Elijah’s POVI came home late that night, the exhaustion of the day's work settling into my bones. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Reese, picturing her cute little smile and hearing her adorable voice. The house was dark and quiet. I hung my coat on the rack and made my way to my study, craving a few moments of solitude before heading to bed.I sat down heavily in my chair, staring at a file on my desk that seemed to taunt me with its presence. I'd hired a detective to look into Reese, and now the results were staring back at me, demanding attention.I opened the file and flipped through the pages, each piece of information making my heart beat faster. Reese had been born in France, and the date of birth matched perfectly with the timeline when Sophia was pregnant. The pieces fit together in a way that made too much sense, yet still seemed surreal.“Reese looks like Sophia,” Serena had commented earlier today. “It's not just you, Elijah.”I rubbed my temples, trying to make sense
Sophia’s POVJust as I was about to open my mouth to speak to Elijah, I heard a familiar voice calling my name. “Hey, Sophia, it’s a good thing you came to work!” When I turned around to see who it was, I was surprised to find Trevis there, together with Chris. “Hey, man,” Trevis greeted Elijah. Chris also shook Elijah’s hand.“Uh, I’m sorry but I can’t stay long,” I announced, looking uncomfortable. I had been ready to divulge something important to Elijah, but it will have to wait. I guess it’s not yet meant to be. “But I thought we were supposed to talk about something important?” Elijah wondered. I gulped, and then forced myself to smile. “Oh, that. Uh, I just wanted to consult something regarding the project. But we can do it some other time. And I only came here to grab some files from my office, but I have to go now.”Trevis stepped forward. “Wait, don’t go yet, Sophia. Chris needs to talk to you.”I turned to Chris curiously. I don’t think we’ve ever been introduced forma
Sophia’s POVI stared at Elijah in shock, unable to believe what I had just heard. I’d always thought before that he favored Julia over me. Elijah stood firm, his jaw set in a way that brooked no argument. “No, Sophia,” he repeated, “I won’t agree to Chris using Julia’s name for your work.” Then he turned his gaze toward Chris disapprovingly. “What kind of request is that, anyway?”Before Chris could respond, though, Elijah went on, raising his voice just a little bit and showing his emotions. “Besides, Julia has hurt Sophia before because of that plagiarism issue. This is just unacceptable. I don’t want Sophia to deal with similar problems again. And also, it won’t be good for Urban Next if any of it comes out. Right, Trevis?”Trevis, standing off to the side, looked just as surprised as I felt. “Of course!” He immediately agreed with Elijah. Then he said, “Chris, are you serious? This is insulting to a designer, especially one of Sophia’s caliber.”Chris shifted uncomfortably, his
Elijah’s POV“Do you know Reese Davis?” I asked Sophia once more, intent on finding out the truth from her. Sophia’s eyes widened, the shock evident on her face. She seemed to brace herself against the counter, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the edge. “So you've found out already about Reese...” she said slowly, her voice almost a whisper. She didn’t even bother to deny it or to lie. Maybe she came here in the first place to really tell me about our daughter. I nodded. “I know she was born in France about three years ago. This was the time you would have given birth, if you hadn’t really… If you had not gone to the hospital and…” I swallowed hard, pushing through the lump in my throat as I remembered the pain of finding out she’d terminated the pregnancy. I couldn’t even make myself say it. I took a deep breath and continued, “And I know that Reese and your best friend Kayla share the last name Davis.”Sophia’s eyes darted away from mine, her face pale. She looked very guil
Julia’s POVToday is yet another day for me to prove my worth in this company, I thought as I stepped into the bustling lobby of Urban Next Design Studio. I had a huge smile on my face, excited to work on my current project and to show off my skills. I’ll prove to all of them that I’m really a lot better than Sophia, that I don’t have to copy her work just to be noticed. Just then, I caught sight of Chris and Trevis who were deep in conversation. I was about to say hi, but then I noticed them lowering their voices when I approached. I couldn't shake the feeling that they were discussing something they didn't want me to hear. I brushed off the paranoia, reminding myself that I was here for a purpose.“Hey, Julia,” Chris greeted me with a warm smile, giving me a quick hug. “How are you?”We had some small talk, but it was obvious that they didn’t want me around. Hence, I decided to just make a beeline for Elijah’s office upstairs. I needed to speak with him, to set things right betwe
Sophia’s POVI sat at Elijah's desk, the phone pressed against my ear, listening to Reese chatter excitedly about her day at play school. “Yes, Uncle Elijah wants to play with you this weekend,” I said, smiling at her enthusiasm. “He's going to take you to the amusement park. Won't that be fun?”Reese's excitement was palpable even through the phone. “Yay!” she squealed. “Can’t wait!”After saying our goodbyes, I hung up and turned to Elijah, who was leaning against the door frame, watching me with a soft smile. “So is she really looking forward to the weekend?”“Yeah,” I replied, smiling back. “She really enjoys your company, I think. Both of you will surely have a blast.”“Aren’t you coming with us?” he asked softly, his eyes locking with mine. My heart began to thump hard against my chest. “I’m not sure yet. I might be busy.” But I was lying. The truth was, I did want to be with him and Reese. But I wanted to take things slowly, and see how this setup would affect all of us. Lat
Sophia’s POVThat bitch, I thought angrily. She’s gone too far this time. I won’t take this sitting down. I arrived at Serena's house with Elijah, my heart racing. We needed answers about Reese, and I certainly had no plans of leaving until she told me where she'd taken my daughter. As we entered her living room, Serena greeted us with a warm smile. She was still wearing the suit that she probably had on at the office. I quickly scanned the room, but there was no sign of the black hooded jacket we had seen in the security footage. Was it even a woman? I thought with great doubt. Perhaps it had been a man. But then, Elijah was so sure it was Serena’s car. “Hey, come on in. What brings you guys here?” Serena asked cheerfully, gesturing for us to take a seat.“We're looking for Reese,” Elijah said, his voice urgent. “Do you know where she is?”Serena's smile faded, replaced by a look of confusion. "Who's Reese? Am I missing something here?"Elijah and I exchanged meaningful looks. I
Sophia’s POVElijah's voice droned in the background as he continued to speak with the police. I sat there, my heart pounding in my chest, trying to calm the storm inside me. I took several deep breaths, thinking about what to do with this message that I just received. It was a huge, serious threat and I didn’t want to take any risks. Hence, I waited for Elijah to finish talking to the officers before I whispered in his ear. “They’ve found Reese,” I said. Elijah's expression relaxed, relief washing over his features. But before he could speak, I quickly turned to the officers. “Thank you for your help, but I'm really tired. I’d like some privacy now. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”The police nodded sympathetically and filed out of my apartment. The door clicked shut, leaving an unsettling silence in its wake. Elijah turned to me, his eyes filled with concern and a hint of suspicion.“Where is Reese? I need to see her,” he demanded.My stomach churned as I forced a tense s