CHAPTER 35: PARALLEL LIVES

Hilton Group Headquarters.

"Angela, the service elevator’s over there. How do we get across?"

Angela’s sharp gaze scanned the morning crowd.

"Billy, you and the rest—hurry. I’ll get the elevator open."

It was still early; most people were busy with breakfast. Heart pounding, Angela slipped to the side and managed to open the CEO’s private elevator. She waved, and the other five kids quickly piled in.

On the sixty-sixth floor, Lucas stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, surveying the traffic below.

Angela carefully pushed open the office door—then froze.

Who was this man standing in Lucas’s office?

"You!"

Lucas spun around, locking eyes with the little girl.

"You’re not crippled?!"

Some strange sense of fate—her words were exactly what her mom had said.

"How did you get in?" Lucas ignored the question and asked his own.

Angela turned and waved. A moment later, five more children marched in and lined up in front of him.

For the first time in years, Lucas felt the faintest trace of pressure.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

"Were you with our mommy last night?"

Billy asked first.

"Yes." Lucas nodded, surprisingly giving a direct answer. These six kids were... intriguing. Each one carried themselves like a little adult. But the ones speaking—Angela and Billy—were clearly the leaders.

"You’re marrying our mommy. Whatever your reason, today you’ll sign this contract."

Dustin pulled out two neatly prepared documents and set them before him.

[Sophia’s Custody Agreement]

[Rules for Married Life]

They looked almost official.

Lucas skimmed through, raising a brow. Every clause tilted in Sophia’s favor—if she wanted to leave, he couldn’t stop her; if something happened to her, they didn’t need him to interfere.

In other words, these six kids were Sophia’s shield.

"And if I don’t sign?"

"Then your company’s top security system crashes."

Billy’s voice was firm, unwavering.

Lucas suddenly remembered the mysterious hacker who once breached Hilton Group and—oddly enough—left them six hundred dollars richer.

"You know who I am?" His brows arched. Did these kids know the truth—that he was their father?

So the ones who hacked Hilton Group... were them?

"Who you are doesn’t matter. In our hearts, Mommy is all that matters."

Billy stared him down without flinching.

"Brother, Mommy might come back soon. We’re running out of time." Little Faye whispered.

"Uncle Hilton, you have two days to think about it. If you refuse to sign, in three days you can forget about marrying Mommy!"

Billy turned on his heel, waved with dramatic flair, and led the retreat.

Lucas’s lips curved. For once, amusement lit his eyes.

Just then, the desk phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Hilton, everything’s set just like you ordered. Olivia already agreed."

"Good. Then I expect results."

"Yes, sir. Give me three months—I’ll make her a superstar."

Lucas hung up, his gaze dropping back to the contracts. After a long pause, he finally uncapped his pen and signed his bold, elegant name.

...

Meanwhile, Sophia was almost home when she spotted a familiar figure at the corner.

Ryan.

She pulled over, meeting his curious gaze. "Get in."

He’d been waiting—unable to enter Silver Lake Villa without permission. Somehow, he’d ended up there, and he couldn’t deny it: the words Sophia had said last night had hit him right where it hurt.

"Why did you choose me as your partner?"

Last night, halfway through their talk, he’d stepped out—and she’d disappeared.

Sophia ordered a juice, then smiled. "Do I really need a reason?"

"You look familiar. But I don’t remember who you are."

"Familiar is enough. We met once, a long time ago. Do you remember this?"

She lifted her hand, revealing a scar.

Ryan’s brows furrowed. They had met—but so long ago it was natural he’d forgotten. Yet if not for him, she might have died that night. Back then, Ryan had followed Frank to the Morgan estate. He was the one who found her, bleeding on the floor. Otherwise, no one would have saved her.

"You’re—"

"That’s right. Frank Turner is my uncle. When he and Mary Wright came to ’offer condolences,’ pretending to care after stealing everything from my mother—that’s when we met."

Ryan’s expression hardened. Now he understood why she’d sought him out. It was all because of that entanglement years ago.

He too was the product of Frank’s affair, but because he was a son, he was taken back—and forced to take the surname of Frank’s wife.

Sophia, beautiful and obedient since childhood, had been left behind in the Morgan family... only to be used when she grew up.

"Our stories are nearly the same. I know how badly you want to be recognized. You’re a financial genius, Ryan. And I have the power to crush the Wrights. Together, we’d be unstoppable."

"With what? Your designer status?"

Sophia’s lips curved.

"When my grandfather divided his assets, he left a portion for my mother. But my dear uncle—your father—swallowed it all. After Grandfather passed, Frank married into the Wright family, but he cheated on Mary. He lied to your mother, saying he was single. When she gave birth to you and Mary found out, Mary forced your mother into a mental hospital. And Frank—your father—actually made you take the name of the woman who destroyed your real mother!"

Ryan stiffened. She’d dug this deep into his past?

"I have plenty more you don’t know. For example—Mary and Frank’s marriage? A mess. She’s got a twenty-year-old boy toy on the side. Or your half-brother, Nathan Wright. He’s twenty-seven, a gambling addict. Lost fifty million dollars overseas, drowning in debt."

Each fact hit Ryan like a blow. He’d thought he knew everything about taking down the Wrights—yet Sophia knew even more.

"You said it yourself. He’s your uncle. What if you can’t bring yourself to—"

"Andrew is still my father. And so what?"

Her words cut him off cold.

No one chooses to live with this kind of hate. But some wounds leave no other path.

Ryan dropped his gaze, lost in thought. Sophia didn’t rush him. She knew she had him. After all, his mother, Holly Bryant, had been driven insane by the Wrights. He’d seen it with his own eyes.

Time slipped by. Sophia’s juice was half gone before Ryan finally looked up, locking eyes with her.

"Does Lucas know?"

"We have a contract marriage. Mutual use. Nothing more."

Ryan extended his hand, voice low. "Then here’s to our partnership."

Sophia took his hand, lips curving as she murmured, "Sweet dreams, Ryan."

Ryan, plagued by crippling insomnia, almost smiled.