CHAPTER 9
The rain started just after midnight.
Sophia stood by the penthouse window, watching the city blur beneath silver streaks. Manhattan looked untouchable from this height.
Powerful.
Controlled.
But tonight, she felt exposed.
Behind her, Ethan ended a call with security.
“Liam is home. Guards posted. School routes changed.”
She nodded without turning.
“Olivia?” she asked.
“Silent.”
“That’s worse.”
He didn’t argue.
Silence from Olivia Harrington never meant surrender.
It meant calculation.
Ethan walked toward her slowly.
“You’re thinking about something.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
Sophia hesitated.
For six years, she had carried the weight alone.
The truth.
The moment everything shattered.
“I didn’t leave because I wanted to,” she said finally.
Ethan’s jaw tightened s
