bChapter /bb227 /b

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    The entire day at work Alex couldn’t concentrate properly. He sat behind his desk, staring at the screen, fingers moving over the keyboard, but his mind was everywhere else.

    Numbers blurred into shapes he couldn’t make sense of. Words in the reports he was supposed to review didn’t make sense

    He rubbed his temple, leaning back in his chair. He wasn’t sure if he was just reading too much meaning into what his brother said that morning, or if there was truly something hidden behind those words.

    It had to be nothing. That was what he kept telling himself. His brother always worried too much, always suspected shadows where there were none. Maybe this was just another one of those times.

    But still, something in his gut was telling him something bigger was going on.

    His family had just been acting so strangetely.

    It wasn’t only his brother, his mother most especially. The way she watched him, the way she seemed ilike /ishe was holding back words every time they sat across from each other at dinner, or when she stopped at his doorte at night just to check if he was in. She thought he didn’t notice, but Alex noticed everything.

    The strange quietness. The way her eyes clouded when she thought no one was looking.

    And that tone in her voice when she called his name.

    He drummed his fingers on the desk, jaw tightening. No matter how much he tried to shake it off, it wouldn’t leave him alone.

    By the time the evening came and he drove home, his thoughts were all over the ce.

    When he pushed open the front door, the house was unusually quiet.

    He saw them.

    His mom and Julian were sitting in the living room. Both of them were sitting there like they had been expecting him.

    Alex froze for a second in the doorway, his hand still gripping the strap of his bag. His eyes moved from Julian’s tense expression to his mother, who stood immediately the moment she saw him.

    A maid walked in quietly and reached for his bag. Alex let it go, his eyes still fixed on his mother.

    Something was wrong.

    “I think your father is nning something” His mother said, her voice tight, as if the words were pulled out of her unwillingly. She started pacing in front of him, her hands twisting together.

    Alex frowned. He loosened the first button of his shirt, trying to make sense of what she had just said.

    “What are you talking about?” he asked slowly, his voice low but firm,

    “Look in that deal with Lujo,” his mom said quickly, almost cutting him off, as if she couldn’t waste another second.

    Alex’s brows knitted together. “Isn’t that the advertisementpany?”

    His mom nodded.

    “What happened?” Alex’s voice sharpened.

    But she hesitated. He noticed it immediately…the pause, the flicker in her eyes like she was debating how much she could say.

    “I think your father is nning something with them,” she finally whispered, her voice cracking a little.

    Alex’s head snapped toward his brother, then back to his mother. “What will make you think this?”

    “I have my reasons,” Esther said, her gaze dropping for a second before lifting back up, steadying herself. “Just look into them, the CEO, the directors, their rtionship with your father and hispany. Something isn’t right. I can feel it.”

    Her voice was trembling now, but her eyes burned with certainty.

    Alex stood still, his jaw tightening. For a moment, he just stared at her, trying to read her face. She looked pale, exhausted. He knew his mother well enough to know this wasn’t just some careless suspicion.

    Without another word, Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His fingers moved quickly, dialing a number he knew by heart.

    The line picked up on the second ring.

    “I want you to find out Charles ckwell’s attachment to Lujo Company,” Alex said, his tone clipped and sharp. “If they have met, talked, or had any deals in the past.”

    “Okay, sir… give me a few hours,” the voice on the other end responded without hesitation.

    Alex hung up, lowering the phone slowly, his eyes still fixed on his mother. The silence between them stretched.

    Finally, he spoke, his voice softer this time. “Are you okay?”

    His mom nodded, but the motion was too quick, too forced.

    Alex saw right through it.

    Mia didn’t even knock. She stormed down the hallway, her feet hitting the floor hard with every step. Her whole body was shaking with anger, and by the time she reached the idoor/i, she wasn’t thinking anymore. She just shoved it open.

    “Lily!” she snapped, her voice already sharp, already filled with fire.

    Inside, Lily was sitting on the bed like she didn’t have a care in the world, her legs crossed as she carefully painted her nails a bright shade of red. The strong smell of polish hit Mia’s nose instantly, and it only made her more irritated.

    “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Mia demanded.

    Lily didn’t even flinch. She lifted her eyeszily, like she had been expecting her, like Mia’s anger wasn’t enough to move her.

    “What?” Lily asked tly, as if Mia was the crazy one for barging in.

    “You have no right to tell my son shit!” Mia’s chest was rising and falling fast, the words spilling out of her mouth before she could stop them.

    “Why inot/i?” Lily replied calmly, putting the tiny brush back into the bottle and closing it like she had all the time in the world.

    Mia’s eyes widened. Her heart hammered against her ribs. “What do you mean why not?” she barked, her voice almost breaking.

    “Why can’t he know his father is close?” Lily said, tilting her head, her tone too casual for Mia’s liking.

    Mia’s body trembled with fury. She wanted to strangle her sister right there, wanted to shake some sense into her. How could she say that? How could she just put those words into a child’s mind like it was nothing?

    “Are you insane?” Mia hissed, stepping closer, her whole body tight with rage. Anger radiated off her like heat.

    Just a few minutes ago, Aiden had looked at her with those innocent eyes, those eyes that trusted her more than anything, and he had asked, “Mama, is Papa close? Aunt Lily said Dada is very close to me.”

    The memory made Mia’s stomach twist. The betrayal burned her chest.

    “I should be asking you that,” Lily shot back, suddenly dropping everything she was holding onto the bed. Her voice was sharp

    now.

    “Lying to yourself, deceiving yourself about how you feel and what you really want. You can lie to everyone, Mia, but not to me.”

    Mia blinked, stunned for a second, but then the words sank in. Her face burned hot.

    “What nonsense are you even talking about?” she spat, her hands clenching into fists at her side.

    “I’m saying you’re a hypocrite,” Lily said, standing now, her chin lifted, her voice stronger. “Oh, I hate him, I want nothing to do with him, I don’t want my son anywhere near him–yet here you are, working under him.”

    Mia’s whole body jerked like she’d been pped. Her lips parted, but no words came at first. When they did, her voice was shaking with rage.

    “Firstly, I didn’t know he owned thatpany when I applied and got the job. Secondly, I need that money. I need that job. So what is it to you, if I decide to work there for a while, Lily? How the fuck is it your business?”

    Her heart was pounding against her ribs so hard it hurt.

    Lily’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe stop lying to yourself then and let the boy meet his father,” she said quietly, but her words carried more weight than if she had shouted them.

    Mia’s hands were shaking now. Her jaw tightened, her teeth grinding together as the anger inside her boiled over. “You are a fucking bitch!” she shouted, her voice breaking.

    “Sure,” Lily said coldly, folding her arms like she had already won this argument, like Mia’s anger meant nothing.

    The sight of her standing there so calm, so damn sure of herself, only made Mia’s blood boil more.

    Her throat was tight as she pointed a shaking finger at her sister. “Please don’t let me keep my son away from you, Lily. Don’t fucking make me –”

    Mia’s voice cracked, but the warning in it was sharp as ss.

    “You can’t do that,” Lily said, her eyes going wide, her voice rushing out in disbelief.

    Mia’s lips curved into something that wasn’t a smile. It was dark, broken, dangerous. “Watch me,” she whispered, every wordced

    with venom.

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    She turned to leave, her feet already carrying her to the door, desperate to put space between them before she did something she

    couldn’t take back.

    But Lily’s words stopped her cold.

    “Let the boy meet his father, Mia, or he is going to fucking resent you for it,” Lily said firmly, her voice echoing across the room.

    Mia froze, her back to her sister, her hand gripping the doorknob so tightly her knuckles turned white.

    Her heart twisted painfully in her chest. Her throat burned. But she forced her lips to move, forced her voice toe out sharp and

    cold.

    “Fuck off,” she muttered.