The quiet hum of the hospital machines was a stark contrast to the storm raging inside me. Lucas lay peacefully on the bed, his small hand clutching mine even in his sleep. My heart ached at the sight of him, his usually vibrant energy replaced by a fragile stillness.After what felt like an eternity, I leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes for a moment. But instead of peace, memories of Richard—no, Leon—flashed behind my eyelids. His firm voice, the unshakable look in his eyes as he insisted on denying who he truly was, haunted me.Why was he in Vancouver? Why did he care so much about what happened to Lucas if he wasn’t who I thought he was?By the next morning, Lucas’s fever had broken, and the doctors assured me he was on the mend. Relief flooded my chest as I kissed his forehead. “You’re so brave, my little warrior,” I whispered, stroking his hair.“Mama,” he murmured, his voice still weak, “when can we go home?”“Soon, sweetheart. Very soon,” I promised.With Lucas stable, I
Later that afternoon, William called to check in. His voice brought me some solace, but I couldn’t tell him everything—not yet.“How’s Lucas?” he asked.“Better,” I said, trying to sound upbeat. “The doctors are confident he’ll be discharged soon.”“That’s great to hear,” William said, relief evident in his voice. “I’ll wrap up here as quickly as I can and head back.”“There’s no rush,” I assured him. “Lucas is stable now, and we’ll manage until you return.”“I still hate being away,” he admitted. “But I trust you, Margarette. If there’s anything you need, call me.”“I will,” I promised, my chest tightening with guilt. William trusted me, but I was keeping something from him—something that could potentially shake the foundation of our family.By the time Lucas was discharged, he was back to his cheerful self, chattering away about the stuffed bear he named “Dr. Cuddles” and how brave he had been. I smiled and nodded, but my thoughts were elsewhere.As I packed our things, I resolved to
One evening, as I sat by the fireplace with a cup of tea, the investigator finally called. My hands trembled slightly as I answered.“Margarette, this is Gerald. I’ve got some preliminary findings on Richard.”My heart pounded. “Go on.”“Richard is… an anomaly,” Gerald began. “His official records only go back about six years. Before that, there’s no trace of him. No birth certificate, no educational history, nothing.”“What?” I said, confused. “That doesn’t make any sense.”“Exactly,” he replied. “It’s as if he appeared out of nowhere. But here’s where it gets even stranger—his fingerprints match those of Leon Everett, who was declared deceased five years ago.”My breath hitched. “Leon? But how—why—?”“That’s what I’m trying to piece together,” Gerald said. “I need more time to dig deeper, but I thought you’d want to know this right away.”“Thank you,” I whispered, my mind racing.“Be careful, Margarette,” he added. “If this man is hiding his identity, there’s usually a reason.”After
The night after Richard’s—or Leon’s—sudden disappearance weighed heavily on me. The cryptic warning he’d given me to “stay safe” and “let it go” played over and over in my mind. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.What was he running from, and why couldn’t he trust me with the truth? The Leon I knew was never this evasive—he was strong, determined, and transparent. Whoever this man was now, he was a shadow of the person I had loved.I didn’t sleep that night. My thoughts churned, a storm brewing in my chest. When morning came, I made a decision: I needed answers, and I needed them now.Lucas had woken up feeling better, though he still had a slight fever. I decided to take him to the hospital for a follow-up checkup. The thought of another encounter with Richard filled me with both anticipation and dread, but Lucas’s health came first.As I sat in the waiting area, watching Lucas play with his toy truck, my phone buzzed with a message. It was from William.William: Everything is progressing faste
The name Victor reverberated in my mind, lingering like an ominous echo. What had Gerald uncovered that connected this mysterious man to Leon—or rather, Richard? And if this Victor was as dangerous as Gerald hinted, what was I up against?Lucas stirred in his sleep, mumbling softly as I sat by his bedside. His fever had broken, and his tiny face looked peaceful now, but my heart remained restless.By the next morning, the unease hadn’t left me. William called to check in, his warm voice reminding me how far removed he was from the storm brewing here.“I’ll be home tomorrow,” he said, sounding relieved. “Is everything alright there?”“Yes,” I lied. “Lucas is much better now.”“That’s good,” he said, a pause lingering before he added, “Margarette, are you okay?”I hesitated. “Just tired, that’s all.”He didn’t press, but I could tell he wanted to. The guilt of keeping him in the dark gnawed at me, but how could I explain this tangled mess without sounding insane?I decided to take Lucas
The days following Richard’s—no, Leon’s—visit were a haze of confusion and paranoia. Every shadow seemed longer, every noise louder. Richard’s warning lingered in my ears, haunting me: “Stay out of it. For your own good.”But I couldn’t.I stared at Lucas, his small chest rising and falling in his sleep, and my resolve solidified. I had to uncover the truth—not just for myself, but for him. If Victor Grey truly was tied to Leon’s disappearance and Richard’s cryptic behavior, then ignoring it wouldn’t make the danger go away.It was late afternoon when Gerald called me, his tone hurried and anxious.“Margarette, I’ve uncovered something.”I gripped the phone tighter. “What? What did you find?”“You need to come to my office immediately,” he said. “I can’t discuss this over the phone.”My heart hammered in my chest. “I’ll be right there.”I glanced at Lucas, who was busy coloring at the table. The sitter I’d hired to help during William’s absence was already here, so I knew Lucas would b
The hours that followed felt like a frantic game of chess. Every single move had to be calculated, every possibility weighed, because one wrong step could unravel everything—and place Lucas directly in Victor’s crosshairs.Leon paced the length of the kitchen, his phone gripped tightly in his hand. I sat at the table, the weight of our plan pressing against my chest like an invisible force.“Gerald needs to disappear for a while,” Leon muttered, more to himself than to me. “If Victor knows he’s been digging, Gerald will be his first target.”“Disappear?” I repeated, feeling my pulse spike. “How? Where can he go that Victor won’t find him?”Leon stopped pacing and turned to face me. “I know people. Trust me, they’ll make sure Gerald is safe until we have something solid against Victor.”Something about the certainty in his voice calmed me, even as doubt lingered at the edges of my mind. Leon was different now—sharper, harder, as if the man I once knew had been forced to don an impenetr
The hours bled into days, and life felt like a storm held at bay, each moment laden with the promise of upheaval. I couldn't stop thinking about the revelations Gerald had unearthed or the implications of Leon—no, Richard—standing against his father. Every time I looked at Lucas, I felt an ache of fear and determination that refused to be ignored.Victor Grey wasn’t just a looming threat; he was a shadow that had silently loomed over our lives for years. Now, it felt like that shadow was growing darker, colder, and more suffocating by the second.This morning started out quiet enough. The sunlight streamed through the windows of our modest house, spilling over Lucas’s half-finished Lego tower on the floor. It was a brief reminder of normalcy, but my heart refused to settle.Lucas giggled from the kitchen, pulling my attention.“Mommy, look!” he called, holding up a pancake he’d torn into a shape that vaguely resembled a heart.“Wow,” I said, managing a smile despite the knot of worry i
The moment we stepped into the house, I could feel the tension in the air. Every shadow felt like a threat, every silence too loud. Leon locked the door behind us, and Dorian immediately pulled the curtains shut, moving with a precision that told me he’d done this before. I was no stranger to fear, but tonight, it pressed against my skin like a second layer.Elise’s father was behind this. I could feel it in my bones. And that terrified me more than anything.Leon paced near the fireplace, his face locked in a storm of controlled fury. Dorian sat at the table, his fingers moving across the keyboard of his laptop, eyes scanning for any digital trace of Alexa. I stood in the center of the room, my mind spinning with a thousand possibilities.“She’s out there somewhere,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “And we’re running out of time.”Leon exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “We need to figure out what Elise’s father wants. What’s his endgame?”Dorian didn’t look u
The moment we stepped into the safe house, the air felt different. Heavy. Charged with something unspoken but undeniable. The low hum of tension sat thick between us, each of us knowing that Alexa’s disappearance wasn’t a coincidence. It was a move—a calculated strike from Victor Langford, a man whose power was as dangerous as his reach.I couldn’t stop my hands from trembling as I reached for the envelope Leon had just read aloud. You should have stayed away. The words were scrawled in sharp, deliberate handwriting. I imagined Victor writing them with a smirk, knowing exactly what this message would do to us.Leon exhaled sharply, crushing the paper in his fist. “We need to move fast.”Dorian nodded. “I’ll put our guys on the streets. If they moved Alexa within city limits, someone saw something.”I swallowed, forcing my voice to steady. “We can’t just wait for information. We need to hit back.”Leon’s gaze snapped to mine, a flicker of something unreadable in his expression. “What a
The night felt heavier than before, the air thick with unspoken tension as we pieced together what Elise’s father’s return truly meant. My mind raced through the implications—if he had found her, it meant he wasn’t working alone. It meant he had resources, people willing to do his bidding, and most of all, it meant we weren’t prepared for what was coming.Elise hadn’t moved from her place on the couch, her fingers white-knuckling the phone. She wasn’t the same woman I had met before—there was something fragile about her now, something shattered. I understood that feeling far too well.Leon and Dorian were standing near the kitchen island, speaking in hushed voices, but I caught fragments of their conversation.“We need to move her somewhere else,” Dorian said, arms crossed. “If he got to her once, he can do it again.”Leon ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tight. “Moving her won’t change anything if he has the means to track her.”“Then what do you suggest? We wait for him to knock
The tension still lingered, like static in the air, even after we had ensured Elise’s safety and returned to the penthouse. The night had been long, exhausting, and I was running on nothing but adrenaline and borrowed time.Leon stood at the kitchen counter, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. The amber liquid swirled in the crystal tumbler as he took a slow sip, his eyes trained on me. He didn’t have to say anything—I could feel the weight of his gaze."You’re shaking," he murmured.I exhaled sharply, glancing down at my hands. He was right. I hadn’t even realized it.Leon set his glass down and crossed the space between us in two strides. His hands, warm and steady, caught mine, stilling them. "Come here."I let him pull me into his arms, the exhaustion catching up to me all at once. I buried my face against his chest, breathing him in—woodsy cologne, something faintly smoky, something undeniably him."You always act like you have to carry the weight of everything on your own," he m
The air in the penthouse was heavy with unspoken tension. I sat at the desk, eyes scanning through the files, absorbing the weight of what we had in our hands. The evidence was undeniable. Justin and Elise’s father had left a trail of financial crimes, bribes, and illegal dealings that could tear their empire apart. The question was—how did we move forward without tipping them off too soon?Leon stood behind me, his presence strong and reassuring. His hand was still on my shoulder, grounding me in the moment. "We need to be careful with this," he murmured.I nodded. "I know. We have to strike at the right moment."Dorian, now lounging on the couch, exhaled loudly. "I hate waiting. Feels like we should be doing something more than just sitting on this.""Patience is key," Leon countered. "If we rush, we lose the advantage."Dorian rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. I closed my laptop and stretched, the weight of the day settling deep into my bones. "I need a break."Leon caught my hand
The drive to the meeting location was tense, the air thick with anticipation. I sat in the passenger seat, my fingers gripping the leather armrest while Leon navigated through the city streets. Dorian was in the back, too casual for my liking, but that was just how he handled pressure. I wished I could be that indifferent. Instead, my mind kept cycling through every possible outcome of this meeting.Elise had made her choice. That much was clear. But whether it was out of self-preservation or something else entirely, we would soon find out."Where did she say we’re meeting?" Leon asked, his voice steady."An old train yard on the outskirts of the city," I replied, reading the address she had sent. "Secluded. Not many ways in or out."Leon didn’t like it. I could tell by the way his jaw clenched. "Sounds like a setup."Dorian chuckled from the backseat. "Sounds like someone’s being paranoid."Leon ignored him, eyes still on the road. "I don’t like unknown variables, Margarette. If she’
The next few days passed in a blur of careful planning and tense anticipation. Elise’s information had given us a direction, but we still had work to do—connections to make, leverage to gather. It should have consumed all my focus.But Leon was a distraction I couldn’t shake.No matter how much I told myself that our night together hadn’t changed anything, I felt it in the way he looked at me, in the way his fingers brushed against mine when he handed me a file, in the way his presence filled every quiet moment. He didn’t push, didn’t demand more than I could give, but the weight of everything left unsaid pressed down on me.I wasn’t sure if I was grateful or terrified.***Late one night, I found myself pacing the penthouse balcony, the cold air biting through my thin sweater. The city sprawled beneath me, glittering and endless, yet I felt trapped in my own thoughts.“You’re thinking too loud again.”I turned to see Leon stepping onto the balcony, his hands tucked into the pockets o
The meeting with Elise was set. That should have been my focus. But my mind kept replaying last night—Leon’s lips on mine, the way he held me as if he couldn’t bear to let go.I inhaled sharply and pushed the thought away. There was no space for distractions.The restaurant Elise had chosen was a high-end establishment, the kind that catered to politicians and business elites who wanted to talk without prying eyes listening in. The dim lighting and low chatter made it the perfect place for clandestine discussions.Leon and I arrived together, though we were careful not to look too familiar. Dorian had insisted on waiting outside, just in case.Elise was already seated when we arrived. She was dressed elegantly in a dark blazer, her posture stiff with tension. As soon as she spotted us, her eyes flicked to Leon, then to me.“You came,” she said, her voice steady but guarded.I slid into the seat across from her, Leon taking the one beside me. “You asked, we answered.”Her lips pressed
The weight of Leon’s words settled over me, thick and inescapable. I could feel the heat of his gaze, his possessiveness wrapping around me like an invisible chain. A part of me wanted to push back, to tell him that I didn’t belong to anyone. But the other part—the part that craved the way he looked at me, the way his presence consumed me—refused to speak.Instead, I exhaled sharply and turned away, fingers tightening around my phone. "I haven't decided yet," I said, my voice even, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an immediate answer.Leon hummed low in his throat, stepping closer. "Decide carefully, Margarette."I refused to face him, but I could feel the warmth of his body behind me. The air between us buzzed with unspoken words, unsatisfied tension.Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.***Later that evening, I sat curled up on the couch, scrolling through my phone, staring at Noah’s message.Drinks sometime? To catch up. No pressure.It should have been s