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 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 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
"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 188 The mall was a riot of noise and color, and I found myself constantly counting, one, two, three, four. Making sure all of them were there, within reach. It still felt surreal sometimes, looking at these four amazing kids and knowing they were mine. Five years of their lives I'd missed,
Chapter 189 Max point of view Sara’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and cold. I froze, my heart sinking. She stood there, dressed perfectly as always, her eyes scanning me and the kids like we were part of some joke she didn’t get. “My kids,” I said firmly, pulling Leo closer to me. Sara ra
Chapter 190 Max point of view The car ride to Eva's home was filled with noise and laughter. The kids were still buzzing from their day at the mall, talking over each other as they relived every moment. I smiled, keeping my eyes on the road, but Sara’s voice echoed in my head. I clenched the steer
Chapter 191 Sara's Point of View I slammed my car door so hard the whole vehicle shook, mascara-stained tears blurring my vision as I sped away from the mall. The humiliation burned through me like acid. Children. He had children. With her. The steering wheel beneath my trembling hands seemed to m
As Eva and Max walked back to the main house, the night air cool around them, Max kept his voice low. "Are you sure about this? Having her here?" "No," Eva admitted honestly. "But I'm even less sure about sending her away to be hunted by Diana." "She threatened our children, Eva," Max reminded her
Inside, Victoria stood awkwardly in the center of the living room, suddenly seeming unsure of herself. Without the cover of darkness, her scars were starkly visible under the warm lighting, the contrast between her damaged and undamaged sides even more pronounced. "I'll have clothes brought over,"
The convoy of black SUVs cut through the night, headlights carving paths through the fog. Eva sat in the back seat of the lead vehicle, watching rain streak across bulletproof glass. Across from her, Victoria stared out her own window, damaged profile turned away as if to spare Eva the sight of her
"Why help her?" Eva asked. "Why come after my family?" "Because it was the only thing that made the pain bearable," Victoria answered honestly. "Thinking that one day, you would understand what it feels like to lose everything." A flash of movement caught Eva's eye, something shifting in the shado
Chapter 299 Eva parked at the far end of the abandoned shipyard, exactly where Victoria had specified. The meeting had been Eva's idea, a bold move that Max had fought until he understood there was no other way to end this nightmare. Two days had passed since the children left. Two days of Eva and
Diana leaned back. "There are excellent surgeons overseas. Part of Louis's package includes consultations with specialists in Switzerland." Victoria touched her scars. "Too little, too late." "After tomorrow, you can disappear. Become someone new." "And what life does Eva deserve?" Diana's eyes
The coffee shop sat on the edge of downtown. Victoria chose a corner table with her back to the wall, hair swept forward to cover her scarred face. Through the windows, she watched for any sign of surveillance. Thirty-six hours had passed since her confrontation with Eva in the parking garage. Thir
"You were innocent," Max reminded her. "You didn't ask to be in that prison, didn't ask to be saved from the fire." "I know," Eva agreed, sitting on the edge of their bed. "But I did get to come back to all this, wealth, family, safety. While Victoria got a ruined face and six more years in prison.
And finally, to Mia: "Dance when you're sad, my little butterfly. Find joy even in hard times. Remember how much Mommy and Daddy love you." The garage fell silent as the final goodbyes approached. Eva and Max stood together, arms around each other, facing their four children lined up beside the wai