Emma's POV. Daniel had left after bringing us back to the house. Evan asked me to make the coffee and something to eat, and I was about to tell him to tell him. Even James and I were also very tired and hungry. So I made coffee and sandwiches for us. "Here... Take it." I said keeping the mug and plate on the table. " I want to take you right here right now." He said coming closer. I was disgusted with what he said. " Don't you dare come near me, I will kill you. Have you no shame at all? I am your brother's wife for god's sake!!" " No! He took my life away from me; everyone chose him over me; I want everything he has got in his life now..." He started speaking. I started recording his voice on my phone discreetly as I needed proof against him. "From the beginning, I was the shadow, the forgotten one, left to grow up in the empty, hollow corridors of my grandfather’s estate while he—my precious twin Ryan—was lavished with love and warmth, both things I'd never known. It burned
Emma's POV " What do you want from him?? " " Now that I have you and your son tucked away in this secluded, abandoned house in the jungle, it feels as though everything is finally aligning. I could practically taste the power—the empire I would inherit, the life that had always been promised to me yet repeatedly snatched away. I would use both of you, Emma and James, to get exactly what I wanted. And if it meant sacrificing you along the way, so be it. I would do whatever it took. You would see soon enough that your darling, Ryan wasn’t the saint you believed him to be. And when all was done, when I'd hollowed out everything he cherished, Ryan would finally know what it felt like to lose everything. And in the end, he’d have no one to blame but himself." Just then, a flash of movement caught my eye—a shadow slipping between the trees. I dared not look too closely, afraid of giving anything away, but hope flared within me. Ryan. It had to be him. He must have tracked us here.But I
Ryan's POV A message from James’s school with a link to James’s tracker. My heart pounded as I opened it, the pulsing dot representing my son, my little boy, out there in the unknown, moving farther and farther away from safety. It took everything in me to keep my breathing steady.The dot moved slowly, indicating a car, but it was erratic, stopping occasionally before starting again. I relayed the location to my security team, ordering them to monitor it, and I contacted the authorities as well. Every second counted.The location kept shifting. It was going away from the city and then stopped at a filling station then surprisingly it started coming back towards the city. After about 5 minutes, it stopped on the way, and it started moving away from the city again. What the hell was happening?? I was nearly thirty minutes behind them, a lifetime in situations like this, but I pushed forward, my focus razor-sharp. I was halfway to the edge of the city when the dot stopped moving, fi
Ryan's POV Then, the final revelation, the one that sent a chill through my veins. “Evan doesn’t just want to ruin you, Ryan,” Daniel said, his eyes glinting with perverse satisfaction. “He wants to be you. He’s been planning this for months. Changing his look, studying you—down to your bloody mannerisms. He’s got a way out, a clean record. No one would question it if he walked right back into your life, because no one would know.”The room fell silent, his words hanging in the air, heavier than anything I’d imagined. Evan planned to kill us, to eliminate every trace of my existence, and then live as me—he’d done everything necessary to erase his old life and assume mine, seamlessly.The realization gripped me like a vice. Emma and James were in the hands of a man who was not only ruthless but methodical, who wouldn’t hesitate to kill them just to ensure his twisted plan played out perfectly. I could feel the rage, the cold, calculated fury that settled deep in my bones, overriding t
Ryan's POV Just ahead, I saw tire marks in the mud, leading away from the area. I crouched down, examining them, my mind racing. I followed the impressions of the tires in the mud and was shocked by what I saw ahead.I saw a car, just like mine, with the same number.What the hell?He used this to make them think it was me, not him, so they’d believe him.I saw a candy wrapper lying there—a Swiss chocolate candy I’d bought for my son. I picked it up, frustration coursing through me, a flood of helplessness rising with it. I was used to solving problems with precision, but here, every step felt like I was grasping at shadows. Emma and James were out there somewhere—alone, scared, with that monster.Gritting my teeth, I swore I’d kill that man. For the first time in years, I felt powerless, as if everything I valued was slipping through my fingers.Finally, the team managed to pinpoint Emma’s phone’s last ping just outside an abandoned cottage—the perfect hiding place. A surge of deter
Ryan's POV With a swift kick, the door slammed open, the sound reverberating like a gunshot through the room. Evan spun around, startled but not surprised. He stood over Emma and James, both bound to chairs. My heart clenched as I took in their faces—pale but alive, their eyes widening in shock and relief at the sight of us.“Emma,” I murmured, my voice low but filled with urgency. “It’s alright. I’m here.”Relief seemed to flood through her, and she nearly collapsed in the chair as if she had been holding her breath, the tension finally breaking. But there was no time to rest. Evan was already recovering, his face twisted with rage.“You,” he spat, his voice dripping with hatred. “Always ruining everything.”“This ends now, Evan,” I said, “You’ve done enough.”Evan laughed, “Oh, you think you’re the hero now? After everything you took from me?”My jaw tightened, and my fists clenched at my sides. “I didn’t take anything from you, Evan. You did this to yourself.”Evan’s face twisted
Ryan's POV As the officers secured him in handcuffs and began reading him his rights, I turned to Emma. She was still trembling, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as though trying to shield herself from the horrors she’d just endured. Her eyes, red and puffy from tears, met mine, and I saw a mix of relief and determination there.“Ryan,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “There’s something you need to know.”I stepped closer, my hand brushing against hers in a gesture of comfort. “What is it?”She hesitated, glancing at James, who clung to my side, his small fingers gripping my shirt. I knelt, cupping his face gently.“It’s okay, buddy,” I murmured. “Everything’s going to be fine now.”I turned to one of the officers. “Can someone take my son outside? He doesn’t need to hear this.”An officer nodded, extending his hand toward James. “Hey, champ, why don’t you come with me? We’ve got some juice and snacks in the car.”James looked at me, uncertainty flickering in his wide
Emma stepped into the office, her skin still tingling from the Mediterranean sun, her mind struggling to switch from holiday mode. The ten days she had spent backpacking through Europe with her five-year-old son had been a much-needed escape from the humdrum of her daily life, a break Henry and Hazel had practically forced upon her as she had not met her son since she had put him in a boarding school. Now, she was back, carrying a large bag filled with souvenirs for her colleagues, ready to settle into her usual routine. She had lots of gifts in her car for Henery and Hazel, the couple who were the only couple she cared for now. And who helped her when she was most vulnerable. They gave her a job and helped her raise her son till now. She was extremely lucky to have them and missed them a lot on the vacation But as she walked through the familiar corridors of HW Financial Consultancy, something felt amiss. The office, typically abuzz with activity, was eerily quiet. Her colleagues,
Ryan's POV As the officers secured him in handcuffs and began reading him his rights, I turned to Emma. She was still trembling, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as though trying to shield herself from the horrors she’d just endured. Her eyes, red and puffy from tears, met mine, and I saw a mix of relief and determination there.“Ryan,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “There’s something you need to know.”I stepped closer, my hand brushing against hers in a gesture of comfort. “What is it?”She hesitated, glancing at James, who clung to my side, his small fingers gripping my shirt. I knelt, cupping his face gently.“It’s okay, buddy,” I murmured. “Everything’s going to be fine now.”I turned to one of the officers. “Can someone take my son outside? He doesn’t need to hear this.”An officer nodded, extending his hand toward James. “Hey, champ, why don’t you come with me? We’ve got some juice and snacks in the car.”James looked at me, uncertainty flickering in his wide
Ryan's POV With a swift kick, the door slammed open, the sound reverberating like a gunshot through the room. Evan spun around, startled but not surprised. He stood over Emma and James, both bound to chairs. My heart clenched as I took in their faces—pale but alive, their eyes widening in shock and relief at the sight of us.“Emma,” I murmured, my voice low but filled with urgency. “It’s alright. I’m here.”Relief seemed to flood through her, and she nearly collapsed in the chair as if she had been holding her breath, the tension finally breaking. But there was no time to rest. Evan was already recovering, his face twisted with rage.“You,” he spat, his voice dripping with hatred. “Always ruining everything.”“This ends now, Evan,” I said, “You’ve done enough.”Evan laughed, “Oh, you think you’re the hero now? After everything you took from me?”My jaw tightened, and my fists clenched at my sides. “I didn’t take anything from you, Evan. You did this to yourself.”Evan’s face twisted
Ryan's POV Just ahead, I saw tire marks in the mud, leading away from the area. I crouched down, examining them, my mind racing. I followed the impressions of the tires in the mud and was shocked by what I saw ahead.I saw a car, just like mine, with the same number.What the hell?He used this to make them think it was me, not him, so they’d believe him.I saw a candy wrapper lying there—a Swiss chocolate candy I’d bought for my son. I picked it up, frustration coursing through me, a flood of helplessness rising with it. I was used to solving problems with precision, but here, every step felt like I was grasping at shadows. Emma and James were out there somewhere—alone, scared, with that monster.Gritting my teeth, I swore I’d kill that man. For the first time in years, I felt powerless, as if everything I valued was slipping through my fingers.Finally, the team managed to pinpoint Emma’s phone’s last ping just outside an abandoned cottage—the perfect hiding place. A surge of deter
Ryan's POV Then, the final revelation, the one that sent a chill through my veins. “Evan doesn’t just want to ruin you, Ryan,” Daniel said, his eyes glinting with perverse satisfaction. “He wants to be you. He’s been planning this for months. Changing his look, studying you—down to your bloody mannerisms. He’s got a way out, a clean record. No one would question it if he walked right back into your life, because no one would know.”The room fell silent, his words hanging in the air, heavier than anything I’d imagined. Evan planned to kill us, to eliminate every trace of my existence, and then live as me—he’d done everything necessary to erase his old life and assume mine, seamlessly.The realization gripped me like a vice. Emma and James were in the hands of a man who was not only ruthless but methodical, who wouldn’t hesitate to kill them just to ensure his twisted plan played out perfectly. I could feel the rage, the cold, calculated fury that settled deep in my bones, overriding t
Ryan's POV A message from James’s school with a link to James’s tracker. My heart pounded as I opened it, the pulsing dot representing my son, my little boy, out there in the unknown, moving farther and farther away from safety. It took everything in me to keep my breathing steady.The dot moved slowly, indicating a car, but it was erratic, stopping occasionally before starting again. I relayed the location to my security team, ordering them to monitor it, and I contacted the authorities as well. Every second counted.The location kept shifting. It was going away from the city and then stopped at a filling station then surprisingly it started coming back towards the city. After about 5 minutes, it stopped on the way, and it started moving away from the city again. What the hell was happening?? I was nearly thirty minutes behind them, a lifetime in situations like this, but I pushed forward, my focus razor-sharp. I was halfway to the edge of the city when the dot stopped moving, fi
Emma's POV " What do you want from him?? " " Now that I have you and your son tucked away in this secluded, abandoned house in the jungle, it feels as though everything is finally aligning. I could practically taste the power—the empire I would inherit, the life that had always been promised to me yet repeatedly snatched away. I would use both of you, Emma and James, to get exactly what I wanted. And if it meant sacrificing you along the way, so be it. I would do whatever it took. You would see soon enough that your darling, Ryan wasn’t the saint you believed him to be. And when all was done, when I'd hollowed out everything he cherished, Ryan would finally know what it felt like to lose everything. And in the end, he’d have no one to blame but himself." Just then, a flash of movement caught my eye—a shadow slipping between the trees. I dared not look too closely, afraid of giving anything away, but hope flared within me. Ryan. It had to be him. He must have tracked us here.But I
Emma's POV. Daniel had left after bringing us back to the house. Evan asked me to make the coffee and something to eat, and I was about to tell him to tell him. Even James and I were also very tired and hungry. So I made coffee and sandwiches for us. "Here... Take it." I said keeping the mug and plate on the table. " I want to take you right here right now." He said coming closer. I was disgusted with what he said. " Don't you dare come near me, I will kill you. Have you no shame at all? I am your brother's wife for god's sake!!" " No! He took my life away from me; everyone chose him over me; I want everything he has got in his life now..." He started speaking. I started recording his voice on my phone discreetly as I needed proof against him. "From the beginning, I was the shadow, the forgotten one, left to grow up in the empty, hollow corridors of my grandfather’s estate while he—my precious twin Ryan—was lavished with love and warmth, both things I'd never known. It burned
Emma's POV My revulsion turned to pure horror. “And you thought I wouldn’t notice? You thought I wouldn’t know my husband?”“Emma, Emma… you didn't at that time. Even God was in your favour or you would not have been pregnant already. If you were not unwell, I would have had my way with you, and we would have had a son like this one. ”"Forget it; I would have realized it in a minute if I was in my full senses. I fell in love with him as he was very sensitive and romantic; you might look like him, but you are not him. I love him and loathed you." I said. He sighed, almost pitying. “You’re making such a fuss over nothing. So what if I’m Evan or Ryan? To you, we’re identical. What difference does it make?”I stepped back, disgust flooding me. “It makes all the difference in the world. I married Ryan, not you. How could you even think of getting close to me, pretending to be him?” I yelled at him.“Don’t be so dramatic, Emma.” He waved his hand dismissively. “You think your precious hu
Emma's POV He started coming towards me, James got a bit scared, but I was shocked beyond the limit. I knew the man was not worth having around but I had no idea he could stoop to this level, especially when you have a son of the same age. "Daniel?" I said and he grinned. "Nice to meet you after so many years, Emma." He said. "You helped him kidnap James? Why?" " Why?? I hate both of his parents. You humiliated me in front of everyone when you refused to marry me. I was so embarrassed for years. Your husband ruined me. He took away everything from me, my fiance, and my reputation in front of your dad; he ruined my plan, and he is helping your dad and Eva fight for divorce and the custody of my son. Now he will know how it feels when he would never be able to see his son again." " How could you do this? He is just like your son. " I said. " No! He is Ryan's son. The bastard, who ruined everything for me. " He retorted." Mom, who is he? " James asked. "He is another uncle of yo