(Emery’s POV)
The safehouse was in the middle of nowhere.
An old lake house with creaky floors, boarded-up windows, and no cell service unless you climbed a tree.
James had arranged it.
No cameras. No trails. No questions.
Just silence.
For once, Emery didn’t hate it.
She stood on the deck, one hand on her belly, the other wrapped in Luca’s hoodie, the lake stretching endless and grey in front of her.
Peace was rare these days.
So she took it, even if it only lasted until morning.
⸻
The footage had gone public two nights before.
Emery hadn’t watched it.
She didn’t need to.
The backlash was instant:
• Dean Ashcroft stepped down, citing “health issues.”
• Blake was dropped by every brand she’d partnered with.
• Wyatt Caldwell’s name was scrubbed from the Halston endowment pa
