LOGINDominic did not slow down as he stepped into the house, but something felt wrong before he even spoke a word.His eyes moved across the sitting room quickly. Rachel wasn’t there.His jaw tightened almost instantly.“Rachel?” he called, his voice firm, carrying through the space.No answer came back. That was enough to set something off inside him.“Rachel,” he called again, louder this time as he stepped further in.Marissa appeared from the hallway, her expression already uneasy as if she had been waiting for this exact moment.Dominic’s gaze snapped to her immediately. “Where is she?”Marissa hesitated, and that hesitation said more than any words could have.Dominic’s eyes darkened. “Marissa.”“She left,” she said quickly.Dominic’s posture stiffened. “Left?” he repeated, his voice low now, controlled in a way that made it more dangerous.Marissa nodded once, though she didn’t look entirely confident in her own decision. “She got a call,” she explained. “From Bryce.”The name alone
Rachel’s consciousness did not return all at once, but in fragments that felt disconnected and heavy.Her eyelids fluttered weakly before opening halfway. The world around her blurred, shapes stretching and bending before slowly beginning to settle into something recognizable. The interior of a car came into focus piece by piece, dark leather seats, tinted windows, the faint reflection of passing lights sliding across the glass.Rachel’s breath caught slightly. Her head throbbed as memory rushed back too quickly. The library. Bryce. The mist. Her pulse spiked instantly and she tried to sit up.Pain flared through her limbs, dull and disorienting, but adrenaline pushed through it. Her body reacted before her thoughts fully aligned.“Bryce—” her voice came out rough, barely steady.He was sitting beside her, calm and watching her.“Rachel,” he said softly, like her waking was something he had been waiting for.Her reaction was immediate. She lunged. Her hand struck his shoulder first,
Rachel’s phone rang just as she sat on the cushion. She hesitated when she saw the name on the screen.Bryce.She didn’t move, her thumb hovering above the screen as memories she had carefully buried pressed back into her mind. There was a time when that name had meant security, then confusion, and finally distance. Now it meant something she couldn’t fully define, only that it rarely brought peace.Marissa noticed immediately from across the room. “Who is it?” she asked cautiously.Rachel didn’t answer right away. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.“It’s Bryce,” she said finally.Marissa’s expression tightened slightly. “Your ex-husband?”Rachel nodded once. “You're ex-husband too.” The phone kept ringing, patient in a way that felt almost deliberate, as if it knew she would eventually answer. Rachel exhaled slowly and accepted the call. “Hello,” she said carefully.There was a brief pause on the other end, then Bryce’s voice came through, softer than she remembered, almost car
Granny stood frozen in the doorway, her raised hand suspended in the air as Seraphina’s small voice echoed through the room.Then Granny blinked, as if snapping out of a shock she refused to accept.“What did you just say?” she asked sharply, her eyes narrowing at the child. “Don’t be ridiculous, niña. Step away from her.”Seraphina didn’t move from Jodie’s side. Instead, she clutched Jodie’s dress tighter, her small body trembling slightly but her voice steady in a way that surprised even Jodie.“She’s my mother,” Seraphina repeated softly.Granny’s expression twisted instantly, disbelief turning into irritation. “She’s done something to you,” Granny snapped, pointing at Jodie. “What drug did she use on you? What nonsense has she filled your head with?”Jodie stiffened immediately, but before she could speak, Seraphina shook her head quickly.“No,” she said, her voice rising slightly, almost panicked. “No, she didn’t.”Granny scoffed. “Then why are you speaking like this? You’ve know
Jodie’s breath caught when the woman spoke as if nothing about the moment was unusual, as if a child running into her arms and calling her “Mamá” belonged naturally to her life. Her fingers curled slightly at her sides as she forced herself to steady her voice. “Who are you?” she asked again, slower this time, more controlled, though her eyes never left the woman’s face. The blonde woman shifted her stance gently, one hand still resting protectively on Seraphina’s head as the child clung to her leg with unquestioning trust. There was something calm in her expression, as though she had learned to answer difficult questions without letting them disturb her peace. “I’m the one who stayed while you were away,” she said simply. Jodie frowned slightly. “That’s not an answer.” The woman exhaled softly, almost like she had expected that response. Then she bent slightly so she could meet Seraphina’s eyes for a moment before looking back at Jodie again. “I was hired,” she said at last,
Dominic did not waste time second-guessing the thought once it settled in his mind.If Rachel had carried that mark since childhood, and if her mother had died the day of the accident, then someone else had been there before everything ended. Someone who knew enough to place that symbol on a child. Someone who had been trusted. Elara. He pulled out his phone immediately and dialed her number.Elara picked up, her voice already tense. “Dominic? What’s wrong? Is Rachel okay?”He didn’t answer that question. “I need to see you,” he said instead, his tone direct and leaving no room for delay.There was a pause on the other end. “What happened?” she pressed. “You sound—”“At the café,” Dominic cut in, naming a location without hesitation. “Now.”Elara went quiet for half a second longer, clearly sensing the urgency behind his voice. “I’ll be there,” she said.Dominic ended the call without another word.By the time Elara arrived, Dominic was already seated.He had chosen a corner table, o
Across the city, Dominic stood by the glass wall of his office, his back rigid as he stared down at the traffic below.“Do you have any idea how reckless this looks?” Jodie yelled but he didn’t turn around.She stood near his desk, her arms crossed tightly, her jaw clenched as she struggled to cont
The doctor arrived less than fifteen minutes later. Dominic had practically dragged him into the house, knowing fully well that he had a lot of patients he needed to attend. Rachel was laid gently on the wide bed in one of the guest rooms, her face pale, lips slightly parted as she struggled to br
The family stared at Rachel as she headed upstairs, their brows furrowed. Of course, Rachel was an orphan as they believed. She lived under Elara’s care and accepted their marriage request immediately. Bryce had earlier thought that she would crawl around, begging him to take her back. Instead, sh
Rachel's brows raised. "Oh? I did not expect it to be too soon.” She took slow steps to her drawer and opened it. At least, the letter she left was not yet touched. Then, she turned back to Monica. “The drawer is private; I will clear it myself.” She muttered and Monica nodded. Rachel stared at h







