There are moments in our lives—crossroad moments—that change everything through the convergence of destiny and choice. Moments when one must decide to proceed in the same direction or change course. Liam getting shot wasn't that moment. But, the seventy-two hours before the shooting—at the charity benefit when Aleksei handed Eden the ring box—now, that was a crossroad moment, the converging point when their fate collided with their decisions. The minute she looked inside and saw the bullet, she knew she'd opened Pandora's box and released all the misery and evil into their lives, and Liam's feud with the Ivanovs would only end in grief and bloodshed. Now, as Jace and Aaron raced her to the Medi Clinic in Glen Eagles, where Liam was taken by an emergency services helicopter, Eden was well aware she'd been presented with another crossroad moment—she could either curl up and die from despair or hope and pray that the God she hadn't talked to in years miraculously comes through for her

The ride back to the penthouse was very different from their trip to the hospital earlier. Both Jace and Aaron were now chatting away quietly in the front while the DJ on Jacaranda FM kept them all awake with back to back hits from the 80s or maybe 90s. "You must be so relieved, Ma'am," Aaron said and lowered the volume even more. "It's Eden, Aaron. I'll have to call you, Sir, if you insist on this 'ma'am' business. And yes, I'm very relieved." "That's good," Jace nodded, his head brushing lightly on the headrest, "You can sleep easily tonight." "That's the plan," she agreed. But she didn't sleep easy. In fact, she didn't sleep at all. She was restless half the night, and after checking on Aiden for the umpteenth time, she dug through the laundry hamper and pulled out one of Liam's used shirts, she missed him something awful tonight, and she needed his scent all around her. With nothing to do and all this time on her hands, Ede

Whoever said the wheels of justice turn slowly clearly hadn't met Clarke Anderson. In the days following his only son's shooting, together with his security team, he fought like a gladiator to bring Aleksei to book. But since half, the police force was on the Ivanovs' payroll, and without actual proof and witnesses, getting the one half of the Russian mob behind bars proved to be a difficult feat. Finding the gun that almost ended his son's life was a bit of a stretch; Clarke was well aware of that. However, he did try to locate the waitstaff and bartender present at the time of the shooting. Other than James and his team, they were the only other witnesses. But, like most people where the mob is concerned, they all refused to talk, insisting they knew nothing and saw nothing on the day of the incident. Clarke's only hope was gaining access to the security footage, and if it wasn't for Liam's history with the racetrack company, he would have hit anoth

Eden didn't waste another second after Liam's parents called to let her know he was awake. She saw her friends off and locked up her house. Back at the penthouse, a collective sigh of relief swept through the room when she updated Brenda and Dave and the rest of the housekeeping staff on Liam's progress. She could swear someone had lifted the eighteen-wheeler they'd all been carrying around over the past several days. "I have to run," Eden said as she gave Aiden a quick smooch before setting off to see Liam. "You're not taking the little one?" Dave asked. "I'll take him this evening when I drop off Liam's clothes and other stuff he'll need," she explained. Dave nodded and saw her out, locking the door behind him. Half an hour later, she was at the hospital, and Jace insisted on escorting her to Liam's ward, but she declined. She'd been there so many times now she could easily find her way around. "We'll be waiting for you," her

Later that evening, when Eden walked into Liam's ward with Aiden in her arms, she was surprised to find him clean-shaven and fully clothed in joggers, sneakers and a hoodie as if he was ready to go somewhere. "Dad!" Aiden shrieked with joy as soon as he saw his father rolling around the room in a wheelchair. Liam roared right back at him, his voice thundering through the room as he opened his arms. "Kool-Aid!" Eden set their son down, and he ran to his father. Liam scooped him up despite his visible agony but yelped out in pain when he tried to throw him up in the air. Eden was instantly at his side, worry dancing in her eyes, the travel bag in her hands falling at her feet with a dull thud. Aiden, too, look just as concerned. "I'm okay," Liam assured them, but the anguish on his face told a different story. "Why are you even out of bed?" Eden scolded him, much to Aiden's disapproval. "Mom, no!" He shook his hea