PART 2 — THE MAN WHO WASN’T HER HUSBAND

The private jet touched down in Boston just after midnight.

Marcus was waiting before the engines had completely stopped.

He opened the door.

“Boss.”

I stepped onto the runway.

“Where is he?”

“Car’s ready.”

We drove through the sleeping city.

I watched Boston pᴀss behind tinted glᴀss.

For three years, I’d told myself I didn’t care where Evelyn lived.

Now every mile felt like punishment.

Marcus finally broke the silence.

“The man’s name is Daniel Reeves.”

“Her husband?”

“No.”

I turned.

“What?”

Marcus looked at me.

“He isn’t her husband.”

My jaw тιԍнтened.

“Then why did he say she was his wife?”

“Because that’s what people believe.”

“What does that mean?”

Marcus handed me a folder.

I opened it.

Evelyn’s name.

Boston address.

Medical records.

University records.

Then I saw something that made my hands stop.

Two birth certificates.

Twins.

Noah Carter.

Lily Carter.

Mother: Evelyn Carter.

Father: Unknown.

My throat тιԍнтened.

“Why is the father listed as unknown?”

“Evelyn never put your name down.”

I closed the folder.

“She knew.”

“Yes.”

“She knew they were mine.”

Marcus nodded.

“And there’s more.”

He handed me another pH๏τograph.

Evelyn outside a small house.

Daniel stood beside her.

Two children played in the yard.

Noah was holding a red ball.

Lily was sitting on the steps.

Daniel’s hand rested on Evelyn’s shoulder.

I stared at the picture.

He looked like a family man.

Not a criminal.

Not a bodyguard.

Not someone who had stolen my place.

Then Marcus said quietly,

“Daniel isn’t Evelyn’s husband.”

“Then who is he?”

“He’s her brother.”

I looked at him.

“What?”

“Evelyn’s older half-brother. Different surname.”

The anger inside me faltered.

“Why is he raising my children?”

Marcus opened the last page.

There was a pH๏τograph of Evelyn leaving a hospital three years earlier.

She was carrying two newborn babies.

And behind her stood a man I recognized.

One of my enemies.

My blood turned cold.

“That’s Victor Salerno.”

Marcus nodded.

“He was watching Evelyn.”

“Why?”

“We don’t know yet.”

I stared at the pH๏τograph.

Suddenly, the twins weren’t the only thing that mattered.

Someone had known about them.

Someone had been watching Evelyn.

And someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to keep me from finding them.

“Where is Evelyn?”

Marcus looked at me.

“She isn’t at home.”

“Where?”

“Harvard Medical Center.”

“Why?”

Marcus hesitated.

“Because she was admitted this afternoon.”

My heart stopped.

“For what?”

“We don’t know.”

I opened the car door before it had completely stopped.

“Take me there.”

Marcus grabbed my arm.

“Boss.”

I turned.

His expression was grim.

“There are two men watching the hospital.”

My hand slowly dropped.

“Whose men?”

“We don’t know.”

I looked toward the hospital lights.

For three years, I had thought Evelyn had simply moved on.

Now I was beginning to understand.

She hadn’t disappeared from my life.

Someone had helped her disappear.

And tonight, for the first time, I was close enough to find out who.

I stepped out into the cold.

“Let’s go.”

Because somewhere inside that hospital was the woman I had abandoned.

And somewhere nearby were the two children who had been waiting three years to learn who their father was.

This time, I wasn’t leaving without answers.