EVA'S POV
"Drive faster!" I scream at the driver.
My hands won't stop shaking. The photo burns in my mind—Bella asleep in her bedroom. Someone was in my house. Someone photographed my daughter.
"Eva, breathe." Dominic grabs my hand. "We'll get there. She's safe. Nadia's with her."
But what if she's not? What if right now, someone is—
I can't finish the thought. I dial Nadia's number. It rings once. Twice. Three times.
"Pick up, pick up, pick up," I whisper.
Finally: "Hey, boss. What's wrong?"
Relief floods through me so hard I almost cry. "Is Bella okay? Check on her. Right now!"
"What? Eva, you're scaring me—"
"Just check on her! Please!"
I hear rustling. Footsteps. A door opening. Then Nadia's voice, softer: "She's fine. Still asleep. Hugging her bunny. What happened?"
I close my eyes. She's safe. My baby is safe.
"Someone sent me a photo of her. Someone was in the penthouse."
Dominic swears in British. Nadia's voice turns hard. "I'm checking security footage right now. Cameras, locks, everything. Nobody's getting near her."
"I'm coming home."
"No." Nadia's tone is firm. "You stay at the gala. Act normal. Don't let whoever sent that message know they scared you. I've got Bella. I promise."
She's right. If I run home panicking, whoever's watching wins. They'll know my weakness.
But Bella is my weakness. She's everything.
"Lock the doors," I say. "All of them. And Nadia? Sleep in her room tonight."
"Already planning on it. Now go finish what you started."
The call ends. I stare at my phone. The threatening message is still there: Pretty daughter you have, Evangeline. Bella, right? She looks so sweet sleeping in her pink bedroom. Would be a shame if someone told Adrian the truth.
Someone knows. Someone knows I'm Eva Cross. Someone knows about Bella.
Who?
"We should leave Manhattan," Dominic says quietly. "Tonight. I can have us on a plane to London in two hours."
"No." My voice is steel. "I didn't come back here to run away again."
"Eva—"
"Someone's trying to scare me. Trying to make me leave. Which means my revenge is working." I straighten my spine. "I'm not going anywhere."
The car pulls up to my building. Security guards nod as we pass. Everything looks normal. But someone got past them. Someone got to Bella.
The elevator ride feels like forever. When the doors open to my penthouse, Nadia's waiting with a gun.
"Jesus!" Dominic jumps back.
"Sorry." Nadia doesn't lower the weapon. "Not taking chances tonight."
I run to Bella's room. She's exactly as Nadia said—asleep, peaceful, hugging her stuffed bunny. Her dark hair spreads across the pillow. Her little chest rises and falls steadily.
I kneel beside her bed. Kiss her forehead. "Mama's here, baby," I whisper. "Nobody's going to hurt you. I promise."
But how can I promise that? Someone found us. Someone knows.
Back in the living room, Nadia has her laptop open. "Security footage shows nothing. No breaks in. No strangers. Whoever took that photo either hacked our cameras or..."
"Or what?"
"Or they took it a while ago. Could be an old photo. Sent tonight to scare you."
Maybe. But that doesn't make me feel better.
My phone rings. Unknown number. Same one that sent the photo.
My heart stops. "Hello?"
Heavy breathing. Then a voice—distorted, mechanical: "Did you miss me, Evangeline?"
"Who is this?"
"Someone who knows all your secrets. Someone who watched you five years ago. Someone who's been watching ever since."
Ice runs through my veins. "What do you want?"
"I want you to remember what happens when you fight the Thorne family. They destroy people. They destroyed you once. They'll do it again."
"The Thornes don't scare me anymore."
Laughter—cold, cruel. "They should. Especially now that Adrian knows you're alive. How long until he finds out about sweet little Bella?"
"Stay away from my daughter!"
"Then stay away from Adrian. Leave Manhattan. Disappear again. Or everyone will know the truth. Including him."
The call ends.
I throw my phone across the room. It hits the wall and cracks.
"Eva!" Dominic rushes over. "What did they say?"
"They want me gone." My hands curl into fists. "They think they can threaten my daughter and I'll run."
"Maybe you should—"
"No!" I spin to face him. "I ran five years ago. I was pregnant, broken, and scared. But I'm not that woman anymore. Whoever this is, they're going to learn that Eva Cross doesn't run. Not anymore."
Nadia grins. "That's my boss."
But Dominic looks worried. "Eva, if someone's threatening Bella—"
"Then I end this faster." I pace the room. "Someone doesn't want me near Adrian. Which means being near Adrian hurts them. Good."
My backup phone buzzes. An email from an unknown sender. No subject line.
I open it.
It's a video file. My finger hovers over play. Should I? What if it's something terrible?
I press play.
The video shows Adrian. Tonight. At the gala. After I left. He's standing alone in a corner, looking destroyed. Then he pulls out his phone and types something.
The video zooms in on his screen. He's sending a message: Please. Just talk to me. Five minutes. I know I don't deserve it, but please. I need to explain.
He's messaging me.
The video continues. Shows him watching me across the room. Shows the exact moment I got the threatening text. Shows my face going white. My glass shattering.
Shows Adrian's face—real concern. Real fear. He starts pushing through the crowd toward me.
The video ends.
A new message appears: He still loves you. And that makes him dangerous. End this, or we end you.
My phone rings again. Different number. This time, I recognize it—Adrian's personal cell. How did he get my number?
Against every instinct, I answer. "What?"
"Eva." His voice cracks. "I just got a photo. A little girl. She has my eyes."
My world stops spinning.
"Is she
mine?" Adrian whispers. "Please. Tell me the truth. Do I have a daughter?"