CHAPTER 8

KILLIAN

“Congratulations.” I cleared my throat, extending a hand to her, focusing my eyes on her palm to avoid her gaze.

“It would be a pleasure working with you.” She said immediately, a mix of coldness and precision that ran goosebumps down my skin, shaping her voice.

“How did it go?” A voice came from behind her, causing her to flinch. Our heads snapped up in the direction of the voice and for the first time since I stepped into that conference room, she looked relaxed.

“Zach… it's been finalised.” She replied, her eyes hovering over my form, avoiding my gaze.

“It's over now.” She added, flashing him a small smile.

Zach?

“I brought the car around.” he informed her with a slight gesture towards the exit.

“May I?” He added, grabbing the document and her bag.

I took few steps back, observing the stranger closer.

For a moment I didn't see the Alicia I married six years ago but the one that pushed Maya into the pool that night… I realised that was the only version of her I wanted her to be but life had other plans.

It brought back a past I had pushed aside and was staring at me in the face with a look of determination. Everything seemed the same but I could tell I was missing something… a piece out of a jigsaw puzzle.

Something I was going to find out.

“James?” I called out to my personal assistant, calling him over with a nod of my head.

“Sir?” He lowered his head, as he approached me.

“I want to know everything there is to know about Dr. Alicia, right back to the date of her release.”

I pocketed my hands watching her walk off with him, his eyes lingering over her form as he held the door open for her.

“Who is he?” I asked, pulling my phone out of my pocket.

“That is Dr. Zachary James.” He replied.

“Dog into him as well, I want to know everything about him.” I added, heading in the direction of my car.

“Of course sir.” He replied, moving ahead to hold the door open.

The knock on the door echoed through the study, only then did I realise I had been staring at one line of the document in my hand for the last hour.

“Who?” I ked, lowering the document to the desk slowly as I leaned into the chair behind me.

“Sir, you have a visitor.” The help announced and I sighed, rubbing my eyelids with my fingers.

“Who is it?” I straightened in my seat.

“Mrs Grey.” The mention of the name caused my heart to skip a beat, my jaw tightening as I tried to swallow the lump in my throat.

“Let her in.”

“Mrs Lea Grey is coming in right now, sir.” She added, opening the door for her.

Lea Grey walked into the room with the kind of grace that felt expensive, her heels clicking against the floor as she made her way towards the couch in the corner of my study. She looked as dolled up as ever but let out a long sigh as she sank into the cushions.

She started talking almost immediately, her voice a jumble of words about her afternoon at the gallery and some drama involving one of her friends, but I couldn't focus on a single sentence she was saying. My mind was stuck on the way Alicia had looked in that hallway—the way she held herself with such a sharp confidence that it felt like a physical barrier between us.

I wasn't happy to see her, not in the way a man is happy to see someone from his past, but there was a strange ache in my chest that I didn't understand and it was making it impossible to listen to Lea’s blabbering.

I kept seeing the way Alicia’s eyes had searched mine, looking for an emotion that I refused to give her, the more I thought about it, the more the silence of the room seemed to press in on me.

Lea must have realized I wasn't responding because her voice trailed off and I felt her gaze burning into the side of my face.

“Killian?” she asked, her tone shifting from playful to concerned as she leaned forward. “What is wrong with you today? You’ve been staring at that desk like you’re trying to set it on fire with your mind, and you haven't heard a word I’ve said for the last ten minutes.” I blinked and cleared my throat, trying to force a smile that I knew didn't reach my eyes, but before I could come up with a lie to satisfy her, the heavy door to the study opened again.

James walked in with a file clutched in his hand, his expression serious and focused as he moved toward my desk. He didn't even look at Lea as he approached, his eyes stayed locked on mine, and I could tell by the way he was holding that folder that he had found what I was looking for.

“Sir,” he said, his voice low and professional as he stood at the edge of the desk. “I have returned with the information you asked for, and I think you’ll want to see this immediately.” I felt a surge of nervous energy zip through my veins and I straightened up in my chair, my hands reaching out for the file before he even had a chance to set it down.

Lea watched the exchange with a raised eyebrow, her lips turning into a straight line as she realized she was no longer the center of attention. She stood up from the couch and smoothed down her dress, her movements full of annoyance that she didn't bother to hide.

“I can see that you’re engrossed in something very important, Killian,” she said, her voice dripping with a subtle sarcasm that made me look up from the folder for just a second.

“I’ll excuse myself and let you get back to your work, but don't forget that we have that gala to attend tomorrow night. You’ve been so distant lately, so I expect you to be there and be charming, and you can consider your attendance as a way of finally making it up to me for being so absent-minded.” I let out a short breath and gave her a quick nod just to get her to leave.

“Fine, Lea, I’ll be there,” I replied reluctantly, and she gave me one last lingering look before she turned and walked out of the study, closing the door behind her.

The moment the door clicked shut, the room felt more intense, and I turned my full attention back to James. He didn't say a word, he just reached into the folder and pulled out a single sheet of paper that looked like a legal affidavit from several years ago. He handed it to me and I took it, my eyes scanning the lines of text that were highlighted in yellow, and as I read the words, I felt air leave my lungs.

I read it once, then twice, and then a third time because the information was so alarming that my brain refused to process it correctly. I let out a dry chuckle that sounded more like a proof of disbelief, and looked up at James with a confused smile on my face.

“What is this, James?” I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper as I tapped my finger against the paper. “What is this document supposed to mean? Why am I looking at a recanted statement from a witness who wasn't even at the pool that night?”

James took a step closer, his face completely devoid of any emotion, but his eyes were steady as they met mine. “It means exactly what you think it means, sir,” he replied, the weight of his words feeling like a physical blow to my stomach.

“According to the evidence I managed to pull from the old private files and the new statements I tracked down, the case against Alicia wasn't as solid as the police made it out to be.” I looked back down at the paper, the realization that I had spent six years hating a woman for a crime she might not have committed started to tear through me.

“In fact, it looks like almost every piece of incriminating evidence used to send her away was carefully planted by someone who wanted her gone for good.”