“Why did you leave Willowcrest?”

    The question froze her to the bone.

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    It was like the floor shifted beneath her, like the air in the room was suddenly too

    thick to breathe.

    Her chest tightened, her lungs fighting for air, her heart mming so loudly in her ears she could barely hear anything else.

    Mia shot to her feet immediately, her chair scraping back with a sharp sound. Her eyes were wide, frantic, and all she could think was one word.

    Run.

    That’s exactly what she was about to do, bolt.

    But Esther’s voice cut through her, rushed and desperate.

    “We don’t mean any harm, Mia,” Esther said quickly, her tone softer now, almost pleading, as if she could sense the panic boiling under Mia’s skin.

    Mia froze halfway to the door, her body trembling. She turned her head slowly to look at Esther, her chest rising and falling

    She couldn’t run. She wanted to, every instinct screamed for her to. But she couldn’t…not now, not like this. If she bolted, they would know. They would chase the truth harder. They would dig, and she couldn’t let that happen.

    She forced herself to take in a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady her nerves. She had topose herself. She had to stay in control of this moment. She couldn’t let them see her fall apart. She couldn’t give them any more reason to suspect her.

    If she leaves this office now, she wasn’t just leaving the building. She knows deep down…she would be leaving this town, this country, everything. Forever.

    So, she straightened her back, clenched her fists at her sides to stop the trembling, and forced her voice to sound calm.

    15:21 Sat, Sep b6 /bN

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    “Ma’am, I don’t know how that has to do with my job here,” Mia said carefully, her tone even, polite, almost detached. Like she was annoyed, but not enough to make it dramatic. Like she was just a normal employee who thought the question was out of line.

    Her words hung in the air, and Esther stared at her. Really stared. Searching her face.

    Mia held her gaze, even though her insides were twisting so hard it hurt.

    “If that will be all,” Mia added quickly, clinging to her calm, “I’d like to go work.”

    back to

    Julian’s voice broke in before Esther could respond. His tone was sharp, his eyes fixed on her like he could burn the truth out of her.

    “How did you know about the whole setup?” he asked.

    Mia’s eyes flicked to him, just for a second, before darting back to Esther. Her

    chest clenched harder.

    “I already exined,” she said, her voice tighter now, quieter. “I saw it in a dream.”

    Her heart pounded so violently she swore it might burst out of her chest. She tried to keep her expression nk, her hands sped in front of her to hide the shaking.

    Julian didn’t blink. His stare was heavy.

    Esther leaned forward, her voice low, insistent. “Why did you leave Willowcrest, Mia? What are you hiding?”

    The words mmed into her again.

    Panic crashed over her so fast she thought her knees might give out. She dug her nails into her palm, trying to hold herself together.

    The room tilted slightly, her vision blurring for a second.

    What do they know?

    Her mind raced wildly, spinning out of control. Did they know the truth? Did they

    15:21 Sat, bSep /bb6 /bbN /b

    know the truth about Aiden?

    They couldn’t.

    They couldn’t.

    :

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    She fought to keep her face straight, to keep her body from giving her inside, her thoughts were screaming.

    They can’t know.

    They can’t.

    They can’t.

    “I’m going to leave-” Mia started, her voice trembling.

    “Is it because of Aiden?” Julian’s voice cut through her.

    away,

    but

    The sound of his words made Mia’s whole body freeze. For a second, it was like the ground was gone, like she was falling endlessly and couldn’t find anything to grab onto.

    Her heart dropped straight to the bottom of her stomach. Her mouth went dry.

    No.

    No, no, no.

    This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real.

    Her chest started to ache from the way her heart mmed so violently against it.

    “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mia whispered, her voice unsteady, barely holding together. She tried to sound firm, but it came out broken, shaky, like the fear inside of her couldn’t be contained anymore.

    She spun around immediately, desperate to get out, to run, to escape this nightmare. But the door wasn’t just a door anymore–it was a wall. Julian was standing there, arms folded over his chest, his broad frame blocking her only way

    out.

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    “No–please…” The words tumbled from her lips, trembling, weak. Her eyes stung, tears blurring her vision as she shook her head frantically. “Please leave the door.”

    Her voice cracked. She was already close to crying.

    Everything she had done, everything she had sacrificed, all the years of silence, all the nights of fear, everything had been for one reason. To keep him safe. To keep Aiden hidden, away from this family, away from the danger that came with them.

    And now it was unraveling. It was unraveling right here, right now, in front of her, and she couldn’t stop it.

    “Please,” she whispered again, her body trembling, her knees almost giving out from the weight of it all.

    “Come, sit down,” Esther’s voice broke through gently, almost pleading, her tone softer than Julian’s sharpness. “Mia, we just want to talk. I told you, we mean no

    harm.”

    Mia shook her head violently

    “I have nothing to say anymore,” she whispered hoarsely, her voice breaking as tears slipped from her eyes. Her gaze shot back to Julian, still unmoving at the door. “Please… please leave the door.”

    But Julian didn’t move. He stood there, his arms folded tighter, his expression unreadable, like he was bracing himself for her to explode.

    “Yes,” Julian said, his voice calm but carrying weight. “We have a lot to talk about, Mia Turner.”

    The way

    he said her name made her flinch so hard her body jolted.

    Mia’s breath caught in her throat. For a moment she thought her heart had stopped.

    She turned her head slowly toward Esther, who was still sitting, watching her with careful eyes.

    “What is this?” Mia demanded, her voice cracking, her hands trembling at her sides. “What are you doing?” Her chest rose and fell so fast, every breath burned.

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    “Did I do wrong to warn you? To try and save your life?” Her voice lifted, anger and fear twisting together.

    Tears blurred her eyes, but the heat of her anger gave her the strength to stand her ground. “Is it the job? Then fine–I quit. I’ll walk out right now. You’ll never see me again.”

    “That’s not the point,” Esther said softly

    Mia let out a sharp, painedugh. “Then what is the point?” Her hands balled into fists, her voice breaking with the weight of her emotions. “What’s the point?”

    Julian finally uncrossed his arms. His eyes locked on hers, steady, soft and certain.

    “The point,” he said slowly, “is Alex wants to see you. He suspects you of being some kind of spy.”

    Mia froze.

    Her mouth parted slightly, but no words came out.

    Her lips trembled as the word slipped out of her.

    “What?”

    E