All Chapters of Nine years to find you: Chapter 11 - Chapter 19

"Cease and desist. Any further public statement regarding Mr. Carrington, his family, or the events of the wedding would result in immediate civil action for defamation and breach of contract. Damages sought in the millions." I laughed because what else was there to do? I had nothing left to say to the press anyway. No proof, no platform and no one who'd believe a word out of my mouth against a name like Carrington. The irony wasn't lost on me, that the one time I might have had something true to tell the world, they'd made absolutely sure no one would ever hear it. I sat on the edge of that mattress with the letter in one hand and the memory of that photo burned into the back of my eyes, and something in me finally, quietly, gave up trying to fight.Standing up, I began to gather everything that belonged to me. There wasn't much. One cardboard box, the one that had survived the rain outside my old building, now soft at the corners and smelling faintly of mildew and a duffel bag Ma

Zadok's Pov"Minneapolis, Minnesota." A voice announced as the jet touched down. It was just after seven, tires kissing the wet tarmac hard enough to jolt the cabin, and through the window I watched Minnesota rise up, familiar and completely unrecognizable all at once.Nine years. Nine years since I'd let any part of the States see my face. The last time I was here, I was still madly in love and full of hope for the future. I stood at the top of the staircase longer than necessary, rain misting cold against my skin which had gotten used to warmer climates over the years. Somewhere below, my security team waited by the cars, umbrellas already up. I caught my reflection in the jet's polished window before I started down. Broader now through the shoulders than the man who left here. The scar above my left eyebrow caught the runway lights at a certain angle, a thin pale line left behind from a highway hit I shouldn't have survived, back in the early years when Blackwood Enterprises was

Sandra's PovThe tray shook so hard the glasses on it clinked together, loud enough to cut through the low murmur of the crowd around me. I tightened my grip, willing my hands to stop, but they wouldn't listen.His eyes moved across the room and stopped on mine.For a second, he didn't move.His mouth parted slightly, his brows lifting. The glass in his hand lowered, and his fingers tightened around it. Whatever had flashed across his face disappeared without a trace. He leaned toward the man beside him and whispered something, then he started walking.The people in his way moved before he had to ask them to. A few turned as he passed, following him with their eyes, but his never left mine. I stood where I was, my fingers curling around the edge of the table.And he just kept coming.He stopped close enough that I had to tilt my head back to hold his eyes, the warmth of blowing on my face. "Sandra Whitmore." His voice came out flat, but his eyes said something else entirely. "Serving

Maya's PovThe lab was empty except for me and the machines humming away because nobody bothered to switch them off. I'd been staring at the monitor intently watching the loading sign and waiting for the time the results would finally pop up, my knee bouncing under the desk the whole time.Paternal Match: 99.9%. Zadok was undoubtedly the father of the child but still, seeing it in the result sent a chill down my spine. I had laboured too hard for a test result to ruin things for me. Nine years of careful lies stitched together one thread at a time, and this one line of text was about to unravel every single one of them the second it landed on his desk.I couldn't let that happen.I did everything within my power to make her disappear and now, all of a sudden, she shows up with a daughter who looked exactly like him. My fingers moved across the keyboard instinctively. I pulled up the raw data file, found the decimal point buried down in a string of numbers nobody but a lab scientist

Sandra's POV"Sandra," he said without even bothering to turn around. "Who else were you sleeping with nine years ago while you were making a fool out of me?"My stomach dropped. "Don't insult me, Zadok."He finally turned, and whatever little hope I'd carried into that room died the moment I saw his face."Insult you?" He let out a bitter laugh. "The only person who has the right to feel insulted right now is me."He reached for a folder on his desk and tossed it in my direction. It landed against the glass table between us. I stared at it. "The DNA results."My fingers went cold. "You ran a DNA? How did you...?""That'snot your business Sandra. What matters is that the results have shown your true colours.""What? What do you mean?""You tell me.""I don't understand.""You don't understand?" His voice rose, the controlled anger finally cracking through. "I've spent nine years completely oblivious to the fact that I might even have a child. Nine years wondering why the woman I love