The Girl They Replaced

I never thought my first case back in Hawthorne Bay would come from my best friend.

Scratch that.

My ex-best friend.

The partners wanted to grow the firm, so they handed me the Hawthorne Bay office.

"Wynna, you're our best attorney. You know Hawthorne Bay. You're perfect for this."

I didn't say no.

But they were wrong.

Sure, I'd lived here.

I'd also lost everything here.

But five years can blur a lot. That part of my life was supposed to be dead and buried.

Yeah.

Not so much.

On opening day, my past walked right through the door.

Shawn Gonzalez stopped cold.

"Nina? What are you doing here?"

I kept my face blank and nodded toward the chair.

"I'm the attorney here. Is that so shocking?"

"Of course it is!" Shawn snapped. "You never even graduated college. How could you possibly..."

He cut himself off.

But I knew exactly what he meant.

Five years ago, I'd been kicked out of school. With nowhere else to go, I stood in the pouring rain and begged him for help.

"Why should I help you? We're not family. People should pay for what they do. Nina, I finally get why your brother never liked you. He has a sweet little sister like Yuna. Why would he protect a vicious girl who'll do anything to get what she wants?"

That was when I understood.

It didn't matter how much I explained.

His heart was already with Yuna.

Just like now.

His eyes dragged over me, full of suspicion. "Did you buy your degree? You know that's illegal, right? Or did you sleep your way to the top again?"

I sighed. "Mr. Gonzalez, unless you're here to discuss your case, I have work to do."

I turned to leave, but Shawn rushed after me.

Then the door opened.

My assistant, Amy, stepped in, holding a little girl's hand.

The second she saw me, Gigi ran over and threw her arms around me.

"Mommy! It was my first day of school, and you didn't even pick me up!"

I pinched her cheek.

"My bad."

Beside us, Shawn looked stunned.

Then he grabbed my wrist.

"You have a kid?"

His eyes snapped to Gigi. "You had Miguel's baby behind his back?"

Understanding flashed across his face.

"So that's it. You had this kid to make Miguel change his mind? You disappeared for five years just to keep her as leverage? Too bad. He and Yuna have been married for years—"

"You're wrong. She's my daughter. Mine."

I was done.

Gigi shrank behind me, and my face went cold.

"Stop scaring my daughter. You came here about a case, not some five-year-old grudge. You're the Gonzalez heir. Your time matters. So does mine. And you've wasted enough of it."

I looked at Amy, still frozen by the door.

"Please show Mr. Gonzalez out. We have a banquet tonight."

"Wait." Shawn stepped in front of me.

His eyes flicked to Gigi and Amy. He frowned.

"Nina, do you know how long your friends looked for you?"

Then he reached for my hand.

"Stop being stubborn. Come back with me. Everyone misses you."