All Chapters of I’m Back, Mr. CEO : Chapter 231 - Chapter 240

So I do. I told her about the conference, about how Ethan approached me. About the partnership, the dates, the growing feelings. About discovering he was wealthy, about the fight, about the five days of silence.And then about this morning. Cameron walked in. The photos. The revelation.“He knew who I was the entire time,” I finished. “He knew about the bankruptcy, about Dad’s death, about the accident. And he still decided to lie to my face every single day.”Mom’s face is hard. “The Moores always take what they want, no matter who they hurt. Adrian did it to your father. Now his son does it to you.”“He said he loved me. That we were friends as children and he’s been searching for me for years.”“That’s what makes it worse. If it were true, if he really cared, he would have been honest from the start.” She takes my hand. “But the Moores don’t know how to love. They only know how to take it.”“I loved him, Mom.” The admission hurts. “I really loved him.”“I know, sweetheart. I know.”

“I know. And if I could undo what happened, if I could go back and force him to be honest from the start, I would. But I can’t.” Serena’s voice cracks. “All I can do is tell you that I’m sorry. For what Adrian did to your family. For what Ethan did to your daughter. For all of it.”I want to rage at her. Want to blame her for raising a son who could do this. But looking at her now, I see something familiar. A mother’s pain. A mother’s helplessness when her child makes choices she can’t control.“Where is he?” I ask. “Your son. Where is he now?”“I don’t know. He won’t answer my calls, won’t come to the house. Lucas thinks he’s at a hotel somewhere, but Ethan won’t tell us which one.”“Why?”“Shame, probably. Guilt. He knows what he’s done. He knows he’s destroyed the only real relationship he’s ever had.” She sits back down, looking suddenly exhausted. “I wanted to help him, to comfort him, but he won’t let anyone close right now.”“He wanted to see Maya one more time, didn’t he? That

{MAYA POV}Cameron Blake has been relentless.Flowers every other day. Lunch invitations I keep declining. Text messages that walk the line between supportive and opportunistic. And now, sitting across from me at this restaurant I didn’t really want to come to, a proposal I definitely don’t want to hear.“I know the timing isn’t ideal,” he says, sliding a folder across the table. “But Sterling Industries needs support right now. And I’m offering it.”I look at the folder without opening it. “What kind of support?”“Investment. Partnership. A merger of our companies.” He leans forward. “Think about it, Maya. Blake Industries and Sterling Industries combined would be unstoppable. We’d dominate the sustainable tech market.”“We’ve been through this before. I’m not interested in a merger.”“That was before. Before you knew what kind of man Ethan Moore really was. Before he destroyed your company’s integration project and left you scrambling to pick up the pieces.”He’s not wrong about the

I’m drowning in paperwork when the panic attack hits.It’s been three weeks since the summit. Three weeks of rebuilding, of lawyers and contracts and dissolution agreements. Three weeks of pretending I’m fine when I’m barely holding together.Sophie left an hour ago, insisting I go home and rest. But I came here instead. To my apartment. To the silence that’s somehow worse than the noise.I pour myself a glass of wine I don’t really want and collapse on the couch. My laptop is open to Cameron’s merger proposal. I’ve read it seventeen times and I still can’t make myself decide.The numbers are good. The terms are fair. It’s the smart choice.So why can’t I pull the trigger?My hand moves to my necklace. The star. I’ve been touching it constantly these past weeks, like a lifeline to something I can’t name.I should take it off. I should put it in a drawer and forget about it like I’m trying to forget about Ethan.But I can’t.Because even knowing he lied, even knowing he’s a Moore, this

The flight to New York feels endless.I’m in a middle seat between a businessman who snores and a teenager who won’t stop playing games on his phone with the volume up. But I barely notice. My mind is thousands of miles away, replaying memories I’ve just recovered after fifteen years.Every moment from that summer is crystal clear now. Like my brain has been waiting all this time to release them. Waiting for the right moment. Waiting for me to be ready.I’m not sure I’m ready.But I’m going anyway.The plane lands at JFK at 6:47 AM. I didn’t sleep at all. Just sat there, touching my necklace, remembering.Derek’s address is in Manhattan. Upper West Side. A neighborhood I’ve never been to but my GPS knows the way.The Uber driver tries to make small talk. I give one-word answers until he gives up.We pull up to a beautiful brownstone. Old money. The kind of building that whispers Moore legacy even without a sign.“This is it?” I ask.“According to the address, yeah.”I pay and get out,