Chapter 324

Josh's Point of View

The nightmares returned last night. Faces from my past, screams in dark alleys, blood on my hands that no amount of success could wash away. I jolted awake in my mansion suite, sheets tangled around me, heart pounding against my ribs.

My phone showed three missed calls from Helena. She'd been pushing lately, suggesting it was time to come clean about my history. But how could I? How could I tell Sara that her manager, the man she'd begun to trust, once...

A knock interrupted my dark thoughts. "Uncle Josh?" Mia's voice carried through the door. "Are you having bad dreams again?"

I quickly pulled on a shirt before opening the door. All four quadruplets stood there in their pajamas, concerned faces tilted up at me.

"We heard you shouting," Sam explained.

"Like when Mommy has nightmares about the prison fire," Leo added.

My heart squeezed. These innocent children had no idea what kind of man they'd welcomed into their family. "I'm fine, just working too hard."

"Liar." Mia's accusation came with a hug around my legs. "Grandma Helena says everyone has shadows in their heart. Even princes."

If they only knew how dark my shadows were.

"Come on," James tugged my hand. "Aunty Sara makes special hot chocolate when we're scared. She's already in the kitchen."

Before I could protest, they were dragging me downstairs. Sara stood at the stove in silk pajamas and a fluffy robe, stirring something that smelled like heaven.

"Another recruit for the midnight comfort club?" She smiled, but concern shadowed her eyes when she saw my face. "Kids, why don't you take your cocoa to the movie room? Put on that new princess film."

The children grabbed their mugs eagerly, but Mia paused at the door. "Don't forget to kiss his nightmares away, Aunty Sara. That's how Mommy fixes Daddy's bad dreams."

Heat crept up my neck as they scampered away. Sara busied herself making fresh cocoa, pretending not to notice my discomfort.

"Want to talk about it?" she asked quietly.

Yes. No. God, how I wanted to unburden myself, to trust her with my darkest secrets. But the mere thought of seeing disgust replace that gentle concern in her eyes...

"Just old ghosts," I managed.

She placed a mug in front of me, her fingers brushing mine. "We all have those."

"Not like mine." The words slipped out before I could stop them.

"Try me." She settled beside me, close enough that her warmth beckoned. "After everything with my parents, I'm hardly in position to judge anyone's past."

If only she knew. "Sara..."

"You don't have to tell me everything," she said softly. "But maybe start with why you're afraid to sleep? Why Helena keeps giving you those meaningful looks when people mention your history?"

My hands tightened around the mug. "Some things are better left buried."

"Are they? Or do they just fester and poison everything good in your life?"

Like how they're poisoning any chance of us being together, her eyes seemed to say.

A noise from the hallway made me tense, old instincts flaring. But it was just my mom, elegant even at this hour in a silk dressing gown.

"More nightmares?" she asked, though her tone suggested she already knew.

I nodded stiffly.

"Perhaps it's time," she said carefully, "to stop running from shadows."

"Mom..."

"That detective called again," she continued, ignoring my warning tone. "About the cold case."

Sara straightened beside me. "What cold case?"

"Nothing," I said quickly. "Ancient history."

"From the street gang days," Mom pressed. "They're reopening some files from that period."

Ice filled my veins. "Those files were sealed."

"Times change. Evidence surfaces." Helena's eyes held mine. "Better to face it on your terms than wait for others to expose it."

Sara's hand found mine under the counter. "Whatever it is, Josh, we can handle it. Together."

The simple touch nearly broke me. I pulled away, standing abruptly. "No. You don't understand what I was. What I did to survive."

"Then help me understand."

"You can't!" The words exploded from me. "You think your parents' crimes were bad? At least they had reasons, twisted as they were. I just... I did things. Terrible things. Because I was good at it. Because it was easier than starving."

Silence fell heavy in the kitchen. Sara stared at me with those trusting eyes that haunted my dreams for different reasons than the old ghosts.

"Josh." Mom's voice gentled. "She deserves to know. Before someone else tells her."

"Like Victoria?" Sara asked quietly. "Is that what you're afraid of? That she'll dig up your past next?"

The thought hadn't occurred to me, but now it sent fresh panic through my system. Victoria's vendetta against Sara could easily extend to those close to her.

"I should resign," I said numbly. "Distance myself before-"

"No." Sara stood, fierce determination replacing concern. "You don't get to run away. Not now. Not after everything."

"Sara-"

"Whatever you did," she stepped closer, "whatever you're running from - it can't be worse than watching you torture yourself like this."

Her hand reached for my face. I caught her wrist before she could touch me, but couldn't make myself let go.

"Trust me," she whispered. "Like I trust you."

For a moment, I wavered. The weight of secrets felt suddenly unbearable against the lightness of possibility in her eyes.

Then my phone buzzed, a message from an unknown number. The preview made my blood freeze:

"Remember Danny's Bar? Time to pay old debts."

I released Sara's wrist like it burned. "I have to go."

"Josh, wait..."

But I was already moving, fleeing the warmth of the kitchen and Sara's offered understanding. Behind me, I heard Helena explaining something in low tones.

In my room, I stared at the message that threatened everything I'd built. Danny's Bar, where it all started. Where I first learned how easy it was to cross lines that could never be uncrossed.

My phone buzzed again. Sara: "Whatever you're facing, you don't have to face it alone."

If only she knew. If only I could believe that her love - because that's what I saw in her eyes, even if neither of us had named it - could survive the truth.

But some shadows were too dark for even love to illuminate.

Wasn't they?