Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thirty\u2013floor conference room of Wright Creatives offered a panoramic view of Chicago\u2019s skyline\u2013a view I now contemplated with disturbing clarity. The glass was spotless, revealing every detail of the dizzying drop to Michigan Avenue below.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThree days,\u201d I said, my voice steadier than my hands. \u2018I\u2019ll get you the eight million dollars in three days.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jonathan Wright\u2019s laugh cut through the tension like a rusty blade. \u201cCedar, your naivety would be charming if it weren\u2019t so pathetic. The contract is ready.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sign it now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if I don\u2019t?\u2018 I turned from the window to face my adoptive family. Elara Wright sat rigidly in her designer suit, while Selena lounged beside her,\u00a0<\/p>\n
examining her manicured nails with practiced indifference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jonathan stepped closer. \u201cThen you\u2019re finished in this industry. One call from me, and not even a strip mall would hire you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I moved toward the floor\u2013to\u2013ceiling window, placing my palm against the cool glass. \u201cIf you force me to sign this, I\u2019ll jump.\u201d The words escaped my mouth\u00a0<\/p>\n
before I could reconsider.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena snorted. \u201cDrama queen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean it.\u201d I surprised myself with how calm I sounded. \u2018I have no one. I\u2019m an orphan who\u2019s never known happiness. What exactly would I be losing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elara\u2019s lipstick\u2013coated mouth curved into a cruel smile. \u201cBy all means, dear. Allow me.\u201d She rose and walked to the window, unlatching it. The April wind\u00a0<\/p>\n
rushed in, whipping my hair across my face. \u201cThirty floors should be sufficient, don\u2019t you think?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at her, not expecting her to call my bluff so coldly. The woman who had claimed to raise me as her own was literally opening a door to my death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jonathan\u2019s face flushed crimson. *Enough of this nonsense!\u201d He grabbed a heavy crystal design award from his desk\u2013the Midwestern Interior Design\u00a0<\/p>\n
Excellence Award he\u2019d accepted last year for my Lakeshore Residence concept. \u201cYou ungrateful little-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He swung the award toward my head. I didn\u2019t have time to dodge. Just then, muffled footsteps and a child\u2019s voice echoed from the hallway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The conference room door burst open with a crash. A small figure hurled himself between us, arms outstretched protectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy! Are you okay?\u201d Oliver\u2019s voice was high with fear, his little body trembling but resolute as he faced Jonathan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart nearly stopped. \u2018Oliver! What are you doing here?\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena slammed the door shut, leaning against it with a triumphant smile. \u201cWell, well. If it isn\u2019t the little brat who ruined my shoes and bags.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver glared at her, his chin raised defiantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018So this is what you\u2019ve been hiding,\u201d Jonathan\u2019s voice turned dangerously quiet. \u201cNo wonder you\u2019ve been so desperate to leave us. A bastard child.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you dare talk about him like that,\u201d I pulled Oliver behind me, though he struggled to remain at my side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elara advanced toward us, her expression venomous. \u201cI always knew you were trash, Cedar. Spreading your legs for some man, then hiding his spawn\u2014*\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
3:50 pm M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 21\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGet away from him,\u201d I warned, backing us toward the wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s see what the little bastard\u2019s made of,\u201d Elara reached for Oliver, her red nails like talons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shoved her back harder than I intended, sending her stumbling into Jonathan\u2019s prized Barcelona chair. \u201cDon\u2019t touch him! Let him go, and I\u2019ll sign whatever\u00a0<\/p>\n
you want.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shameless whore!\u201d Elara steadied herself and lunged toward me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A sharp popping sound cut through the tension. Something small and hard struck Elara directly on her mouth. She screamed, touching her lip to find blood\u00a0<\/p>\n
on her fingertips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver stood with a small slingshot in his hand, another projectile\u2013what looked like a marble\u2013ready to fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t. Touch. My. Mommy. Each word was delivered with the cold precision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jonathan shouted into his phone, \u201cSecurity to my office, now!\u201d Within seconds, several guards rushed into the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With surprising agility, Oliver darted across the room toward me. Before I could react, he jumped up and pressed his small hands firmly over my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Don\u2019t look, Mommy,\u201d he whispered against my ear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I heard a series of sharp whistling sounds followed by pained shouts and heavy thuds. The guards\u2018 voices transformed from threatening growls to agonized groans. My heart raced wildly\u2013what was happening? What if Oliver got hurt?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOliver!\u201d I wrapped my arms around him protectively, still blinded by his hands. \u201cAre you okay? What\u2019s happening?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m fine,\u201d he replied calmly, slowly removing his hands from my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked, adjusting to the light, and gasped at the scene before me. All the security guards were on the floor, clutching various parts of their bodies\u2013legs,\u00a0<\/p>\n
arms, shoulders\u2013moaning in pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver\u2013showing none of the fear I felt coursing through my own body\u2013calmly climbed onto the conference table. His small sneakers left marks on the\u00a0<\/p>\n
polished mahogany that would have horrified me under normal circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just want money, right?\u201d Oliver\u2019s voice was unnervingly mature. \u201cIsn\u2019t that what grown\u2013ups always want?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He reached into his dinosaur backpack and pulled out an envelope. With a flick of his wrist worthy of a card dealer, he sent a check sailing through the air,\u00a0<\/p>\n
striking Selena squarely in the face before it fluttered to the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jonathan snatched it up, his eyes widening as he registered the amount.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEight million dollars,\u201d Oliver announced, as casually as if discussing his allowance. \u201cThat should cover Mommy\u2019s debt.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room fell silent. Jonathan stared at the check, then at Oliver, then at me\u2013his face cycling through shock, confusion, and calculation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho exactly is this child?\u201d he finally asked, waving the check. \u201cWho is his father?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver hopped down from the table and took my hand. Then he glared at Jonathan. \u201cThat\u2019s none of your business.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver\u2026 my God\u2026 you\u2026\u201d I couldn\u2019t form a complete sentence, shock making my voice tremble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 21\u00a0<\/p>\n
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Oliver would be the one to rescue me, bringing eight million dollars no less! I bent down to lift him up, feeling my legs slightly unsteady beneath me. I needed time\u2013a lot of time\u2013to process everything that had happened in these few chaotic minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I held Oliver tightly against me, feeling the warmth of his small body like the only lifeline in a storm. Right now, the most important thing was to get out of this place. Once we were safe, I could slowly ask Oliver what this was all about.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I carried him toward the door, leaving the other three still frozen in shock in the office. I didn\u2019t look back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Uninished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 21 Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0 The thirty\u2013floor conference room […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zero-stars-for-daddy-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30420\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}