Legally Not Yours

The Start of The Investigation

POV: Jared Connors

I wasn’t used to feeling powerless, but watching my father lying unconscious in a hospital bed, knowing Carlson was sitting at his desk, that made something twist inside me in a way I’d never felt before.

Rage. Guilt. Focus. It was time to stop reacting and start taking control.

I met Reed Lincon in a quiet, underground cigar bar just outside city limits. It was the kind of place where billionaires made enemies disappear and scandals got rewritten as PR miracles.

Reed had been doing work for the Connors family for years. Discreet, brilliant, a ghost in a world of loud egos.

I slid the thick envelope of retainer cash across the table and he slid me a burner phone in return.

“What’s the target?” he asked.

“Two of them,” I said. “Carlson Connors. And Eva Rosewood.”

Reed lifted an eyebrow. “That’s your brother, Jared.”

“I know.”

“And that’s Leah’s—”

“I know.”

He waited. Sharp and silent.

“I don’t need them dead,” I said flatly. “I need them exposed. Quietly. Completely.”

He leaned forward. “What’s the suspicion?”

“They’re working together. Carlson’s rise to power was too fast. Too clean. Too staged. And Eva? She showed up the second Leah got close to my father.”

“Romantic involvement?” he asked.

“Pretended, maybe. Strategic, definitely.”

“And you want surveillance?”

“Surveillance. Financial tracking. Messaging. Social. The whole web. I want to know where they go, what they say, who they talk to, and where the hell Jeff’s missing car ended up after his accident.”

Reed frowned. “That’s not public knowledge.”

“Exactly,” I muttered. “They’re covering something. Father’s accident wasn’t random. Find out what they’re hiding.”

We spent the next hour going over logistics.

Tailing Carlson’s driver. Pulling security footage from Eva’s last five visits to the firm. Background checks. Banking inconsistencies. Every slip they didn’t think we’d notice.

Reed was meticulous and good at his job. .

“I’ll set up a shadow team,” he said. “One for her. One for him. They’ll cross-check movement, contact, and communications. If they’re meeting off-record, we’ll know. And if they’re moving money, forging anything, we’ll catch it.”

“Good,” I said. “I want something solid. Something that brings them both down—legally, publicly, permanently.”

“You want a nuke,” Reed said.

“I want justice.”

I walked back to my car alone. The city was quiet, soaked in fog and red brake lights. For once, I didn’t feel the pressure in my chest.

Because this time I had a plan.

Back at my apartment, Leah was curled up on the sofa, flipping through a case binder. When she saw me, she straightened.

“Where were you?” She looked worried and I smiled at her, giving her a sense of assurance.

“Meeting the ghost that’s going to take down your ex-fiancé and your charming excuse for a mother.” Her eyes widened. “I hired Reed.”

She nodded slowly. “Good.”

I sat beside her.

“They won’t see it coming,” I said. “We’re going to follow them, trace them, and pull the curtain back in front of every shareholder, every board member, every lawyer. I’m going to crush him, Leah.”

“We,” she corrected softly. “We’re going to crush them.” I looked at her.

“Together?” I asked as I sat beside her.

She climbed into my lap, wrapping her legs around my body.

Her voice was steel. “We’re going to take them down together, Jared.”

And for the first time in months, I finally felt like I wasn’t fighting alone.

Leah's lips pressed gently against mine, her tongue teasing the edge of my lower lip. Her arms snaked around my neck, fingers curling in my hair.

I grasped the bottom of her oversized hoodie and pulled it over my head, exposing her bare skin against mine. Her teeth grazed my lip, a playful bite forcing me to break the kiss.

"Why are you rushing?" she asked, her gaze locked on mine as her slender fingers moved to the buttons on my shirt, deftly undoing each one with deliberate slowness.

"I miss you and your body," I replied, our eyes never breaking contact.

"Really?" She looked down between us, smirking as she noticed my gaze roaming over her breasts, the curve of her hips.

My hands moved to gently cup her full breasts, feeling their weight in my palms before I leaned down and traced the outer edges of her nipples with the tip of my tongue.

Leah gasped softly, an involuntary moan escaping her lips as they tightened around each other.

"I'm already so wet," she whispered into my ear as she pulled back enough to slide down my body, her slender legs straddling me while she unzipped my pants and teased me through the fabric. "I want you inside of me now. I want you to take me hard."

The sound of fabric sliding against skin filled the room as Leah worked to free me from my jeans.

My pulse quickened at the sensation of cool air surrounding me but it was nothing compared to the heat I felt when she wrapped her hand around me, guiding me into position. She looked up at me with a wicked smile before taking me into her warm mouth.

"Fuck," I gasped at the unexpected pleasure that shot through me.

With a sultry grin and eyes that burned with desire, she released me from her mouth and whispered, "Now fuck me, Jared."