Chapter 8

Lucian

The drive back to the penthouse from her apartment was carried out in silence.

Beside me, Amelia sat pressed flat against the passenger door, staring out the window as the afternoon sun flickered across her pale face. She held that cardboard box tightly against her lap, her knuckles white, her posture so stiff I thought she might break at any second.

She thought she had won.

She thought that by slamming a door in my face, dropping a few tears, and begging for ten minutes of privacy, she had pulled the wool over my eyes. She thought she was clever.

She had no idea that my security team watched every inch of that back alley.

I adjusted my suit jacket, my fingers sliding down to tap the screen of my phone. Marcus had sent the video file three minutes after we pulled away from the curb.

I unlocked the phone, keeping the screen hidden from Amelia, and played the file.

The feed was crisp and clear.

The door at the foot of the back entrance swung open. Her short-haired friend, Maya, stepped out, looking frantically over her shoulder as she hurried down the steps. And holding Maya’s hand was a small child.

He looked like a four-year-old boy.

He was wearing a red hoodie with the hood pulled over his head, hiding his face completely as Maya rushed him down the steps. He wore a tiny backpack slung over his shoulders and blue plastic sneakers. As Maya pulled him toward a waiting yellow cab, the boy kept his head down, his face hidden in the shadow of his hood.

I paused the video, staring at the frozen frame of the child being pushed into the back seat of the cab.

I couldn't see his face. I couldn't see his features. But I didn't need to see his face to figure it out.

The child was four years old.

My mind went straight through Amelia Thorne's background file.

Five years ago. November.

Before Amelia Thorne signed on with my event planning firm, and before her family defaulted on their loans... She had a boyfriend.

Carter Vance.

An arrogant scion from a well-off family—though Amelia had spent years supporting him through college, only to catch him cheating on the very day of their graduation. Which, by a bitter twist of fate, coincidentally matched the same day I caught my own ex-girlfriend in bed with another man.

According to her public records, their messy breakup had occurred right around late October or early November, immediately following graduation—exactly five years ago.

A dark, venomous heat exploded in my chest, burning through my veins like poison.

Carter Vance's son.

The timeline was clear.

She hadn't kept a nephew's toy in her purse for good luck. She had kept her ex-boyfriend's child's toy. She had lied to my face, made up a story about a sister, and hid her ex-boyfriend’s kid in a run-down apartment while preparing to marry me.

She was using my money, my power, and my protection to shield her child with the man who had ruined her.

I turned my head slowly, locking my eyes onto Amelia’s profile.

She was still looking out the window, her hand resting over the silver star charm at her neck—the same cheap necklace she had worn for years.

Probably a gift from Vance, too.

A cold rage took over my mind.

If my uncle Arthur or the press got wind of this hidden child, it would ignite a public scandal and ruin my standing right before the board vote. I couldn't let her run around town keeping reckless secrets while carrying my name.

"We have an hour before the board members arrive for dinner," I said, my voice cutting through the quiet car.

Amelia flinched, her shoulders jumping slightly before she turned to face me. "I'll be ready on time, Lucian."

"See that you are," I replied, keeping my voice cold and flat. "Tonight is about presenting unity. My uncle Arthur will be searching for the slightest crack in our story. I suggest you remember what you're being paid for."

A faint flush of red crept up her neck, but she held her chin high. "I haven't forgotten the contract, Mr Rhodes."

"Good."

I looked away, staring straight ahead as the car pulled into the underground garage of the penthouse.

The penthouse was quiet when the elevator opened into the hall.

Mrs NaNa was waiting near the dining room, watching two catering staff set silver trays and wine glasses across the table.

"Welcome back, Mr Rhodes, Mrs Rhodes," Mrs NaNa said softly, bowing her head. "Your clothes are ready in your rooms."

"Thank you, Mrs NaNa," Amelia murmured, her voice tight.

Without looking at me, she clutched her cardboard box to her chest and walked fast down the hall toward her wing. The door shut behind her, followed by the quiet click of the lock.

I walked into my study, shut the door, and pulled out my phone to dial Marcus.

He answered instantly. "Sir."

"Where did the cab drop off the woman and the child?" I asked, walking over to the glass window overlooking the city lights.

"They checked into a small hotel near the botanical gardens, Mr Rhodes," Marcus reported. "The reservation was under Maya Lin, paid in cash."

My eyes narrowed in the reflection of the glass. If they kept bouncing around cheap hotels, someone was bound to spot them.

"Have my legal team lease a quiet, private townhouse in the northern suburbs under Maya’s name," I commanded smoothly. "Move them there immediately and cover all their expenses. I want them out of run-down hotels and completely away from public sight."

Marcus sounded surprised. "Understood, sir. And Mrs Rhodes?"

"Starting Monday morning, Amelia works directly for me," I said, my jaw setting tight. "I’m appointing her as my executive secretary. If she’s in my office next to me every single day, my uncle’s team won't find a single crack in our marriage."

"And her time with the boy?"

"Her work hours will be strictly eight to six," I replied coldly. "At six o'clock every evening, her shift ends and her time is her own to visit him. That keeps my investment safe, keeps the press quiet, and keeps her strictly where I can see her."

I ended the call, tossed the phone on the desk, and poured myself a drink.

I downed the scotch in one swallow, feeling the burn hit my throat.

Amelia thought she was keeping a secret to protect Vance’s child. She had no idea that starting Monday, she was stepping right into my office—working inches away from me every single day.

I straightened my tie in the mirror and stepped out into the hall.

It was time to host dinner.