.Gerard snorted.Twin brothers. Now it made a bit more sense.At first glance, Gerard and Gavriel look exactly alike. Anyone could confuse the two of them. But I knew everything about Gavriel like the palm of my hand. That had to be why Gerard kept me shut out by the security.He didn't want me to discover this.He drove past the company,
Camille's POVHe cocked his head to the side, his eyes grazing my entire frame, from my clothes to the makeup on my face. There was no heat behind his gaze. There used to be so much behind his gaze. Was it so simple for him to turn it off and on?"I would ask how you got past security, but that would be redundant no?"I gave an airy laugh and dropped on the seat before him. "I had to. You wouldn't see me."He shrugged then resumed scanning through the document on his desk. "I believe I have made myself clear. Are you always this clingy and clueless?"The insults stung. At least now I knew how he felt when I insulted and accused him of murdering Dad."I am. You used to love it,"He scoffed. "Of course. Well I don't love it now, Miss Caldwell. And I am trying to work. See yourself out, will