The night stretched across the city like a scar.
In Sarah's apartment, the curtains were half-drawn, letting in a pale, trembling light. Silence ruled the room, heavy and alive. Standing by the window, Eric watched the rain slash against the glass, his reflection fractured by streaks of water. Behind him, Sarah sat on the couch, her shoulders trembling faintly, her gaze lost somewhere between fear and longing.
Their hands had brushed countless times before without daring to linger. But tonight, there were no barriers left. No masks, no distance. Only the exhaustion of two people who had fought too long against what they truly felt.
"Do you regret it?" Eric's voice was low, almost hesitant.
Sarah lifted her head. Her eyes shimmered — a fragile mix of defiance and truth.
"No," she said softly. "That would be a lie. But I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"Of myself. Of what I become when I'm with you."
A sad smile crossed his lips. "You become alive, Sarah."
She turned away. Inside, her emotions collided like storm waves — desire, guilt, the instinct to protect Clara, and the creeping fear of public scandal.
Everything she had rebuilt after her divorce balanced on a fragile thread. One misstep, and it could all collapse.
Then — three sharp knocks echoed through the quiet.
Sarah froze. Eric turned toward the door, frowning.
"Are you expecting someone?"
"No."
She hesitated, then walked toward the entrance. The moment she opened the door, her breath caught in her throat.
Laurent.
Her ex-husband stood there, drenched from the rain, his face drawn, his smile a twisted reflection of bitterness and spite.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," he said smoothly. "But it seems the past is making itself comfortable here."
Sarah felt her pulse spike. Behind her, Eric stepped into the hallway, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"You should leave, Laurent," Eric said calmly.
"Oh really?" Laurent laughed, a hollow, poisonous sound. "Walk away and let you two keep playing house? You think no one knows? That all of this will stay between four walls?"
"I won't let you destroy what we're trying to rebuild," Sarah said, her voice trembling but resolute.
Laurent stepped closer. "Rebuild? You're delusional, Sarah. You lied, you stole years of my life, and now you're pretending to be the loving woman again? Please."
Eric moved forward, standing between them. "Enough. If you want to talk about business or defamation, do it through my lawyers. But you don't come here."
Laurent smirked. "The moral speech of a saintly CEO. You think your name erases what you've done? You're a man who broke a family, hid a child, ruined careers. I wonder what the media would say if they learned that Clara—"
"Don't say her name," Sarah snapped, her tone cold as steel.
Silence fell.
Laurent's smirk deepened — he'd found his target.
"So it's true," he whispered. "I knew it. Clara is your daughter, Eric."
Eric said nothing, but his clenched jaw spoke volumes.
Sarah's chest tightened; she stepped forward, fury trembling through her words.
"You think you hold power, Laurent? You don't. What you call a revelation is just another betrayal. You've already lost everything — and that's why you want to burn what's left."
For a brief instant, something human flickered in Laurent's eyes — pain, regret — then it was gone, swallowed by resentment.
"You're right," he murmured. "I have nothing left. So watch closely, Sarah… because I'm not leaving quietly."
He pulled a USB drive from his pocket and placed it on the console by the door.
"What you refuse to face, I'll expose to the world."
Then he turned and walked away, leaving behind a silence that felt like smoke after an explosion.
Sarah stood frozen, her breath uneven. Eric approached and laid a steady hand on her shoulder.
"We won't let him do this," he said quietly.
Tears welled in her eyes. "It's over, Eric. He's already won."
"No," he replied, his tone firm. "He hasn't won anything as long as we stand together."
---
By morning, the storm had broken.
"Helix in Family Scandal: CEO Eric Darson Linked to a Fifteen-Year Secret."
The headline blazed across every major paper.
Sarah stared at the front page, her hands trembling. Her name. Eric's name. Even Clara's. The world now knew.
She felt something collapse inside her — but beneath the wreckage, something else began to stir: resolve.
No more hiding. No more shame.
This time, she would face the fire — not to protect her reputation, but to protect her family.