Diana's POV With happiness came fear too. The fear of losing everything. A few days later, when Isabelle texted me to say that Oliver was in town, I tried to stay calm. I couldn't get worked up. I couldn't let him destabilize me because of the baby. But controlling what I felt was impossible. My heart raced, my palms grew sweaty, and that sense of danger returned like a ghost I'd never truly managed to bury. The police had never come looking for me about the accident. And knowing it had been Oliver, I didn't need much to confirm what I'd always suspected. His name would never reach a police station. His father would protect him from everything, and so would mine. I hadn't expected anything different from my father. He'd already done everything he'd promised. He'd fired me, disinherited me, and cut me off from the family. Even so, it hurt knowing he was still speaking to Oliver as though nothing had happened after what he'd done to me. That was more than abandonment. It was betr

August's POV Isabelle gave me a strange look when I left the office and told her I needed to step out for a while. I didn't have time to explain. The place was nearby, so I walked, with the security guards following close behind. I wasn't stupid enough to meet Selena completely unprotected. She was already sitting there, waiting for me. She was still a beautiful woman. She wore elegant clothes, which suggested that her life had improved since the last time we'd spoken, when she was still working as a supermarket cashier. "Selena..." "August Salvatore. Always a pleasure to see you again." "What was so urgent that you needed to meet me?" I got straight to the point. I didn't have time for games. "I'm just passing through. I'm finally leaving the country. There's nothing like starting over somewhere new," she said with a calculated smile. "But before I go, I thought you'd want to know that Enzo is back. He called me asking for money. And before you ask... yes, he still wants

Diana's POV "I know it's the house. Why can't I take the blindfold off?" I asked, laughing. I still found it funny that Isaac had walked me to the car, blindfolded me, and promised me a surprise. "Don't ruin the surprise, sweetheart." I laughed again, adjusting the blindfold. I hadn't expected him to find a house so quickly. The drive took a while. Longer than I'd expected, which meant he'd chosen another neighborhood. I grew increasingly eager to find out where the surprise was. Isaac turned on some soft music and told me to relax. Ever since he'd mentioned his plans to buy another house, he'd been acting mysterious. Now I was certain this was what he wanted to show me. I just had no idea whether he intended to buy something already built, start from scratch, or renovate a property. Whenever I asked, he would smile and tell me I'd find out when the time was right. The car finally stopped. Isaac got out first, then opened my door and helped me out, guiding me a few steps

August's POV I entered the company and went straight up to my father's floor, trying to keep control of myself, but the suffocating sense of helplessness kept spreading through me. Isabelle had left that afternoon. Hours had already passed, and I still had no idea what had happened to her. Not a single clue. When the elevator stopped, I noticed the secretary had already left. Even so, I knew he was still there. My father always worked late, controlling everything and everyone. I opened the office door without knocking. He was exactly where I expected him to be, sitting behind his desk, calm and in control of an untouchable empire, believing himself untouchable as well. The little self-control I had left disappeared the moment he looked up and met my eyes. I had no more doubts. The man I called my father had ordered Isabelle and Isaac's deaths. Everything made sense now. The missing security guards, the perfectly executed robbery, the carefully orchestrated chaos. The pieces f

Isabelle's POV Time passed. Minutes, hours, perhaps even days. I no longer knew how to keep track. My head was spinning, thirst tormented me, my dry mouth burned, and my tears had long since dried up, leaving me in a state of numbness. Carl didn't just want to kill me. He wanted to torture me first. I thought about August. About the strange beginning of our relationship, so unconventional. The stolen moments, the love that had grown where it never should have. The marriage that had started as a lie and become real. An entire life we would never get to live. I'd wasted too much time believing there would always be a later. Now there would be nothing. The sound of the door opening made me flinch. "Did you like the revelation?" Carl asked with a satisfied smile. "I thought it would be unfair for you to leave this life without knowing. It was a brilliant plan. No one suspected a thing. Maybe Karen... but nothing that went beyond the limits of her imagination, especially when