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Mia

Mia barely made it through the workday. Every second felt like a countdown to disaster, each glance from Eleanor like a silent warning.

She knew.

Eleanor Sinclair knew who she was.

And worse… she suspected the truth about Liam.

Mia gripped the edges of her desk, her knuckles turning white. She had spent years making sure no one could trace her back to Adrian, carefully building a new life from the ashes of her old one. Yet, in a matter of days, it was crumbling.

She had to be careful.

She had to be smart.

But how could she do that when Eleanor was always watching?

Just as she exhaled, a message popped up on her work phone.

"Dinner. Tonight. 8 PM. Don't be late. – ES"

Mia's stomach dropped.

Dinner? With Eleanor?

That wasn't a request. That was a command.

Her hands trembled as she set the phone down. What was the older woman planning? Would she corner Mia with questions she couldn't answer? Would she outright accuse her?

And the worst thought of all—would Adrian be there?

She couldn't let that happen.

Not yet.

Not until she figured out her next move.

Adrian

Adrian had been in Everdale for less than twenty-four hours, yet something felt… off.

His grandmother had barely spoken about the company, despite claiming that was why she had summoned him here. Instead, she watched him carefully, like she was waiting for him to piece something together.

And then there was the assistant—Emily Hayes.

The moment he saw her name, a strange feeling settled in his chest.

He hadn't met her yet, but for some reason, something about her name gnawed at him. It was nothing like the name he had been chasing for years—Mia—but he couldn't shake the unease.

He was lost in thought when Caleb, his most trusted friend and investigator, walked into the hotel room.

Caleb shut the door behind him, his expression grim.

"I have something," he said.

Adrian's pulse quickened. "What?"

Caleb handed him a folder. "It's about Emily Hayes."

Adrian's brows furrowed as he flipped it open. Inside was a basic employee file—birth date, address, work history. All perfectly normal.

Too normal.

There were no records of her before seven years ago.

No family. No past addresses. Nothing.

A cold realization swept through him.

She didn't exist before seven years ago.

His breath caught.

That was the exact timeframe of when Mia disappeared.

Adrian clenched his jaw. He wasn't a fool. He knew when someone was hiding something.

And if his instincts were right, then Emily Hayes was more than just a new name.

She was a ghost.

A ghost of the past he'd never been able to let go.

Mia

The restaurant Eleanor had chosen was suffocatingly elegant. Every detail—from the dim lighting to the expensive wine—felt carefully selected to put her off balance.

Eleanor sat across from her, graceful as ever, sipping from a crystal glass.

For the first twenty minutes, the conversation was surface-level. Work. The company. The importance of discipline.

Then, Eleanor set her glass down with a soft clink.

"You've worked hard to build a new life for yourself, haven't you?"

Mia stiffened.

Eleanor's smile was polite, but her eyes were sharp. "Emily Hayes."

Mia forced herself to remain calm. "I don't know what you mean."

Eleanor hummed, tilting her head. "Of course you do. A woman like you doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Not without reason."

Mia's fingers curled under the table. "I just wanted a fresh start."

Eleanor leaned in slightly. "And why would you need one?"

Mia swallowed hard.

Every word, every movement, felt like a test.

One wrong step, and she'd fall.

Then, Eleanor's next words sent ice down her spine.

"You know, my grandson has been searching for a woman for seven years."

Mia's blood ran cold.

"Someone who disappeared the morning after a very… intimate night," Eleanor continued, watching her reaction closely.

Mia forced herself to breathe evenly. "That's unfortunate."

Eleanor's lips twitched. "Isn't it?"

Silence hung between them, thick with unspoken truths.

Then Eleanor took another sip of her wine. "You should be careful, Miss Hayes."

Mia's heart pounded. "Why is that?"

Eleanor smiled. But there was no warmth in it. Only steel.

"Secrets have a way of unraveling when the right hands start pulling the threads."

Mia's fingers trembled beneath the table.

She needed to get out of here.

She needed to leave Everdale before it was too late.

Because Eleanor wasn't just suspicious anymore.

She knew.

And now, it was only a matter of time before Adrian did too.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Pieces of the Puzzle

Mia barely made it through the next few days.

Every second under Eleanor Sinclair's watchful gaze felt like a countdown to disaster. She could tell the woman was testing her, throwing subtle remarks about Liam's features, about her past, about "coincidences" that were too precise to be ignored.

Mia knew Eleanor suspected something.

But the older woman wasn't reckless. No, Eleanor was a strategist. She wouldn't strike until she had undeniable proof.

And Mia couldn't let that happen.

So, she kept her head down, forced smiles, and pretended nothing was wrong.

But something was.

Adrian was lingering.

He was supposed to have left Everdale already, but he hadn't. He showed up at headquarters every morning, his presence like a storm cloud she couldn't ignore.

He didn't even try to hide his curiosity. Whenever they crossed paths, she could feel his gaze linger, like he was trying to pull apart the pieces of a puzzle.

And worst of all—he had started asking questions.

Adrian

There was something off about Emily Hayes.

Adrian wasn't sure what it was, but he couldn't shake the feeling.

He had spent the last week trying to figure it out—watching, listening, studying her the way he would an opponent in the boardroom.

And the more he observed, the more unsettled he became.

She avoided him.

Not in an obvious way, but it was there—in the way she never met his eyes for too long, in the way she took different hallways when she thought he wasn't looking.

And then there was the child.

Liam.

The moment Adrian heard the boy's name, something in his chest twisted. It could have been a coincidence. It should have been a coincidence.

But it didn't feel like one.

Liam had the same dark hair, the same sharp features that felt eerily familiar.

And then Adrian caught a glimpse of his eyes.

A cold rush shot through him.

Because Liam's eyes… they were the same color as his.

That night, Adrian barely slept. He sat in his penthouse, staring at old photos of himself as a child, then back at the picture he had secretly taken of Liam at the daycare.

The resemblance was undeniable.

But was it possible?

Could Emily Hayes really be her?

Could Liam be his son?

And if so… why had she run?

Why had she kept his child from him for seven years?

Adrian clenched his jaw, his grip tightening around the glass in his hand.

He needed answers.

And he was going to get them.

No matter what it took.

Mia

The moment she stepped into work the next day, she knew something was wrong.

The air was charged, the tension palpable. People whispered in corners, stealing glances at her as she passed.

Her stomach twisted.

And then she saw him.

Adrian Sinclair, standing outside Eleanor's office, his hands shoved into his pockets, his jaw clenched tight.

Waiting for her.

Mia's pulse spiked.

She could turn back. She could walk away, make an excuse, anything to delay the inevitable.

But before she could move, his voice cut through the hallway.

"Emily."

She froze.

Slowly, she turned, forcing herself to meet his gaze.

His storm-gray eyes were unreadable, but she could feel the weight of his stare—heavy, relentless, demanding.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice.

"We need to talk."

Mia's breath caught.

This was it.

She wasn't sure if he had figured everything out yet, but one thing was certain:

Adrian Sinclair wasn't going to stop until he knew the truth.

And Mia wasn't sure she could keep lying for much longer.

Y