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Chapter 10
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He Took My Place—Until I Took It Back Chapter 17
One year later, I had finally grown comfortable with the life I had once been afraid to claim.The injuries from the parking garage and the kidnapping had healed. The headaches gradually disappeared, and therapy helped me sleep without returning to the same dreams.My family never treated recovery as a deadline. My mother still reminded me to eat before long meetings, Helena taught me how to navigate the Sterling board, and Sophie reserved one evening each week for whatever she decided siblings were supposed to do. She had missed too many years with her brother and intended to recover as many as possible.My father offered me a place in the family’s healthcare investment division. He did not appoint me to a senior role simply because I was his son. Instead, he gave me a small team and a portfolio of early-stage medical companies.The work suited me.My years at LumenWorks had taught me how easily promising research could collapse under poor management. I understood the pressures faced
He Took My Place—Until I Took It Back Chapter 16
I woke on a worn sofa with pain pulsing through the back of my head.The air smelled of dust and old disinfectant. Abandoned laboratory tables stood along the walls, and the faded LumenWorks logo was still visible on a glass partition.I recognized the building.This was the first laboratory Vivian had rented when she founded LumenWorks. After the company moved to Fulton Market, the property had been left empty while awaiting redevelopment.Footsteps approached in the hallway.Vivian entered carrying two cups of coffee. She had changed out of her evening dress and now wore a simple sweater, as though we had returned to one of the nights when we worked here together.“You’re awake.”She placed one cup in front of me.“I bought the kind you used to drink.”I did not touch it.“You had me kidnapped.”“I wanted you to see this place again.”Vivian sat across from me.“You refused to meet me. You blocked every number I used, and I didn’t know how else to make you listen.”“So you hired men
He Took My Place—Until I Took It Back Chapter 15
Vivian stopped in front of us, breathing hard.“Caleb, I was wrong.”It was the first time she had admitted it so directly.“I should never have betrayed you or hidden my relationship with Ryan. I should not have defended him every time something happened at LumenWorks. When the accident happened in the parking garage, I should never have left you until last.”Her voice began to shake.“I know this apology is late, but I never intended to lose you. I’ll end everything with Ryan. I’ll even leave LumenWorks if that’s what you want. Give me one more chance, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making this right.”Audrey moved forward to shield me.I gently squeezed her hand, letting her know I could handle the conversation.Then I faced Vivian.She stood in the cold looking exhausted, nothing like the woman who had confidently expected me to return only hours earlier.Her apology gave me no satisfaction. I felt no desire to punish her or begin again.I felt calm.“Vivian, you wanted more th
He Took My Place—Until I Took It Back Chapter 14
Ryan’s reminder of our childhood promise left me silent for a moment.I remembered it clearly.During winters when the foster home lost heat, we shared an old blanket. When the staff withheld our meal money, we divided the last sandwich between us. After another family returned us, we sat together on the fire escape and promised that neither of us would ever abandon the other.For years, Ryan had truly been my only family.That was why I trusted him for so long.I also remembered him standing in the hospital and calmly describing how he and Vivian had fallen in love. I remembered carrying his tablet into LumenWorks while he allowed everyone to blame me for the missing presentation. Most of all, I remembered how he had lured me toward the parking barrier before the accident.Those choices had consumed everything our childhood promise once meant.“I haven’t forgotten,” I said.Hope returned to Ryan’s eyes.I continued before he could speak.“That is exactly why I know you broke the promi
He Took My Place—Until I Took It Back Chapter 13
Audrey remained beside me with her arm linked through mine.She did not press closer. The gesture alone made her position clear.“Caleb is my fiancé,” she repeated. “Tonight is our engagement reception.”Vivian stared at her as the color drained from her face.Audrey came from a family whose influence matched the Sterlings’. LumenWorks had only recently entered Chicago’s investment circles and held no power here.Still, Vivian refused to step away.She looked past Audrey and fixed her eyes on me.“Seven years cannot disappear because of one reception. You can hate me and refuse to forgive me, but you cannot erase everything we shared.”“I haven’t erased it.”I took Audrey’s hand.“Those years taught me what happens when I give my trust to the wrong people.”Audrey gently tightened her fingers around mine.Vivian’s fear deepened when she saw us holding hands.“You’re truly going to marry her?”“Yes.”“You barely know her.”“She did not spend three years sleeping with the person I truste
He Took My Place—Until I Took It Back Chapter 12
I entered the ballroom beside my parents as applause spread through the room.Vivian and Ryan remained completely still.Vivian stared at me as if she were searching beneath the formal suit and the Sterling name for the Caleb who had always yielded to her.Ryan looked equally shaken. His expensive suit could not hide the tension in his face or the way his hands tightened at his sides.Before the host could begin, Vivian pushed through the guests and hurried toward me.“Caleb.”Her voice sounded strained.She reached for my hand, but I stepped aside.Her fingers closed around empty air.“Why are you here?” she asked. “I sent messages and tried calling, but your number had been disconnected.”The guests nearby grew quiet.Vivian ignored their attention.“If you found your biological family, why didn’t you tell me? Where did you go after leaving the hospital? I’ve been looking for you.”“You weren’t looking for me.”She froze.“You spent the past five days trying to save LumenWorks. You o
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