Rosa's POV I paced back and forth in my cold, dark cell, my mind racing with desperate thoughts. How did I end up here? Why did James doubt me? The sound of footsteps echoed outside my cell door. The guard unlocked it, and a figure slipped in. "Rosa, I'm your lawyer," she said, her voice firm. I nodded, relief washing over me. "What's happening?" I asked. The lawyer's expression turned plan. "The prosecution has new evidence. A witness claims to have seen you arguing with Emma's nanny." My heart sank. This was a setup. "I didn't do it," I whispered. The lawyer's eyes locked onto mine. "We'll prove it. But we need your cooperation." I nodded. "What do I need to do?" The lawyer handed me a folder. "Review this. It's the witness's statement." As I scanned the pages, my eyes widened. This was a lie. "I know who wrote this," I said. The lawyer's eyebrows raised. "Who?" "Dera," I spat. The lawyer's expression turned thoughtful. "We'll investigate." But I knew it wouldn't be easy. Dera had
Rosa's POV Dr. Lee's evaluation continued, each question probing deeper into my psyche. I answered cautiously, hiding my true intentions. But Dr. Lee's eyes seemed to see right through me. "Rosa, can you tell me about your relationship with Dera?" she asked, her voice neutral. My heart skipped a beat. Dera's name sent a chill down my spine. "She's James' ex-girlfriend, who believed I stole him from her ”I said, trying to sound nonchalant. Dr. Lee's expression remained unreadable. "I see," she said. "And how do you feel about Dera's involvement in your life?" I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. "Dera's always been...overbearing," I said, trying to hold back myself. But her expression remained neutral. "I understand," she said. "And do you think Dera's involved in Emma's disappearance?" My heart racing, I considered my answer. "I don't know," I lied, trying to sound uncertain. Dr. Lee's eyes locked onto mine, searching for the truth. Just then, the guard interrupted, "Dr. Lee, yo
Rosa's POV Days blended together in an endless blur. Time lost all meaning. Lee walked into the room, she was my only companion these days. “Rosa, how are you today?" Dr. Lee asked, her voice neutral. “I have been better.” I sighed. Doctor Lee gave me a weak smile.“We need to talk about your relationship with Emma’s nanny.” What did she know? I questioned myself."It was just a misunderstanding," I stammered. Dr. Lee's expression remained neutral. "I see." As the session progressed, I felt like I was being pulled apart, layer by layer. Dr. Lee probed every aspect of my life, searching for cracks. But I refused to break. After what felt like an eternity, Dr. Lee left. The guard locked the door behind her. Hours passed, or maybe minutes. Time lost all meaning. Suddenly, the door open. The guard entered, followed by a figure in a white coat. "Rosa, this is Dr. Patel," the guard said. Dr. Patel's eyes locked onto mine. "I'm here to evaluate your mental state." What! Not again. The evalu
Samantha's POVI stepped into Vivian's office, my eyes scanning the room. The air was thick with tension, itlooked darker and lacked life and instantly I felt pity for my step sister ."Vivian, what's going on?" I asked, my voice firm, trying to hide my emotions.Vivian looked up from her desk."Samantha, what do you want?" I walked closer, my heels clicking on the marble floor."I know about your connection to Haylee.”Vivian's eyes narrowed as she looked up at me, her fingers drumming on the desk.“What do you know?”I pulled out a folder from my bag."I have documents, Vivian. Proof of your partnership with Dera.”" Please let me help you, this won’t turn out well for you, if you continue I suggest you turn yourself in to the police and set yourself free.” I said calmly.Vivian's expression changed Into irritation."Go on, continue your crap, you've always acted better than everyone else.”I opened the folder, revealing the papers."You're using Emma's kidnapping to frame Rosa.”
Detective Martin's POVI sat at my desk, taking a sip from my coffee. I was staring at the Haylee Bay case file when my phone buzzed."Detective Martin, we've got something,” my partner, Rachel said. I dropped my mug and paid close attention. "What is it?" I asked, standing up abruptly, almost spilling the coffee on the case files. "More evidence from the apartment, around Haylee’s building the security camera picked up someone lurking,” Rachel replied. My heart rate quickened at this new information. Rachel pushed the tape into my hand and I rushed to the evidence room to play it. I squinted my eyes as the footage from that day played. “Who is that?” But my question remained unanswered. And I narrowed my eyes as I watched the security footage. The figure's face was obscured, except for the clothes. I could see a distinctive black jacket with a silver hairpin. My eyes widened. I had seen that hair pin before. Vivian's hairpin."Rachel, enhance the footage,” I instructed, my voi
Vivian's POVI crossed and uncrossed my legs every now and then, pressing my back into the concrete wall. A shudder ran down my spine. I looked forward, the iron bars seemed to close in around me. It was getting harder to breathe.I shook my head, sighing. How did it come to this? I was Vivian, Haylee’s roommate, her friend, or at least that’s what everyone assumed.Now, I wore the title of a murderer.The accusation echoed in my mind, sticking to me like a constant reminder of my failure. I was sure I had covered every one of my tracks.I bit my nails. Had I been too hasty?That damn detective had found something. I remembered the look on his face when he put the cuffs on my wrists.What could he have found out?My lawyer’s words replayed in my head: “Don’t worry, Vivian. We’ll get you out of here.” Her warm smile had done nothing to ease me. I knew better than to believe her words. My thoughts spiraled. Was it fingerprints? Security footage? What was the evidence?I rubbed my palms
Dera’s PovI settled into my leather armchair wearing nothing but my red panties, staring at nothing, cradling my whiskey glass in my hands. The dim lighting of my apartment cast long shadows on the walls, a fitting backdrop for my twisted thoughts. My phone buzzed on my glass table, breaking the silence. I picked it up, my eyes scanning the text sent by an unknown number"Vivian's lawyer is pushing for a deal.”My lips curled into a sly smile as I typed out a response."Make sure it doesn't happen.”The plan was unfolding perfectly. Rosa suspected nothing. But Vivian...Vivian knew. She'd always known. Memories flooded my mind - our past, our twisted games. Vivian had been so blinded by love and trust towards me. And I'd used that. Exploited it. Now, Vivian sat in prison, unaware of the true enemy. Me.I can’t let her harm the man I loved , I am the only one permitted to harm him .The doorbell rang, distracting me from my deep thoughts. Slide into my rob then moved towards the door"U
James' POVI held Rosa close to my chest, feeling her warmth, her love, I knew last night was more than just making love. I knew how much it meant to her. I finally could hold the love of my life close, we have come a long way, from being enemies to falling so deeply for each other.My phone buzzed on the nightstand, breaking the silence. I silenced it, not wanting to disturb Rosa, but it buzzed again, almost Immediately, I wondered who could be disturbing my phone while I was trying to rekindle my love for Rosa. I carefully excused myself from Rosa's grasp, trying not to wake her. But as I moved, she stirred, her eyes fluttering open."James?" she whispered, her voice husky from sleep. I smiled, my heart skipping a beat."Go back to sleep," I whispered, brushing a strand of hair from her face. But Rosa's eyes remained open, locked onto mine. Tension. I hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. Gaze narrowed."What about?""What's wrong?" she asked, sensing my"Detective Martin called," I
James’s PovThere was a charged air, electricity hanging in the atmosphere — waiting for a spark. The energy in the room was palpable—anticipation, excitement, and disbelief. Rosa was pregnant with twins. Our twins. Years of love, toil and growth had built up to this moment, it was almost surreal in its enormity.I scanned the room to find our friends, family and colleagues filling up the venue for the grand opening of The Harden Family Foundation —the foundation we had worked so hard to build. This initiative was something we had both cooked up, helping young entrepreneurs and artists with the tools needed to build their dreams. This was the beginning of our next chapter, a one that would create an impact much larger than we ever could alone.Still, all of that felt secondary now to the fact that Rosa was mere hours away from delivering. Her body had been through so much already, the ability to carry this pregnancy now along with everything else—it was nothing short of a miracle. Yes
James’s PovWatching all those little kids in their funny caps and gowns from the back of the auditorium felt strange. It filled me with a combination of pride, nostalgia and disbelief. Emma, our daughter with the wobbly knees walking into her first day at school was long gone. She was at the threshold of something more—her life. And it was happening literally in front of me.Rosa was next to me with her hand resting lightly on my arm, staring at Emma as she stood in front of the podium. I could almost taste her tension, the pride and love she'd been brewing there for more years than I could count. The moment was not only for Emma. It was ours. We had forged this, together, following our lead, with us being there to support and love her through her trials, and victories. And here she was now, standing ready to address an auditorium full of people, preparing to tell the world what she needed them to hear.My heart raced with anxiety as Emma walked to the mic. She was steady, composed b
James’s PovThe day had been a long one. Too long, in fact. With the business problems, Bethel came back, and was still looking for whoever had started messing with Rosa's designs—my brain was like a one-person track team going around in circles. Through all those storms there had been one constant—Rosa. She was the peacekeeper, the nucleus of everything that revolved around it.That evening when she entered with a pale face, an absent look in her eyes, I knew something was wrong. I recognized the expression, my mind saying to keep it together baby girl as though something heavy was on her. Not that she needed to say anything. Not even for a moment did I doubt that always in the air, there was tension.“Hey, what’s wrong?” I said, putting down the coffee cup. Not waiting for an answer, I knew that she needed to talk and I was all ears.But what she would open her mouth and say next would leave me breathless.“I’m pregnant.”My initial reaction was disbelief. I found it hard to take in
Rosa’s PovThose next few weeks were a series of meetings, lack of sleep, and questioning. Bethel had returned to the family home for some time, looking for a sense of stability. Yet, she was merely rebuilding things in her life — There lay an ambiguous journey the next. The search didn't let up for whoever was leaking our designs and the business was feeling that heat. Yet all that remained unchanged, despite the ruckus swirling around us, was James and I locked in as teammates who would bounce forth whatever lurked next.But while the storm raged on we did something weird — something that felt like a cosmic nudge in my direction to say life was still happening literally throughout all this.I had missed a few periods. I initially presumed it was stress. I had hectic days behind me and felt a whole range of emotions. But as days passed, a subtle dread grew in the belly of my stomach.So I grabbed the phone, called my doctor's office. They were able to squeeze me in the next morning f
Rosa’s PovThe first days in the world after moving out of my family home, was like a strange kind of birth. I had reconciled my past and was okay with it, now I would get on with my life. The burden that held me down was finally removed. But as life likes to teach us, we donÕt get change without a fight.The first of many challenges hit James and me while we were sitting at our favorite restaurant, enjoying dinner together. Suddenly, there was a little buzz on the table where his phone was resting. His eyes scanned the words on it, narrowing as he read a message.“What’s wrong?” I half asked, my fork freezing in the air, the pleasant buzz of the restaurant dulled.James, with clipped vocals, replied: "It's about Bethel."I had put my fork down; I could hear the tension behind his voice. And his sister, Bethel, had always been the wild card of the Harden bunch—free-spirited, reckless and bold. Yet lately, she had been making more than a couple of bad choices.“What happened now?”"Of
Rosa’s PovAs we neared the house, which had once been my world, now a rundown old heap. The car came to a slow crawl. I had completely forgotten how much I missed that creak of the tires rolling on the gravel driveway. When I stepped out of the car, a surreal sense of nostalgia and unease washed over me. It was the first time for me back here in years, not since everything had changed. Not since the day I left in search of making a life for myself: so far away from here and all this history that hung around like an echo.“Are you sure about this?” Uh oh what happened James asked down beside me with concern in his voice.I shook my head, probably too fast and grinned at him with a tight smile that was only half reassuring. “Yeah. I think it’s time.”He gazed at me for a second, dark eyes roving over my face, the furrow between his brows growing deeper. He didn't follow up, but I could feel the question line hanging in the air. James had watched me go through hard times over and over,
James’s PovThe morning light was spilling through the blinds of my office, casting long shadows on the floor. While outside, the city hummed quietly in comparison to the storm in my brain. I had been expecting this. And I knew that after all we had done together Reginald would never let things like this slide. Defeat was not one of his words–not easily, anyway. So when I saw his name flash on my phone screen bright and early that morning, I knew it meant something.The door opened and Rosa, a placid but attractive figure of a woman always ready to chat broke into my thoughts. The question if she too had seen the message didn’t even need asking. There was already a heaviness between us.I said, and the words came out like an accusation — though I hadn't even finished speaking.Rosa’s gaze hardened. We knew that walking away quietly was not going to be an option for him. What does he want this time?”I sat back in my chair, rubbing the bridge of my nose as I pondered our choices. Such
Rosa’s POVOn a lazy Sunday afternoon, Emma surprised me with a question that caught me short. She had just finished her homework and was on the couch with her legs tucked under her, watching TV without really paying attention. Her innocent voice interrupted the soft hum of the house.Someday, at some point in our lives, one of us will ask the question — “Mom, why do you and Dad get married?”I paused, as the shock of words were more impactful than I had anticipated. Emma had never been dull — she always asked the kinds of questions that forced you to consider things in a way you never had before. I knew this day would come, but so early I didn't expect My thoughts were tumbling a bit as I tried to find the most appropriate words; how do you explain the mixed feelings behind our choice, or rather why the decision was not so simple for me or us?I looked at James, who was sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper, with his back toward us. His eyes glanced at mine for a split sec
James’s POVIt was something I had always prided myself on: knowing where I came from; understanding the legacy of my family. I thought I knew everything about our wealth, our power, the empire we had created; that little part of my life which I imagined was mine. But when I sat across the table from my mom, her hands shaking a little as she passed me an envelope with a strange, faded insignia ironed on it, I knew just how little knowledge I had.“James,” her voice wavering, she continued “I have to tell you something. The family history around how we came by our money, I guess.I frowned and focused on my breathing. “What do you mean, Mom?”After some delay, she opened the envelope and took out a few creased yellowing sheets of paper. “Of course, I never wanted you to know this but today feels like it could be time. You have to know the real story about your father, about what it took to build the Harden dynasty.I leaned in, heart racing. Decades of effort, well-placed investments,