CHAPTER 73: PEELING BACK THE CRIME

As soon as Damian closed the door behind him, Rowan opened the photo album.

The moment he turned to the first page, his eyes lit up. It was a picture of Lyra as a baby. Her cheeks round and chubby, her arms layered with baby fat.

His smile stretched all the way to his ears. The tension from the Hales earlier slowly faded.

He flipped through each page one by one. Lyra with pigtails in kindergarten, Lyra crying in another photo.

"Was she really this chubby back then?" he murmured to himself with a quiet laugh.

She had been like a little balloon all the way until middle school.

...

Lyra rolled back and forth on the bed, her heart racing at the thought that the DNA test results would be out tomorrow.

Rowan stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He watched her restless movements.

"Help with my hair," Rowan said with gentle authority, his voice intentionally drawing her attention back to him.

Lyra sat up and pouted, clearly pulled out of her worry.

She dragged herself off the bed and wandered over to Rowan, lazily drying his hair. She sighed repeatedly, clearly still weighed down by her thoughts.

Rowan watched her through the mirror.

"Why do you keep sighing?" Rowan asked.

Lyra only shrugged.

In one swift movement, he caught her hand. She yelped as Rowan suddenly swept her up in his arms and carried her straight to the bed.

He pinned her gently beneath him and began nibbling at her neck.

In a low, rough voice, Rowan asked, "Are you worried about tomorrow?"

Lyra slipped her fingers into Rowan’s hair, holding him close.

"Mmm... yes." Her breath caught as his lips hovered near her skin, sending a shiver through her.

She cupped his face and stopped him. "Rowan..."

Lyra sighed. "I can handle it if she’s not my mother. But... I just feel sorry for her."

She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, inhaling his familiar scent. It soothed her.

Her father, Nora, Martin, and even Lewis constantly reminded her not to cling to the hope that her mother would be there.

Lewis was the harshest of them all. He said she was deceiving herself, yet his words grounded her back in reality.

Then she pushed him back slightly so she could look at him.

"What will happen to her after this?" she asked quietly.

"Find her family," Rowan said. "Or find a safe place for her."

Lyra’s eyes lit up. "Will you help me with that?"

Rowan nodded. "Anything you wish."

"Aww... I love you, Rowan," she murmured against his ear.

His simple reply gave her gentle reassurance. Lyra pulled him close and drew him into a deep kiss.

Rowan began to undo her nightdress, and they tangled beneath the blanket, caught in the heat of the moment.

...

The next day, the DNA test results came out. Alex relieved, his instincts had been right about the woman.

"I can’t believe she’s the same fake Avelina we sent away before," Albert muttered under his breath.

The results showed that her fingerprints matched those of the very woman who had appeared before.

"Do you know where her family is?" Lyra asked.

She was worried about the woman, afraid she might end up sleeping on the streets again.

"Yes, but I think her family threw her away and she ended up wandering around," Albert said quietly.

Rowan wasn’t sure. He feared she had been sent back here intentionally.

"But we can try to find her family first before jumping to that conclusion," Lyra suggested.

Rowan pulled her into his arms and patted her gently. "Yes, I’ll find her family first."

As Rowan had promised, he searched for her family.

In the end, the clues showed that she had no one left.

When they arrived at her house, they uncovered several old photographs of the woman with brown hair and green eyes. Rowan was certain this was her true appearance.

They also found several photographs of Dominic pinned to the wall—all of them clearly recent.

Damian collected all the evidence for the investigation.

"Who are these people, and what do they want?" Kane said, dragging a hand through his hair, clearly puzzled.

He went door to door through the neighborhood, asking about her.

No one in the neighborhood recognized her. The locals said she wasn’t from around there.

Kane was furious. "How could this whole neighborhood have no clue about her?"

He was certain they was lying.

"Pipe down, Kane," Damian warned, glancing around. "They must have been paid to keep their mouths shut."

"What now, boss?" Kane asked, tossing a stone into the bushes near the house.

"Let’s head back," Rowan answered quietly.

They pulled over at a small local shop nearby so Kane could grab a pack of cigarettes. As he stepped inside, a woman suddenly bumped into him.

"Sorry," she said, already moving past him.

Kane quickly bought his cigarettes and hurried back to the car. Once inside, he pulled out a small slip of paper the woman had slipped into his pocket.

He read the note, a faint pink creeping onto his face, before showing it to Rowan, who was seated in the back.

"What do you think, boss? Should we go?"

Rowan snatched the paper from him, his brows knitting as he read it.

Not long after, they arrived at the nightclub written on the note.

They booked an escort named Red, and Rowan sent Kane in to handle it.

The pounding music made Damian’s head throb.

"This might take a while, boss," Damian said with a glance at his watch. "Who knows Kane might not be done until morning."

Damian tried to persuade his boss to leave, but Rowan simply told him to wait.

With a small sigh, Damian took out a bottle of medicated oil and rubbed it along his temples, trying to ease the pounding in his head.

Inside, the madam led Kane down the hallway toward the VIP wing hidden behind the club, reserved for high-paying clients.

As he walked past, several women lining the corridor teasingly brushed their fingers along his arms.

Never in his life had he been surrounded by so many scantily dressed women at once. He pressed a hand to his racing heart, trying to steady his breathing.

"Enjoy the night," the madam said as Kane reached the door.

He knocked once before easing it open, peeking inside to find the room empty. After stepping in, he closed the door behind him and took a quick look around before settling onto the sofa.

"You’re right on time," a sultry voice drifted through the room.