Chapter Three

Cole’s Pov

“If you care about your daughter, stop looking for Cole Calloway.”

The call disconnected, and I lowered the burner phone, staring at the wall in front of me.

For a long moment, I sat completely still. Then I cursed under my breath.

That had not gone the way I planned. Not even close.

I had spent two years staying invisible. Two years watching from a distance. Two years convincing myself that keeping away was protecting them. Then Sienna walked into Calloway Industries. One day. One damn day. And everything started falling apart.

I tossed the phone onto the kitchen counter. The small cabin suddenly felt too small and quiet. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to think clearly about any of this.

The problem wasn’t Sienna. The problem was what would happen if my family discovered who she was. Or worse—who Ava was. That thought alone made my chest tighten painfully.

A knock sounded at the door. I already knew who it was. Only one person came here uninvited.

I opened the door, and Priya walked inside carrying a paper bag.

“You look terrible,” she said.

“Nice to see you too.”

She set the bag on the counter. “You called a woman and threatened her.”

“I warned her.”

“You threatened her,” she corrected, and I groaned.

“How do you even know about that?”

She crossed her arms. “Because you called me immediately afterward and spent fifteen minutes pretending you weren’t having a panic attack.”

Fair point. Priya had known me long enough to see through my nonsense. She looked around the cabin. “You’ve been pacing.”

“I haven’t.”

“You absolutely have.”

I glanced at the floor and cursed silently. The wear marks on the wood were obvious. Damn.

Priya sat down. “Tell me what happened.”

I didn’t want to, but she just waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually I gave up fighting it.

“Sienna got a job at Calloway Industries.”

Priya blinked. Then she blinked again. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s bad.”

“Very.”

She leaned back in her chair. “Does she know?”

I laughed humorlessly. “Apparently she figured out Roman isn’t me.”

“That’s not exactly difficult.”

“To normal people maybe.”

Priya smirked, and I ignored her. The truth was that Roman and I might look identical, but nobody who actually knew us ever confused us. Roman carried the world on his shoulders. I carried a chip on mine. Big difference.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” That was the honest answer, and for once I meant it. I genuinely didn’t know because every option felt impossibly wrong. Stay hidden and Sienna keeps digging. Reveal myself and the family finds Ava. Run again and I lose them completely. No good choices. Just different disasters.

Priya studied me carefully. Then she asked the question I had spent years avoiding.

“Do you love her?”

I looked away, but the answer was easy. Too easy.

“Yes.”

The word came out before I could stop it. Priya nodded, not surprised, not shocked—just resigned.

“Then maybe stop pretending this is about protection.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means you’re terrified.”

I hated when she did this—the whole seeing-through-me thing. “I am protecting them.”

“Partly.”

I didn’t respond because partly wasn’t wrong. Priya stood and headed for the door.

“Call me if you decide to do something stupid.”

“I won’t.”

She laughed. “That’s not reassuring.”

After she left, I sat alone in the silence again. The worst part was she was right. I was afraid. Not of my family, not of Roman, not even of Eleanor. I was afraid of Sienna—afraid she would look at me and realize I wasn’t worth the trouble. Afraid Ava would hate me. Afraid four years was too much time to overcome.

My phone vibrated. A text message with one word: Roman.

I stared at the screen before opening it.

Call me.

My stomach dropped. No greeting, no explanation. Just three words. That was Roman—straight to the point. I ignored it.

Five seconds later another message arrived.

Now.

I sighed and pressed call. Roman answered immediately.

“Where are you?”

No hello. Typical.

“Nice to hear from you too.”

“Where are you?” he repeated, ignoring my attempt at lightness.

I leaned back in my chair. “Still charming, I see.”

His patience evaporated. “Cole.”

Something about his voice made me sit up straighter. This wasn’t normal Roman irritation. This was something else entirely.

“What happened?”

A long silence followed. Then: “A woman started working here.”

My pulse stopped. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. I already knew. The fact that Roman was calling confirmed it.

“What about her?”

Another pause. “She looked at me like she’d seen a ghost.”

The room suddenly felt colder. I didn’t speak, and neither did Roman. Twins didn’t share telepathy or anything magical, but after thirty-two years, you learned when something mattered. This mattered.

“Who is she?” I asked.

Roman’s voice turned thoughtful. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

My grip tightened around the phone. “What do you mean?”

“Something about her feels familiar.”

I closed my eyes. Of course. Of course it did. Sienna had spent a night with his identical twin. No wonder she looked familiar.

“Forget it,” I said quickly.

Roman immediately became suspicious. Too quickly. “Why?”

Damn. Because Roman never missed things. Never.

“Because you’re imagining it.”

“I don’t think I am.”

There was that phrase again—the same one he’d apparently used on Sienna. I stood and walked toward the window. Outside, darkness stretched across the hills. For two years I’d managed to stay ahead of this. Now everything felt like it was catching up to me.

Roman spoke again. “There’s something else.”

The tension in his voice made my stomach knot. “What?”

“I found someone looking through old company records.”

I froze. “Who?”

“The new employee.”

Sienna. Of course.

Roman continued, his voice steady. “She was searching for you.”

Every muscle in my body locked. For a second I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t move. She was looking for me. Not Roman. Me.

Roman’s voice cut through the silence. “Who is she, Cole?”

I swallowed hard. Because for the first time in years, I had no lie ready. No escape plan. No way around the truth. And somewhere deep down, I knew this moment had been coming since the day Ava was born.

Roman spoke again, slower this time. More dangerous.

“Why is a woman I’ve never met searching for my missing brother?”