To Start Over (Book 1)

One Hour

Olivia's POV

The laughter felt strange after everything we'd been through. It wasn't fake, just fragile, as if our relief might shatter at the slightest touch. My smile trembled, my throat tight with leftover fear. I could feel the tension humming beneath our laughter, the ghost of anguish still lurking.

We were in the greenhouse again. The warm scent of soil and jasmine wrapped around us like a memory of peace. Sebastian sat beside me, one arm lazily draped around my shoulder, his body angled toward mine like I was gravity itself. Vince leaned back on a bench, sipping from a bottle of sparkling cider with a rare smile tugging at his lips. Evelyn stood near the glass, her arms crossed, but her eyes softer than I'd seen in days.

We were alive. We'd won, for now.

The cyberattack had worked better than we imagined. Evelyn's exposé, laced with data Vince and Sebastian had pulled, spread like wildfire. Screens across the country lit up with Lawrence's name, no longer spoken with reverence, but disgust. The children, those names on that cursed list, were finally being mourned in public. Families who had spent years in silence and confusion were now demanding answers.

Lawsuits were being filed. Protests ignited. His career was going up in flames.

And just when I thought we could finally breathe, just as I leaned in to kiss Sebastian and brushed my nose against his while his hand slid up my back, I felt my phone buzz against my thigh.

I ignored it at first. I didn't want the moment to end.

He kissed my forehead and whispered something soft, but I didn't even hear because the second buzz was harder to ignore. I slipped the phone out and glanced down, my breath catching.

UNREGISTERED SENDER "We both lost people, Olivia. Maybe it's time to talk instead of fighting. Let's make a deal. I can give you what you want. Come alone."

My chest tightened. My thumb trembled above the screen. I didn't believe it. I couldn't.

"Liv?" Sebastian's voice was low, concerned.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but another message appeared. A video clip. I tapped it before I could stop myself.

The image showed a battered agent we'd seen before. It was Cole's former security advisor, now clearly beaten and chained. He looked at the camera and spoke in a whisper.

"Jonathan Patterson wants to talk. He's calling a ceasefire. One hour. Coordinates attached. Olivia only."

"Liv?" Sebastian asked again, sitting up straighter now.

But just as I was about to show him, another ping came through.

"Don't tell him. Or he dies."

I stared at those words for a full ten seconds. My stomach dropped, and my mouth went dry. My mind raced through possibilities. What if this was just another trap? But the hostage was real. And Jonathan Patterson... Sebastian's father. The man who had orchestrated all of this from the shadows.

I looked at Sebastian. His blue eyes searched mine, and I knew he saw it: the shift. The lie I was about to tell. He had the same eyes as his father, but filled with warmth instead of calculation. How could I tell him that the man who shared his blood wanted to make a deal? That the father who had abandoned him years ago was now using me as bait?

"I... need some air," I whispered.

I stood, legs trembling like jelly, barely supporting myself. Eve raised an eyebrow at me, concern flickering behind her steady gaze, but I shook my head sharply before she could speak. My heart pounded with panic, and I couldn't let them see.