CHAPTER 4

Mason

“Lawrence, I want everything about her.”

My assistant looked up immediately. “Everything, boss?”

“Yes. I want to know what her life has been like for the past six years and why she suddenly needs three hundred thousand dollars.”

Lawrence gave a short nod. “Understood.”

He turned and left the room without another word. That was why he had been working for me for years. When I gave an order, he didn’t waste time asking unnecessary questions.

The door shut behind him, leaving the room in silence.

I leaned back slightly and exhaled.

The moment I heard her voice outside earlier, my heart reacted before logic had a chance to intervene. That alone told me something I had spent six years trying to deny.

I was still in love with her.

After she disappeared the way she did, leaving without a trace, I tried to find her. At first I assumed something had happened. I searched hotels, called contacts, even hired someone to look into it.

But the more I searched, the clearer it became that nothing had happened to her. She had simply chosen to leave. And she had done a very good job of making sure I couldn't find her.

It took time before I finally accepted the truth. To her, I had been nothing more than a summer distraction. A brief fling that ended the moment it was convenient.

I went through every stage after that: hope, confusion, anger.

Eventually I even tried hating her, convincing myself that was the fastest way to forget.

None of it worked.

Not once in the past six years had another woman come close to replacing what Daisy had been to me.

I let out a quiet chuckle.

Mia.

So that was her real name.

Seeing her again today had been… unexpected. She looked exhausted, worn down in a way that didn’t suit the girl I remembered. Her clothes were wrinkled, her eyes red from crying, and yet she was still as striking as ever.

The sight of her awakened feelings I hadn’t felt in years.

The first instinct that hit me when I saw her struggling with security wasn’t anger. It was the urge to pull her into my arms and fix whatever had gone wrong in her life.

Because one look at her was enough to know something had gone very wrong. Her asking for money confirmed it.

I could have given her the three hundred thousand immediately. It would have meant nothing to me.

But I needed to see her again.

I needed to understand why the woman who once disappeared without looking back had suddenly come running to me for help.

I glanced at the clock on the wall and pushed myself up from the chair.

If today hadn’t been important, I would have canceled everything the moment I heard her call my name.

Instead, I straightened my jacket and walked out toward the main hall.

Ironically, it had taken this hotel project to bring her back into my life. If I had known all it would take was coming to Chicago, I would have done it years ago.

I pushed the thought aside and stepped onto the stage.

The event went exactly as expected. Cameras flashed, reporters asked predictable questions, and I delivered the speech my PR team had carefully prepared.

Vision. Expansion. Global growth.

Normally I could handle these events in my sleep, but today was different.

For the first time in years, my focus wasn’t on the business.

It was on a woman.

Halfway through the reception, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

A message from Lawrence.

I have the information you requested.

I excused myself from the remaining guests and left the hotel.

The moment I stepped into the car, Lawrence handed me a tablet.

“All the information I could gather so far, boss.”

I began scrolling through the report.

The deeper I read, the darker my expression became. She was married to Ruben Caldwell and had a child with him.

I found that information deeply unpleasant.

I lifted my gaze from the screen.

“Is the Caldwell family in financial trouble?”

“No, boss,” Lawrence replied immediately. “There are no signs of debt or instability.”

My eyes returned to the file.

“Then why isn’t her husband paying for his son’s surgery?”

Lawrence hesitated before answering.

“My sources say Ruben Caldwell treats her poorly. Publicly humiliates her. According to what I was told, the marriage is… not a happy one.”

I closed the file slowly. Too many things in her life were wrong, and several of them needed fixing.

“Take me to the hospital.”

Lawrence looked slightly surprised but nodded. “Yes, boss.”

The hospital staff reacted quickly when I arrived. My family’s foundation had funded several departments there over the years, which meant doors opened quickly when I showed up.

Within minutes I was sitting across from the doctor in charge of the boy’s case. He explained the condition carefully and how important it was for the surgery to happen soon.

“Prepare the surgery immediately.”

The doctor nodded at once.

“I will personally handle the medical expenses. Make sure the boy receives the best care available.”

“Yes, Mr. Hayes.”

“And one more thing.”

I paused.

“If the mother asks who paid for the procedure, tell her it was anonymous.”

The doctor nodded again. “Understood.”

The conversation ended and I stood to leave.

As I walked toward the exit, curiosity stopped me. I wanted to see the boy. After all, he was Mia’s child.

“Take me to his room,” I told the doctor.

A few minutes later we reached the door. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Then I stopped in my tracks.

The image in front of me refused to make sense.

The child lying in the hospital bed looked like a younger version of me. The jawline was unmistakably Hayes.

It was like looking at an old photograph of myself as a child.

Slowly, I turned toward Lawrence.

The stunned look on his face told me he was seeing the same thing I was.

I looked back at the doctor. “How old is he?”

“Five,” the doctor replied.

My mind did the math instantly.

“Fuck.”

I ran a hand through my hair.

What the hell did you do, Mia?