Chapter 4
I had never seen him shocked.
He took one step toward us.
I moved in front of the children.
His eyes lifted to mine.
“How old are they?”
I said nothing.
His jaw tightened.
“Evelyn.”
I held his stare.
Then his voice became quieter.
“Are they mine?”
The question hurt in a place I thought had scarred over years ago.
Not because I felt guilty.
Somewhere inside me still lived the woman who had once imagined telling Adrian she was pregnant and watching joy spread across his face.
He had killed that woman with two words.
“You lost the right to ask me anything six years ago.”
Pain moved across his expression so quickly I almost convinced myself I imagined it.
Then he said, “I found out three days ago.”
I froze.
“What?”
“I didn’t know.”
I studied him for the lie.
Adrian could deceive businessmen, police officers, rivals, and men who had spent their lives learning how to recognize weakness.
He had never been particularly good at deceiving me.
Right now, he looked exactly like what he claimed to be.
A man trying to understand how six years of his life had vanished without his knowledge.
“How did you find out?”
Instead of answering, Adrian slowly moved one hand toward the inside of his jacket.
Marcus shifted behind him.
I pulled Lily closer.
Adrian immediately stopped.
“I’m getting a photograph.”
He waited until I gave the smallest nod before reaching into his jacket.
Then he held a photograph toward me.
I did not want to take it.
I did anyway.
The moment I saw the image, cold slid down my spine.
It was me.
Noah.
Lily.
We were leaving one of Harvard’s research buildings.
The picture had been taken from across the street.
I had no memory of anyone photographing us.
Noah was laughing at something Lily had said.
My hand rested on his shoulder.
Lily was carrying the ridiculous purple backpack she refused to replace even though one strap was starting to tear.
The ordinary details made the photograph worse.
Whoever had taken it had not captured a posed moment.
They had been watching us.
“Where did you get this?”
Adrian did not answer immediately.
I turned the picture over.
Three words were written across the back.
THEY ARE HIS.
My stomach dropped.
“Who sent this?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
The shock surrounding the twins disappeared behind something darker.