Chapter 6: The Face In The Photo

Slade's POV

The boardroom door clicked shut behind Iridessa. For several seconds, nobody moved, nobody spoke.

The silence she left behind was heavier than any argument.

I stood at the head of the conference table, staring at the door through which she had disappeared, while the foreclosure papers trembled slightly in my hands.

Iridessa Sterling, not Iridessa Wilder.

Not the quiet woman who used to wait for me at dinner.

"Sterling." The name echoed through my skull like a gunshot.

One of the most powerful families in Europe.

A family whose influence stretched across governments, corporations, and financial institutions.

A family I had spent years trying to compete against. And somehow, I had been married to one.

"What a manipulative little snake."

My mother's sharp voice shattered the silence. 

Penelope slammed both palms onto the table and rose to her feet.

"I knew there was something wrong with that girl from the beginning. She lied about who she was. She deceived all of us."

Maya nodded immediately. "Exactly. She made us look like fools."

I looked at my sister. The same sister who had been treating her badly. For the first time in my life, I felt irritated.

"No one forced you to hit her," I said flatly.

Maya blinked. "What?"

"You heard me." 

She stared at me in shock. As if she couldn't believe what she heard.

Before she could respond, Malani quickly stepped forward.

"Everyone needs to calm down," she said softly and placed her hand on my arm.

Normally that touch would've grounded me. But today it felt strangely unfamiliar.

"We need to focus on saving the company." She continued, but I found no interest in her words.

Back to Iridessa's phone. Back to that photograph. Back to the little boy with dark eyes and a face that looked disturbingly familiar.

My stomach tightened. It couldn't be what I'm thinking. Five years ago, when Iridessa left, everyone saw her leave with another man.

Cassian.

Though I hadn't known it was her brother at the time. She had disappeared with him, then she vanished overseas.

For all I knew, she'd met someone else. Married someone else, and started a family. So why couldn't I stop thinking about that child?

"Slade." Malani squeezed my arm, drifting me off my thoughts. "Are you listening?" She asked.

I looked at her smiling face, but something about it felt forced.

"Yeah."

"You should call another meeting with the investors."

I nodded absentmindedly, while my eyes drifted toward the security camera mounted in the corner of the boardroom.

An idea formed in my head. A stupid idea that I couldn't ignore. Without saying another word, I gathered the documents and walked out.

"Slade!" My mother called after me, but I ignored her. For the first time, I wasn't interested in hearing her opinions.

An hour later, I sat alone inside the building's security office. The technician looked nervous as he replayed footage from the meeting.

"Sir, is there a problem with the recording?"

"No." I replied and leaned forward. "Just zoom in on this section."

The man did as I instructed. There I found Iridessa standing near the table, while her phone illuminated.

The lock screen flashed, and the technician frowned.

"It's blurry." He said.

"Enhance it." I ordered and quickly began working. 

The image sharpened, but it wasn't perfect. However, it was enough to make my pulse stutter.

There they were. Two beautiful children. A boy and girl. The girl was smiling brightly, but the boy looked annoyed about being photographed.

Something about that expression punched straight through my chest. Because I had seen it before.

"Sir?" The technician called, shifting uncomfortably.

"Take a screenshot." I ordered and he obeyed immediately. Seconds later, the image appeared on my phone.

I dismissed him and zoomed the image as soon as he was out of sight. My heart tightened instantly. The resemblance shouldn't exist. 

Yet every time I looked closer, I found something else.

The shape of the jaw, the eyebrows, and the way the boy tilted his head.

Even the way he seemed vaguely irritated at having his picture taken reminded me of childhood photos my grandmother used to keep.

I opened my family gallery, and found an old picture from when I was six, and placed it beside the screenshot.

Everything in me froze instantly. The similarities were impossible to ignore.

"No..." I whispered and tossed the phone onto the desk and rubbed my face.

I was losing my mind. Because there was no logical reason for Iridessa's child to look like me.

A sharp knock interrupted my thoughts. Before I could answer, Malani entered. She carried two coffees, and had that smile on her face that has turned out to irritate me these few days.

Suddenly, her eyes drifted toward the phone. 

"What are you looking at?" She asked, but I quickly flipped the screen over.

"Nothing."

Her smile faltered. "You've been acting strange since the meeting."

I didn't answer, I couldn't even look at her again. Slowly, Malani sat opposite me and stared at me intently.

"You're not seriously worried about those children, are you?"

My gaze snapped toward her. "What children?"

"The ones on Iridessa's phone."

The fact that she brought them up first made something uncomfortable twist inside me.

Malani laughed softly. "They obviously belong to the man she left with."

The certainty in her voice caught my attention. "How do you know?"

She froze for a second, then responded with a stern face. "Because she disappeared with him."

"That man was her brother." I blurted, and she furrowed her brows instantly. 

"What?"

"His name is Cassian Sterling." I continued, and her face suddenly turned pale. 

Five years ago, I would've missed that reaction, but today I didn't. She tightened her grip on her coffee cup and exclaimed.

"Oh."

Suddenly, there was silence in the room. Both of us, lost in our own thoughts. However, Malani suddenly burst out laughing, taking me by surprise.

"Well, brother or not, she probably met someone else." She muttered, and I nodded slowly while the words sank into my head.

Probably, not definitely. Suddenly, I remembered something.

My thoughts drifted to the night we shared before she left. The memory made my stomach churn, but I forced myself to remain still.

"Slade?" Malani called and looked up immediately. 

"What the matter?" I asked.

"You're thinking about her." She blurted.

"I'm thinking about the company." I lied, even though I never wanted to.

However, Malani didn't believe me. But I cared less about her right now. I needed answers to what's troubling me.

At the same time, I realized I hadn't asked Malani a single question about the foreclosure. But here she was, probably obsessed with making sure I wasn't thinking about my ex-wife.

Why? The thought appeared briefly, then vanished before I could ponder on it.

"I'll let you work." Malani said as she sprang up from the chair. 

She leaned down, and attempted to kiss my cheek, but I turned slightly without realizing it.

Malani frowned for a second, then quickly smiled again as if nothing had happened.

 Without another word, she turned swiftly and walked out through the door, leaving me staring at her.