CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

NaomiSunday mornings are supposed to be gentle.Coffee.Cartoons.Sophie curled beside me with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders while I pretend to rest before starting the weekend chores.But today, everything feels tight around the edges, like the air is thinnier. I stand by the kitchen counter, watching the coffee fill the pot drip by slow drip.Sophie clatters around in the living room, humming one of the songs from her class. Her little voice floats through the apartment, warm and distracting in the best way.But my mind refuses to settle. No matter how many times I try to move past yesterday, the memory keeps returning: Peter stepping out of the elevator.His eyes widened slightly.That stillness in his expression, like recognition, was trying to surface.I press my palms into the counter. There’s no way he knows.He can’t. And yet…The fear sits so vividly beneath my ribs it feels like a bruise. “Mom,” Sophie calls, “can we go to the park today?”I blink back into the

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

NaomiThe park is louder than I expected.Children run between the slides and swings, their laughter cutting through the afternoon air. Sophie races ahead of me, backpack bouncing against her shoulders, hair pulled into a crooked ponytail she insisted on tying herself.“Mom, watch this!” she calls, climbing the ladder to the slide with determined concentration.“I’m watching,” I answer, settling onto a nearby bench.She pushes off and slides down fast, landing on her feet with a proud grin.“I didn’t even fall.” “You’re very impressive,” she beams, she beams and races toward the monkey bars. I let my shoulders relax slightly as I watch her integrate easily, talking, laughing, already confident in ways I never was at her age.Second grade has been good for her, structure, and friends. A routine that feels stable.I close my eyes for a moment, letting the sounds of the park ground me.But my mind refuses to stay still.Tomorrow.The presentation.Cedars-St. Adrian.The possibility that

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

NaomiMorning arrives too quickly.I wake before my alarm, the pale gray light just beginning to filter through the curtains. For a few seconds, I lie still, listening to the quiet hum of the apartment—the refrigerator, the distant traffic, the soft rhythm of Sophie’s breathing from her room.I sit up slowly, grounding myself in the familiar routine. Shower. Coffee. Review slides one last time. I move through it all with practiced efficiency, the way I always do when something matters too much to risk emotion.Sophie appears in the doorway while I’m tying my hair back.“You’re up early,” she says, rubbing one eye.“So are you.”She shrugs. “I have spelling today.”“Important day for both of us,” She watches me for a moment. “You’re wearing your serious jacket.”I glance down at the navy blazer laid out on the chair. “Is that what it’s called?”She nods. “You wear it when you have things to explain.”I smile despite myself. “Then it’s definitely the right jacket.”After breakfast, I

All Chapters of The Billionaire's Secret Daughter: Chapter 21 - Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE