Isla’s POVDaniel pulled up in front of my apartment building, shifting the car into the park as I reached for the door handle. The evening had gone by too fast, filled with lighthearted conversation and laughter that made me forget, if only for a moment, the weight I carried on my shoulders."Thanks for tonight," I said, turning to face him. "I had a really great time."Daniel smiled, his usual easy-going expression softening. "Me too. I’m glad we finally had that dinner."I nodded, feeling the warmth spread through me. He had been nothing but kind and supportive, and spending time with him always made me feel comfortable. It was rare to find that kind of ease with someone, and I appreciated it more than I could put into words.As I stepped out of the car, Daniel suddenly spoke again."By the way, next Saturday is my birthday."I turned back, raising an eyebrow. "Oh?""Yeah," he said, leaning casually against the car door. "I’m throwing a party, and I’d really like you to come."I he
VICTOR’S POVSeeing Isla working hard every day gave me mixed feelings. I admired her dedication, her drive to prove herself, and the way she handled challenges with determination. But at the same time, a part of me felt uneasy.I wasn’t sure if it was because I was proud of her for becoming stronger or because I was afraid that, in her pursuit of success, she would forget about me.I tried not to dwell on it too much. After all, seeing her grow, watching her push forward no matter what, was inspiring. She had potential—undeniable, limitless potential—and no matter where she ended up, she would shine.That thought brought me some peace.A week passed quickly, and soon, Daniel's birthday arrived. It was a day I never forgot because, for as long as I could remember, we had always celebrated it together.I drove to his house, a familiar place filled with warmth and memories. The moment I parked, the door opened, and Daniel’s mother, Margaret, stepped out with a welcoming smile."Victor,
VICTOR’S POVI stood frozen in place, staring out of the study window.Why was Isla here?I hadn’t expected her to show up, yet there she was, standing at the entrance, speaking to Daniel. And whatever she said must have been funny because Daniel threw his head back, laughing as if he had just won the lottery.My grip on the curtain tightened.Were they really that close?From where I stood, Daniel looked too happy. He leaned in slightly, hanging on to her every word. Isla, on the other hand, was relaxed, completely at ease. She even playfully nudged his shoulder at one point.I frowned.That was supposed to be me.I stayed in the study longer than necessary, flipping through a random book, pretending to read while my thoughts raced.But eventually, I had no choice. Dinner was starting.Taking a deep breath, I walked downstairs and joined the guests. The room was filled with lively chatter, old friends reminiscing, and laughter ringing through the air. Daniel, of course, was at the ce
ISLA’S POVDaniel’s voice lingered in the air, his words carrying an unspoken meaning that made my heart race."Isla, have you noticed that my mom likes you very much? She has been urging me to marry. I said I haven't met the right person, but now..."I felt my cheeks heat up at his words. What was he trying to say? Was he joking, or was there something more? The weight of his unfinished sentence settled between us, making my heart pound in my chest.Just as I opened my mouth to respond, a deep, commanding voice cut through the air."Isla, I need to talk to you about the project."I turned quickly toward the voice, my heart skipping a beat when I saw Victor standing at the top of the stairs. He was looking down at us with an unreadable expression, his dark eyes sharp and intense. It was as if he had been watching us for a while, assessing the scene before deciding to interrupt.Daniel, who had been cut off mid-sentence, chuckled and shook his head. "Victor, do you ever stop working? I
ISLA’S POVVictor kissed me.It wasn’t my first kiss, but something about it felt entirely different from anything I had ever experienced before.At first, my mind protested. This was wrong. This was unexpected. This was—But the warmth of his lips against mine, the sheer intensity of the moment, made thinking impossible. I placed my hands against his chest, my first instinct being to push him away. My body, however, had a different reaction. A shiver ran down my spine, my fingers curling slightly into his shirt instead of pushing him away.Victor didn’t hesitate. His hands, firm and sure, cupped my face, angling my head as he deepened the kiss. The heat between us grew, his lips moving against mine with a mix of frustration, urgency, and something else—something I wasn’t ready to name.I tensed, trying to fight against the overwhelming sensation of being completely consumed. But as the seconds passed, my resistance wavered. The way he kissed me—it wasn’t just about dominance or contr
ISLA’S POVBefore we left, Daniel looked at Victor and said meaningfully, "Don’t forget what you should do." His tone carried a weight that made me pause for a moment. It was clearly directed at Victor, but I had no idea what he meant. I glanced between them, but neither elaborated.Victor didn’t respond, but something about the way he tensed told me he understood. I considered asking, but before I could, Daniel gave me a reassuring smile and said, "Take care, Isla."Victor gestured toward his car. "Let’s go. I’ll drive you home."I nodded, not thinking much about Daniel’s words. Whatever it was, it was between them.The drive home was quiet at first. I didn’t know what to say, and Victor kept stealing glances at me, his expression softer than usual. I could feel the weight of his gaze, and it made my heart beat faster.Finally, I broke the silence."Victor, why did you act like that earlier? At Daniel’s house?"His jaw clenched slightly. "Like what?"I turned in my seat to face h
Victor’s POVWhen I got home, I still couldn’t stop thinking about Isla. No matter how much I tried to push her from my mind, her presence lingered—her voice, her scent, the way she had looked at me with those wide, uncertain eyes before running into her apartment. I could still feel the warmth of her lips against mine, the way she had responded, hesitant at first, then melting into me. It wasn’t just about desire—I wanted her, yes, but there was more to it. She made me feel something I hadn’t in a long time. A strange warmth in my chest, an ache I couldn’t quite name.But then, Daniel’s words echoed in my mind like a glass of cold water splashed over me. "Don’t forget what you should do."His reminder grounded me. He was right—I knew it. No matter how much I was drawn to Isla, I couldn’t afford to forget the real reason I had approached her in the first place. If she ever found out that I had initially gotten close to her because of this case, she would hate me. I had no doubt about
VICTOR’S POVAfter Daniel left, I sat back in my chair, staring at the ceiling. My mind was a tangled mess of thoughts.Nick’s story didn’t add up. His refusal to talk, his family’s sudden relocation overseas, and now his connection to Stratos Corp—it was all too suspicious. And now there was Lyra Holdings, a ghost company moving money in the shadows. Someone powerful was pulling the strings, and I needed to find out who before it was too late.But amidst all the chaos in my head, there was one thought that kept surfacing—Isla.Just thinking about her softened my tense muscles. The way she had looked at me before running into her apartment a few nights ago, the way she had responded to my kiss... I wanted to see her. Hold her.A knock on my office door pulled me from my thoughts."Come in," I called.The door opened, and there she was—Isla.She stepped inside with her usual confidence, but I noticed the way her gaze flickered across my face as if she was checking if I was okay. It was
DAMIAN'S POVThe silence in the holding cell was loud—too loud for a man like me, who had lived most of his life in chaos. But silence was never my enemy. I used it to think, to calculate, to plan. And right now, all I needed was one thing—control.They thought they’d won. Victor, Daniel, Isla… They really believed they had backed me into a corner. But in this game, the corner is where the king waits, gathering his final move.When I was first arrested, I allowed it. You see, sometimes letting your enemies celebrate a false victory gives you time to twist the knife deeper.The moment they cuffed me, I wasn’t thinking about what I'd lost. I was thinking about what they just handed me: a chance to flip everything.You see, I didn’t need to prove I was innocent. I only needed to prove they were guilty. I already knew Victor had sent the evidence to his tech team. I even knew he was planning to leak it to the press. Amateurs always announce their next move like a punch they wind back too
DAMIAN'S POVThe walls of my cell felt colder as I paced back and forth, the weight of everything pressing down on me. Victor, Isla, and Daniel thought they had won. They believed they had the upper hand, with the incriminating evidence in their possession, but they didn’t know what I had planned. They were too eager, too quick to celebrate their small victories. They had no idea what kind of game they were really playing. It wasn’t over—not by a long shot.I had been arrested, processed, and locked away, but what they didn’t know was that I had connections everywhere. Judges, lawyers, even cops—they were all in my pocket, loyal to me for the right price. I had always known that the legal system was corrupt, but now, it was my turn to use it to my advantage. It was time to set my plan into motion.I leaned back against the cold concrete wall of my prison cell and closed my eyes, thinking through every detail of my strategy. I had to outsmart them, and I would. They had the evidence—ev
ISLA'S POVAs I stepped out of the cell station where Damian was being held, Daniel was already waiting for me. His sharp eyes locked onto mine as he asked, "Did you get the answers you were hoping for?"I exhaled sharply, shaking my head. "It was a waste of time," I admitted. "And I think he’s up to something."Daniel’s expression hardened. "What do you mean?"I glanced back toward the cell, where Damian sat like a caged predator. "He’s too calm. Too confident. I don’t like it."he even said he will be seeing me on the outside soon."Don’t worry, Isla. The evidence we have against him is airtight. There’s no getting away this time." Daniel's voice was firm, but I could tell he was still thinking about something else.I nodded as if I agreed, but the unease in my chest didn’t fade.Later, I found Daniel in front of his laptop, his face illuminated by the dim light of the screen. His focus was sharp, his fingers moving swiftly across the keyboard. Curious, I moved closer and peeked ove
ISLA'S POVThe news of Damian’s arrest spread like wildfire, and soon, it was on every news outlet, plastered across every headline. To my surprise, my mother had seen it on TV.I felt a strange sense of closure. My mother, at least, could finally begin to heal. It was almost a relief, in a twisted way, to know that justice had been served for my father’s death, even though the cost had been far too high.Damian had been processed and was now sitting in jail, awaiting his sentence. I knew Victor didn’t want me to go see him, but Daniel, for some reason, had understood my need to confront him. Although Daniel had warned me it was a bad idea, I insisted on going. I had to see Damian for myself, face to face. I needed to hear him say the words—needed to understand, in his own words, why he had done everything he had.When I entered the prison, I was led down a narrow hallway to a small, dimly lit room where Damian was sitting. He looked different somehow—there was a certain stillness in
VICTOR'S POVAs I watched Damian being dragged away in cuffs, I thought I would feel something—relief, satisfaction, maybe even peace. After all, he was finally facing justice for everything he had done, for all the lives he had destroyed. But instead, I felt… nothing. There was no triumph in my heart, no sense of victory. Just an empty weight pressing down on me.I glanced at Isla, and I could tell she felt the same way. Her expression was unreadable, but the slight tension in her shoulders and the way she exhaled slowly told me she was struggling to process it all. She turned to me, her eyes filled with something unspoken, and then, without a word, she wrapped her arms around me.“At least he’s going away for a long time,” she murmured, her voice soft against my shoulder.I nodded, closing my eyes for a brief moment as I found a small measure of comfort in her embrace. Isla had been through so much—her father’s death, being manipulated by Damian, and now seeing justice finally serve
VICTOR’S POVThe moment the arrest warrant for Damian Lannister was issued, law enforcement officers were dispatched to his residence. However, when they arrived, he was nowhere to be found."Suspect is not at the residence. No sign of forced entry or rushed departure. Repeat, the suspect is not at home," a police officer’s voice crackled through Daniel’s radio.I was with Daniel when the report came in, and the moment we heard those words, we exchanged a knowing look. We didn’t need to say it aloud—we both understood exactly what this meant.Damian was trying to flee.“Damn it,” Daniel muttered under his breath. “He’s not going to face justice willingly.”My fists clenched as my mind raced through the possibilities. He had the money, the power, and the connections to disappear without a trace. If he got away now, we might never catch him.We needed to act. Fast.“We have to think like him,” I said urgently. “Where would he go? What’s his exit strategy?”Isla, who had been standing be
VICTOR'S POV The hospital felt like a prison. No, worse—it felt like a graveyard. I sat in the cold, sterile hallway, my hands gripping the edges of my chair as if letting go would send me spiraling into nothingness. The weight of everything crushed my chest. I had won the battle, but I had lost the war. My grandfather was gone. Emma had lost our baby. What kind of victory was this? I felt hollow, a walking corpse moving through the motions of arranging my grandfather’s body with the hospital staff. The doctor stood in front of me, speaking in a calm, professional tone, but his words barely registered. “We’ll need to finalize the paperwork for the body transfer, your grandfather the doctor said, his voice measured and sympathetic. I swallowed hard. “And then?” My voice was hoarse, barely recognizable even to myself. “We’ll arrange for the morgue to hold him until the funeral home takes over. Do you have any preferences for the arrangements?” Preferences? What kind o
VICTOR’S POVI had won the battle.But at what cost?As I stood there, watching the video Damian had sent, a crushing weight settled on my chest. The pain was unbearable, like a blade slicing through my soul. My hands trembled, my breath came in ragged gasps, and my vision blurred with unshed tears.My grandfather was dead.Emma had lost her baby.The very people I had fought to protect had suffered because of me.I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was fighting for justice, for the truth. But now, standing in the wreckage of my choices, it felt like I had lost everything.A hollow laugh escaped my lips, but there was no humor in it. Just pain. Deep, consuming pain.I clenched my fists, my entire body shaking with rage. “I’m going to kill him,” I growled.Daniel, who had been standing beside me, grabbed my arm. “Victor, don’t.”I turned to him, my eyes burning with fury. “After everything he’s done, you expect me to just stand here and do nothing?”Daniel’s grip tight
DAMIAN'S POV The event was a grand display of wealth and power—just the way I liked it. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a warm glow over the room filled with New York’s most influential businessmen, politicians, and socialites. Waiters dressed in black moved smoothly through the crowd, offering glasses of champagne on silver trays.I walked through the hall with my usual composed confidence, acknowledging familiar faces with nods and brief smiles. It was the same routine—handshakes, fake smiles, subtle power plays woven into casual conversation. These events were a necessary evil, a way to keep my business untouchable in the eyes of the public.But tonight was different.Because tonight, Isla was with me.She stood beside me, poised and elegant in a Red dress that hugged her figure in just the right way—not too revealing, but enough to draw attention. And attention she got. Men stole glances at her as we walked, their eyes lingering a little too long. It amused me.