All Chapters of Mr. Hayes’ Secret Heir: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Just like Mason predicted, Ruben was arrested. Him, his father, and his brother. All of them.When the news broke, I followed every update. Fraud wasn't even the worst of it. Authorities discovered Ruben's family had ties to a human trafficking operation that had been under investigation for years.Those bulky men that used to come to the house finally made sense. I never understood why Ruben kept them around or what business they were there for. All I knew was that whenever they showed up, I would take Lior and lock us both in the bedroom and stay there until they were gone. It was the only time Ruben never called me out to serve anyone.I was grateful Lior and I got out when we did. All this time, I thought Ruben was just a selfish, cruel husband. Turns out I didn't know half of it.Chase and I had made plans to visit Ruben in prison together. But Chase had to travel for business. He made me promise to wait until he was back so we could go together, and he was returning today.Mrs.

Four days. That was all that stood between me and the rest of my life. Mason had wrapped up the last of his business in Chicago and now there was nothing left to do but pack the city into boxes and walk away from it.I should have been nothing but glad. New city. New everything. A clean page after years of writing the same miserable sentence over and over. But underneath the gladness sat fear. Fear of what waited for me on the other side.Chicago had never been kind to me. Not once. But it was still home. It raised me, broke me, and rebuilt me wrong. Made me a mother in the middle of all of it. Whatever I am now, this city had a hand in it.I just prayed LA would go easier on me. That it might be the open window I'd been gasping toward my whole life. Lior was the only one in the house with no complicated feelings about any of it. To him the move meant a new school and new friends.The sad ones were Jane and Mrs. Betty. Happy for us and the new beginning, but sad that they'd be missing

We left for LA on Mason's private jet. Truth be told, I had no idea how to carry myself in that kind of comfort.The only other time I'd been on a plane was that summer I traveled to LA, and my parents made sure to book the cheapest seat money could buy. Cramped, middle row, somebody's elbow in my ribs the whole way. Calling that an experience and calling this one the same word felt like a crime.Lior, on the other hand, had never flown before, and being six, he had zero interest in hiding what he felt about it. He kept spinning around announcing how big the jet was, how soft the seats were.Mason and Chase watched him with these fond little smiles, like his wonder was the cutest thing in the world. To them, this was nothing out of the ordinary.If only they knew the only thing keeping me from doing the exact same thing as Lior, running my hands over everything, gasping at the legroom, was the quiet chant I kept repeating in my head. Stay calm. Act like you've been here. Do not embarr

I sat in the passenger seat of Nicholas's car, biting my lip, my palms pressed flat against my thighs. The silence wasn't helping. Neither were the glances he kept sneaking at me.God, there was no coming back from this. My first day on the job and I'd gone and gossiped to my boss's son about how strict his own mother was. Right to his face. Before I had a clue who he was."You're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that," Nicholas said, his eyes on the road."Doing what?""Biting your lip. Crushing your hands." He nodded toward my lap. "You've been at it since we got in the car.""Oh." I let go of my hands, embarrassed.He chuckled. "As much as I'm enjoying watching you spiral, you should relax. You didn't say anything wrong. My mother is strict. You didn't lie."The breath I'd been holding finally let go."My sisters and I call her the shark," he added. "Because if you're not careful, she'll swallow you whole."A laugh broke out of me, and just like that the knot in my chest ca

Nicholas texted that he was outside before I'd finished my coffee. I was at the table with Lior and Mason having breakfast.I stood and kissed the top of Lior's head. "Be good. Have the best day at school." I grabbed my bag."Where are you rushing to?" Mason asked."Nicholas is outside."He exhaled through his nose and looked back down at his coffee. I headed for the door, halfway through the kitchen doorway when he spoke again.“Mia.”I turned. "Yes?""The boots I got you. They're more durable than the ones you've got on. Wear those next time.""Okay. Thanks."Nicholas drove us into a part of town lush with green, trees leaning over the road, gardens spilling past their walls."It's beautiful out here.""Client's request." He took an easy turn. "She's moving down from Canada. Wanted a quiet neighborhood."We pulled up to the site, and the Nicholas I'd spent the drive laughing with was gone the minute he stepped out of the car.He moved through the skeleton of the house, rattling off