LOGINDamien hadn’t slept in the master bedroom in four months.
He’d moved his things to a guest room on the opposite side of the mansion the week Mia came home from the hospital. Victoria hadn’t objected. Hadn’t even commented. She’d just watched him pack with that calculating expression she always wore.Now he lived in a room that felt more like a hotel than a home. Minimal furniture. No personal touches. Just a bed he barely used and a chair where he sat most nights staring at nothing.Dr. Marcus Reid’s office was dark when Damien arrived.It was past eight PM. The medical building was closed. But Damien had a key. He’d gotten it months ago when he’d started suspecting Dr. Reid’s involvement in Viktor’s operation.He took the elevator to the third floor and walked down the empty hallway. His footsteps echoed against the tile.Dr. Reid’s door was unlocked. Damien pushed it open.The office was a mess. Papers scattered across the desk. Empty whiskey bottles in the trash. The smell of alcohol hung heavy in the air.Dr. Reid sat behind his desk in the dark. He didn’t look up when Damien entered.“I’ve been expecting you,” Dr. Reid said. His voice was slurred. Drunk.“Have you?” Damien asked. He closed the door behind him and locked it.“Viktor called me today,” Dr. Reid said. He finally looked up. His eyes were bloodshot. His face was pale and drawn. “Told me you’ve been asking questions. Told me you’re gathering evidence. Told me to be ready.”“Ready for what?” Damien
Jake drove to Mia’s apartment at dawn.The building looked the same as he remembered. Run-down. Cramped. The kind of place people lived when they had no other choice.He parked down the street and watched for twenty minutes. Looking for surveillance. For anyone who seemed out of place. For any sign that Viktor’s people were watching.Nothing. The street was quiet. Just early morning joggers and people walking dogs.Jake got out and walked to the building. Used the key Mia had given him last night. Climbed the stairs to the third floor.Her apartment door was exactly as she’d described. Third door on the left. Number 3B.He unlocked it and stepped inside.The apartment was small. One bedroom. Tiny kitchen. Living room that doubled as someone’s sleeping space. Probably Kevin’s before he got sick.Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. Nobody had been here in months.Jake moved quickly. He didn’t know how much time he had before someone noticed him.The bathroom was at the end o
Jake’s apartment was small and cluttered. Papers covered every surface. His laptop sat open on the coffee table surrounded by coffee cups and takeout containers.Mia sat on the couch, her pregnant belly making it difficult to get comfortable. Damien sat beside her. Jake was at his desk pulling files from a locked drawer.“Okay,” Jake said, carrying a stack of folders to the coffee table. “This is everything we have so far.”He spread the documents out. Mia leaned forward to look.“These are the photos you sent me before the accident,” Jake said, pointing to a folder. “You managed to text me a few of them before Viktor’s people caught up with you. Not all of them, but enough to give us a starting point.”Mia picked up the folder and opened it. Her hands trembled slightly as she looked at the images.There they were. The surrogate files. Sarah Martinez. Jessica Thornton. Patricia Moss. All seven names she’d found in Dr. Reid’s office.“I remember taking these,” Mia said quietly. “I was
Mia waited until midnight.The mansion was dark. Quiet. Everyone asleep. Or at least pretending to be.She slipped out of bed carefully. Her pregnant belly made everything awkward but she managed. She pulled on dark clothes. Leggings. An oversized black sweater. Shoes she could move quietly in.The hallway outside her room was empty. Mia moved slowly. Each step deliberate. Avoiding the floorboards that creaked.Down the back staircase. Through the kitchen. Out the side door that led to the garden.The night air was cold against her face. Mia pulled her sweater tighter and moved toward the gate at the back of the property.Damien was already there. Waiting in the shadows.“You made it,” he said quietly.“Where’s Jake?” Mia asked.“Outside the gate. Come on.”They slipped through. Jake’s car was parked on the narrow service road behind the property. Dark sedan. Engine off. Lights off.Jake got out when he saw them and pulled Mia into a quick hug.“Thank God,” Jake said. “When Damien tol
Mia lay in Damien’s arms, her heart still racing from everything that had just happened. But reality was already creeping back in. “We need to talk about Victoria,” Mia said quietly. Damien’s arms tightened around her. “I know.” “She can’t know I remember,” Mia said. “If she finds out, she’ll tell Viktor. They’ll know I’m investigating again. They’ll come after me. After the babies.” “I know,” Damien said again. His hand moved through her hair. “You have to keep pretending. Around her. Around the staff. Around everyone except me and Jake.” Mia pulled back to look at him. “How do I do that? How do I look at her and smile and act grateful when I know what she is? What she’s done?” “Very carefully,” Damien said. “You remember how she was with you these past two months? Sweet. Caring. Maternal. You copy that. You be the Mia she thinks you are. The one with amnesia. The one who trusts her.” Mia’s stomach twisted. “She tried to kill me, Damien. Her father’s people chased me off the
Damien’s hand was still holding hers. His lips had just left her forehead. But he didn’t move away. Instead, he looked at her. Really looked at her. Like he was asking permission for something. Mia’s heart was pounding. Her entire body was alive with awareness. Of him. Of how close he was. Of how badly she wanted something she couldn’t name. Then Damien leaned in and kissed her. His lips touched hers softly. Carefully. Like she might break. Like she was precious. Mia froze. Her mind went blank. This was wrong. He was married. To Victoria. This shouldn’t be happening. But her body responded before her mind could catch up. Her lips moved against his. Her hand tightened in his grip. And then it happened. The memory slammed into her like a physical force. She was in a supply closet. At Cross Technologies. Damien was there. Reaching for her. Pulling her close. Kissing her exactly like thi
Mia was smiling at her.Actually smiling. Like she was genuinely happy to see Victoria standing in her hospital room doorway.“Hi V,” Mia said. Her voice was still hoarse but there was warmth in it. “I missed you.”Victoria froze. V. Mia had never called her that before. Had never bee
Victoria stood at the window of her father’s office, her phone pressed to her ear.“We haven’t been able to locate Mia for some time now,” Victoria said. Her voice was tight.But underneath was panic. “Ever since she found those files in Dr. Reid’s office, she’s been gone. No apartment. No phone si
They walked through sterile hallways. Past other rooms full of patients fighting their own battles. Past nurses and doctors moving with purpose.Finally, they reached a room at the end of the hall.The doctor opened the door.And there she was.Mia.Lying in a hospital bed. Ey
The emergency room doors burst open at 4:47 PM.Paramedics rushed through pushing a gurney. A young woman. Unconscious. Blood matting her dark hair. Her clothes were torn and stained. An oxygen mask over her face.“Female, mid-twenties, approximately three months pregnant with twins,” one paramedic







