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    Esther ckwell didn’t know what to do or even how to act the moment the girl stepped into her office.

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    Something in her chest tightened…She wanted to get up, cross the small distance between them, and pull her into a tight hug.

    She wanted to hold her like she had wanted to hold her own son years ago when things fell apart. She wanted to ask her so many questions–questions that had been eating her up since she discovered the truth.

    How has she been managing raising her grandson?

    Why did she leave Willowcrest without a word?

    Why did she leave Alex?

    And the one that weighed the heaviest of them all…why is she hiding Alex’s son from him?

    So many questions sat heavily on Esther’s chest, pressing against her ribs like they would tear her apart. She wanted

    answers. She wanted the truth.

    She wanted to know everything that had happened in those silent years when Mia disappeared.

    But she can’t just ask her

    She couldn’t show it.

    She couldn’t show what she really felt, because the moment she did, everything could crumble. Mia would know. Mia

    would figure out she had been found out, that Esther knew the identity of her son.

    No. That truth had to stay buried a little longer.

    Esther straightened her back, hiding the storm inside her chest behind the calm mask she had mastered over the years. She folded her hands together on the desk and forced her voice to remain steady, even though her heart was pounding wildly in her chest.

    “Sit down,” she said, her tone calm and normal, giving nothing away.

    Mia gave a small nod, then lowered herself onto the chair across from Esther. She sat stiffly, like she didn’t belong there, like she wanted to run away but was forcing herself to stay seated.

    Esther let her gaze linger on the young woman.

    She had a pretty face–400 pretty, too soft for the harsh world she had clearly been surviving in. Her features were delicate, her eyes carrying a gentleness that could melt anyone’s defenses. She was the kind of woman who would stand out anywhere, without even trying

    She was gorgeous.

    Esther could see it so clearly now–what had drawn her son to her in the first ce. It wasn’t just her beauty, it was the quiet strength that clung to her, the kind of strength people carried when life had not been kind but they refused to fall

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    “How are you?” Esther asked, breaking the heavy silence.

    Mia’sshes fluttered. She looked almost startled by the question, like she was not supposed to ask her that. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to, not randomly like this…

    Her voice was soft, a little too polite.

    “I’m fine, ma,” she said quickly, her tone respectful but guarded.

    Esther nodded slowly, though her heart twisted at the lie she could hear between those words. She wasn’t fine. Not with the way her shoulders tensed, not with the faint tiredness etched into her eyes. But Esther swallowed it down, reminding herself again that she couldn’t show too much concern. Not yet.

    She cleared her throat, trying to anchor herself, to keep her emotions hidden beneathyers of normalcy.

    “I called to remind you of the meeting that you will be joining me to go-” she stopped mid–sentence.

    The words caught in her throat when she noticed it.

    The way Mia went stiff.

    Her hands, which had been loosely folded on herp, clenched together tightly. Her back straightened even more, almost like her body had frozen in ce.

    Esther’s brows knitted slightly, her eyes narrowing as she studied the young woman.

    Why did she react that way?

    The meeting was a normal thing. There was nothing unusual about it. Nothing that should make her go pale in an instant, or hold her breath like she had been struck with fear.

    Esther paused, her gaze fixed on her.

    “Is there a problem, Miss Rivers?” she asked, her voice calm but firm, though her curiosity was burning hotter now.

    For a long moment, Mia didn’t answer. Her eyes remained lowered, darting once to the floor, once to the edge of the desk, anywhere but Esther’s face. She looked like she was debating something in her head, something heavy, something that terrified her.

    Finally, she drew in a shaky breath and forced herself to meet Esther’s eyes.

    And then she did something that startled Esther even more.

    She closed her eyes tightly, like she was bracing herself. Like she was preparing to jump off a cliff without knowing what would catch her.

    When her voice finally came, it was quiet, but it carried a lot of weight.

    “Ma’am…” she hesitated, pressing her lips together before speaking again. Her fingers dug into her knees, gripping the

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    fabric of her skirt.

    “You can’t go to the meeting.”