Each whisper felt like a little knife, but I kept walking. Uncle Josh's arm was steady under my hand."Breathe," he whispered. "You're stronger than all of them put together."I caught bits and pieces of their talks."The nerve of her, showing up here...""With Josh Sinclair, of all people...""Afte
Chapter 55EVA'S point of view Whispers filled the grand hall as I walked through the crowd with Uncle Josh by my side. People were staring at me, their voices a low hum. But I kept my head up, my heart steady, no matter how heavy their looks felt.Then I saw him. Maximilian.He was standing near t
Chapter 56Eva’s Point of ViewI made my way through the grand hall with Uncle Josh, feeling the burn of the crowd’s whispers at my back. Every step I took was steady and purposeful, but my heart pounded beneath my calm facade. After years of hiding, of bending to their will, I was finally ready to
Sara’s face turned a shade of red I’d never seen before, her lips pressed into a thin line as she struggled to find a retort. I could see the rage boiling beneath her surface, threatening to spill over. But before she could say anything, I acted on impulse. I raised my hand and brought it down with
Chapter 57Sara’s Point of ViewI stormed into the house, slamming the door behind me as hard as I could, the loud crash echoing through the empty hallway. The rage boiling inside me needed an outlet, and this was only the beginning. How dare she! Eva, that miserable excuse for a sister, had the aud
The mention of Josh Sinclair made me clench my fists even tighter. He was part of the reason she had the audacity to stand up to me. “If he thinks he can protect her, he’s got another thing coming,” I muttered, a hint of bitterness in my voice. “We’ll just have to make sure he’s distracted. Give him
Chapter 58: Max's Point of ViewI sat in my study as the sun was going down. The papers on my desk were just sitting there, untouched. I couldn't focus on work - not when my mind kept going back to Eva. She had come back into my life so suddenly, and I couldn't stop thinking about her. It had been
I had to admit, she was good at this. Her timing, her tone of voice, it was all perfect. She was weaving a clever trap of half-truths and persuasion, and I could feel myself getting caught in it. My anger and bitter feelings toward Eva were making it hard to think clearly."Even if you're right abou
"Age is just a number," Leo declared grandly, another line I suspected came from Eva's romantic comedies. "And my heart wants what it wants." "Your heart wanted to marry the pizza delivery girl last week," Sam reminded him. "That was before I met Clara," Leo said with dignity. Then he turned back
Chapter 187 Max's Point Of View I stared at the stack of reports on my desk, each one thicker than the last, but none containing the answers I needed. Finding Emily's secrets was like trying to catch smoke, just when we thought we had a lead, it would slip through our fingers. "Mr. Graves?" Clar
Chapter 186 Max point of view I sat at Eva's dining room table, watching my kids do their homework. It had been a week since the cookie incident, and things were... well, different. Not perfect, but different. James was actually letting me help him with his math now. He still rolled his eyes whe
Chapter 185 Eva's point of view I got up from the floor as fast as I could, trying to brush cookie crumbs out of my hair. My face felt like it was on fire as I met Josh's stare. Even though he's only a few years older than me, that look on his face still made me feel like a little kid who got cau
Chapter 184 Max sat on the living room floor, surrounded by opened presents and four very different reactions to his presence. Mia beamed at him, clutching her new stuffed unicorn like it was made of gold. The boys, however, radiated waves of barely contained hostility that made the room feel ten d
"Sometimes," Sam continued, his young voice unnaturally steady, "she would look at pictures and get really quiet. Was that because of you too?" I swallowed hard. "Yes." "Then why should we want you here?" Leo demanded. "You hurt Mom. You didn't want us." "That's not true," I said quickly, too qui
Chapter 183 MAX POINT OF VIEW My hands wouldn't stop sweating on the steering wheel as I pulled up to Eva's house. The trunk was loaded with wrapped presents, toys, books, games, everything I could think of that five-year-olds might like. But somewhere deep in my gut, I knew no mountain of gifts c
Chapter 182 Mia couldn't contain her excitement as she ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Her heart was racing, but not from the climb. She'd just overheard the most amazing news, and she had to tell her siblings right away. Their dad was coming to see them tomorrow! She burst into Jame
Opening my laptop, I pulled up Emily's company records. If she and Sara were behind everything that has been happening, they must have left some trace. People always did, no matter how careful they were. I just had to find it before they made their next move. Financial records, meeting minutes, trav