9. The Boy Who Looks Like Me

Meanwhile, at a luxury boutique in downtown Athens.

“What did you say?! Arsen invited Voleta to a private lunch at Zhou’s Eat?!”

Sharon’s shrill voice startled several boutique employees. Sharon immediately walked to a quieter corner, pressing her cell phone to her ear as she struggled to catch her breath. Her loyal agent had just relayed information from an insider at Producer Malik’s office.

[“That’s right, Miss Sharon. Not only that, but Lady Jane and Young Master Gregory also joined them there,”] whispered the voice on the other end of the line.

The phone in Sharon’s hand nearly slipped from her grasp. Her face, caked in expensive powder, suddenly turned deathly pale. Her hands trembled violently.

“Jane met with Arianna?! Gregory too? Even that old-fashioned woman went there? How is that possible?”

An overwhelming sense of panic began to spread through Sharon’s chest. For the past seven years, she had managed to maintain her position by Arsenio’s side thanks to one major asset: Gregory.

Arsenio hadn’t touched her since that cursed night eight years ago, because he thought Sharon was traumatized. Arsenio had taken responsibility for supporting her and Mike solely because he believed Gregory was Sharon’s son.

If Arsenio or Jane were to investigate Arianna’s origins, or if a DNA test between Gregory and Arianna were to happen somehow… all the luxury, her status as a top singer, and her dream of becoming Mrs. Nakula would crumble overnight.

“Damn it! Why did that little bitch have to go back to Athens?!” Sharon cursed, her teeth chattering. She recalled the threat she’d made the night before outside the bar. It turned out Arianna wasn’t afraid at all.

Sharon immediately hung up the phone and approached Mike, who was sipping champagne on the sofa in the boutique.

“Mike, we’ve got a huge problem,” Sharon whispered urgently.

Mike set down his glass, furrowing his brow at his sister’s frightened expression. “What’s wrong? Did Arsen cancel your side contract?”

“It’s worse than that! Arianna… Arianna is using the name Voleta, and now she’s working directly on Arsen’s film project! They just had lunch with Arsen’s mother!”

Mike jumped to his feet, his relaxed expression vanishing. “How is that possible? Didn’t we make sure she was isolated on the outskirts of Fiskardo without a single penny? How did that bitch become a famous writer?!”

“I don’t care how she made her way back! The point is, we have to get her off this project before Arsen notices the resemblance between Gregory and the children Arianna may have had all those years ago!”

Sharon clenched her Hermès bag so tightly her long nails turned white. “The hospital said her first child died, though I also asked for the other two to be eliminated—what if they’re still alive and have been brought here?”

Mike fell silent, his cunning mind already devising a plan. “Calm down, Sharon. Arsen is a man who places great value on his reputation and professionalism. If we make Voleta look like a fraud or an unethical writer, Arsen himself will kick her out of Greece.”

A wicked smile slowly spread across Sharon’s lips. “Right… Let’s destroy her reputation as Voleta. I know exactly how to start.”

***

That afternoon, at the Engel Apartments.

Arianna had just stepped into her minimalist apartment when Nerina immediately ran over and hugged her legs.

“Mommy! Look what Big Brother Lean brought home from school!” Nerina exclaimed excitedly.

Leander walked over with a serious expression on his face, a stark contrast to his seven years of age.

In his small hand was a metallic gold brochure featuring the logo of the most elite international school in Athens—the same school Gregory attended.

“Mommy,” Leander looked up, his green eyes sparkling sharply under the room’s lights.

“Earlier during registration, I saw that arrogant uncle who bumped into Nerina in the lobby yesterday. He was driving a luxury car and dropping off a boy who…”

Leander paused, his green eyes narrowing.

“He looks just like me.”