Chapter 4

Less than twenty-four hours after meeting Gail, Damon Blackwood had already placed himself between Lyra and the elevator doors.

Lyra stared at the message on her phone.

Your proposal meeting has been transferred to the executive floor. Mister Damon Blackwood will personally conduct the interview.

Personally.

That single word told her everything.

Damon was suspicious.

He had studied Gail’s blue eyes, asked her age, and warned Lyra that he would not let her disappear again.

Now he had taken control of a meeting that was supposed to be with Blackwood Corporation’s public relations director.

This was no longer only about business.

Lyra slipped her phone into her bag and looked up at the glass building towering over her.

She had known Blackwood Corporation belonged to Damon’s family when she submitted her proposal weeks ago. She simply had not expected to see Damon during her short assignment, especially after avoiding him for six years.

Now he was the one deciding whether she received it.

She could still leave.

But Lyra needed this job. More importantly, walking away would prove to Damon that she was afraid.

She tightened her grip on her bag and entered the building.

“Good morning, Miss Thorne,” the receptionist greeted her. “Mister Blackwood is expecting you. Please proceed to the executive floor.”

Of course he was.

Lyra stepped into the elevator and watched the numbers rise.

Whatever Damon wanted, she would remain professional. She had returned to rebuild her career, not reopen the past.

When the elevator reached the executive floor, the doors slid apart.

Damon was no longer her greatest problem.

Vito stood near the windows at the end of the hallway.

Her former fiancé looked older and more polished in his dark suit, but the sight of him dragged Lyra back six years.

She remembered Ruth’s white shoes inside his villa.

She heard their laughter as they mocked her wedding dress.

Most of all, she remembered Vito saying he only wanted her inheritance.

Then he noticed her.

The color drained from his face.

“Lyra?”

She forced her expression to remain calm.

“It has been a long time.”

Vito hurried toward her. “You’re back?”

“So it seems.”

He stared at her as though she had returned from the dead.

“You disappeared.”

After everything he had done, those were the first words he chose.

Lyra almost laughed.

“You gave me a reason.”

His expression changed. “What does that mean?”

Even after six years, Vito still did not know exactly what she had heard on the night before their wedding.

Lyra intended to keep it that way.

“You never allowed me to explain,” he said.

“I never asked you to.”

“Lyra, whatever you think happened between Ruth and me...”

“Don’t.”

He stopped.

“You don’t need to explain anything to me. Whatever happened between you and Ruth stopped being my concern when I canceled the wedding.”

His eyes searched her face. “You’ve changed.”

“I had to.”

Before Vito could respond, an office door opened.

Damon stepped into the hallway.

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Vito straightened. “Cousin.”

Damon gave him a brief nod before looking at Lyra.

For one fleeting moment, something warm entered his blue eyes. Then his expression became unreadable.

“Miss Thorne.”

“Mister Blackwood.”

Damon’s gaze moved between them.

“Is there a problem?”

“No,” Lyra answered.

Vito continued staring at her. “I didn’t know she was meeting you.”

“You weren’t required to know,” Damon replied.

The coldness in his voice made Vito’s jaw tighten.

Damon stepped aside and opened his office door.

“Come in, Miss Thorne.”

Lyra walked past Vito. She could feel her former fiancé watching her until Damon closed the door.

For several seconds, neither she nor Damon spoke.

Then he turned toward her.

“What did Vito do to you?”

Lyra stiffened. “That isn’t why I’m here.”

“I know he betrayed you, but you never told me what happened.”

“Because it has nothing to do with you.”

“He is my cousin.”

“And he was almost my husband. The past still isn’t your business.”

“He looked frightened when he saw you.”

“That sounds like Vito’s problem.”

Damon studied her, but Lyra refused to look away.

Finally, he walked toward his desk.

“Very well. Let’s discuss your proposal.”

Lyra sat across from him and opened her folder. Damon remained standing for another moment before taking his seat.

“You look well,” he said.

“So do you.”

“You left without saying goodbye.”

Her fingers tightened around the folder.

“We discussed this at the hotel.”

“No. I asked why you disappeared, and you avoided answering.”

“I had my reasons.”

“I looked for you.”

Lyra became still.

Damon’s voice remained calm, but something painful moved through his eyes.

“I searched for months. I contacted hospitals, airports, private investigators, and every person who might have known where you went.”

Lyra looked away.

For years, she had told herself that leaving had been easy because no one truly wanted her to stay.

Apparently, she had been wrong about Damon.

“I needed to leave.”

“For six years?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Because she had believed he was using her.

Because she had discovered she was pregnant after leaving the country.

Because every month she remained silent had made returning more difficult.

Lyra could not admit any of it.

“Staying wasn’t an option.”

“For you, perhaps.”

The quiet pain in his answer made her chest tighten.

Lyra opened her folder, but a photograph slipped from the inner pocket and landed on Damon’s desk.

Gail smiled up at them from the picture.

Lyra quickly reached for it.

Damon picked it up first.

“And your daughter?” he asked.

Her entire body tensed. “What about her?”

His eyes remained on the photograph. “How old is Gail?”

“You asked that yesterday.”

“And you avoided answering.”

Lyra held out her hand. “Give me the picture.”

Damon did, but his gaze never left her face.

“How old is she?”

“She is five.”

He became very still.

Lyra knew exactly what he was calculating.

She had disappeared six years ago after spending the night with him. Now she had returned with a five-year-old daughter who shared his unusual blue eyes.

“Lyra.”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Turn my daughter into a question you believe you’re entitled to answer.”

“She has my eyes.”

“She has blue eyes.”

“So do I.”

“So do millions of other people.”

A humorless smile touched his lips. “That is your explanation?”

“My daughter is not why I came here.”

“No,” Damon said. “You came to propose a company profile.”

“Yes.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“Then convince me.”

The sudden return to business surprised her, but Lyra quickly recovered.

She placed the photograph back inside her bag and opened her presentation.

“Blackwood Corporation is one of the most successful companies in the country. People know the Blackwood name, but most of them only know your hotels, buildings, investments, and profits.”

“And you want to change that?”

“I want to show them the people behind the company.”

“My story?”

“Partly.”

Damon raised an eyebrow. “Only partly?”

“You may lead Blackwood Corporation, but no company succeeds because of one person. I want to interview the people who helped build it, from its executives to the employees who rarely receive public attention.”

Genuine interest appeared in Damon’s eyes.

“Continue.”

Lyra explained her proposal. She did not want to create a flattering advertisement disguised as an article. She wanted an honest profile covering the company’s early failures, difficult decisions, growth, and future plans.

When she finished, Damon remained silent.

Finally, he asked, “Why should I trust you with my story?”

“Because I won’t write only what you want people to hear.”

His brows rose.

“I’ll write the truth,” she continued. “Even when it isn’t flattering.”

“Honesty can be dangerous.”

“So can silence.”

Something shifted in his expression.

Then Damon smiled.

“You really have changed.”

“I told you.”

“Yes.” His gaze remained on her. “You have.”

Lyra closed her folder. “Does that mean Blackwood Corporation is interested?”

“You have the assignment.”

She blinked. “That easily?”

“There will be nothing easy about working with me.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“From Vito?”

Her expression cooled. “From your reputation.”

Damon’s smile returned. “Good answer.”

“When do I begin?”

“Today.”

“Today?”

“You asked for access. I’m giving it to you, but I have conditions.”

Lyra immediately became cautious. “What conditions?”

“You conduct every interview yourself.”

“That was already my plan.”

“You attend every meeting I approve.”

“Fine.”

“You don’t send someone else whenever the work becomes uncomfortable.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why would I do that?”

“Because I suspect some of our conversations will become very uncomfortable.”

Lyra understood his warning.

Damon had accepted her proposal because it was strong, but he would also use the assignment to keep her close while he searched for answers about Gail.

She stood.

“I can handle uncomfortable conversations.”

“I remember.”

The quiet meaning behind his words brought heat to Lyra’s cheeks.

She picked up her bag. “I’ll send you the complete schedule tonight.”

“Good.”

Lyra turned toward the door.

“Are you married?”

She stopped.

Slowly, she looked back at Damon.

“My personal life is not part of this assignment.”

“That wasn’t an answer.”

“No, I’m not married.”

“Engaged?”

“No.”

Relief crossed his face before he could hide it.

Lyra noticed.

“Stop asking questions that have nothing to do with the company.”

Damon stood and walked around his desk.

“Fine.”

She did not believe him.

Lyra reached for the door, but his next words stopped her.

“I want to see Gail again.”

“No.”

The answer came immediately.

“Why?”

“Because she is my daughter, not part of our agreement.”

“I never said she was.”

“Then why do you want to see her?”

Damon stopped several feet away from her.

“Because a little girl with my eyes stood in front of me yesterday.”

“And?”

“She is five years old.”

“Damon.”

“You disappeared six years ago.”

There it was.

The question he had not asked directly.

“Coincidences happen,” Lyra said.

“Yes, they do.”

His calmness made her more nervous than anger would have.

“Then leave this one alone.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

“No.”

Lyra’s chest tightened, but Damon held her gaze.

“If there is even a chance that Gail is my daughter, I have a right to know.”

“She is my daughter.”

“I know.”

“Then respect my decision.”

Damon’s jaw tightened.

“This isn’t only your decision if she is mine.”

Silence filled the office.

Lyra hated his words because part of her knew he was right.

Damon had not betrayed her. She had overheard part of one conversation, assumed the worst, and left without giving him a chance to explain.

But admitting the truth now would force her to confess everything.

She would have to explain why she had stolen five years of his daughter’s life from him.

“I came here for a business meeting,” Lyra said.

“And now the meeting is over.”

“Good.”

She pulled open the office door.

Vito was still in the hallway.

His eyes moved from Lyra to Damon, and suspicion crossed his face.

Lyra ignored him and walked toward the elevator.

“Lyra.”

Vito followed her.

She pressed the button. “What?”

“How do you know Damon?”

For six years, Vito had believed she had simply disappeared after abandoning their wedding. He had no idea what happened after Damon drove her away.

Lyra intended to keep it that way.

“That is none of your business.”

His face hardened. “You were supposed to be my wife.”

“Supposed to be.”

The elevator arrived, and Lyra stepped inside.

Vito blocked the doors with one hand.

“Did something happen between you and Damon?”

Lyra looked into his eyes.

For the first time, she saw fear.

Not heartbreak.

Fear.

Interesting.

A small smile touched her lips.

“Why? Are you worried?”

Before Vito could answer, Lyra pressed the button to close the doors.

He removed his hand at the last second.

The doors slid shut between them.

Vito remained motionless for a moment before slowly turning around.

Damon stood outside his office, watching him.

Neither cousin spoke.

They did not need to.

Damon already knew Vito had betrayed Lyra. Now he suspected his cousin was hiding something more dangerous than an affair.

Vito had just discovered that Lyra’s disappearance involved Damon, and the possibility clearly terrified him.

Inside the elevator, Lyra held Gail’s photograph against her chest.

She had returned home believing she only needed to protect one secret.

Her daughter.

She was wrong.

Damon was already searching for the truth, and Vito was afraid of what he might uncover.

Sooner or later, one of them would discover what really happened six years ago.

When that happened, Lyra would no longer be able to keep Gail’s father away from her.