Chapter 140

No.1

Elisa and her small, victorious party were gone.

August remained in the hallway, a statue carved from fury and confusion. Allena was still trying to talk to him, her voice a whining, irritating buzz inhis ear,but he couldn't hear her.

His mind was stuck on a loop.

She is my life.

The words echoed, stripped of their context,taking on a strange, monumental weight. He'd seen the look in Elisa's eyes. It wasn't the calculated affection of a woman playing a role. It was something primal. Absolute.

He thought of the little girl. Kayden. He replayed the image of her face in his mind. Those eyes.

There was something about them.Clear,intelligent,and with a spark of defiance that was... familiar.

No.2

He shook his head, trying to dislodge the absurd thought.

"Simon," he barked into his phone at his assistant."Cancel my next meeting. I'm waiting for a call. I'll be at the school."

He needed a moment of quiet. He brushed past a still-complaining Allena and walked down a side corridor, finding a small, empty seating area near the elevator bank. He sank into a leather chair,

rubbing his temples.

At the other end of the building, Jewel was buckling Kayden into her car seat when she realized it was missing.

"Oh, shoot. Your water bottle, sweetie. We left it in Mrs. Gable's office."

"I'll get it!" Kayden chirped, already unbuckling herself. High on the thrill of her victory, she was a bundle of pure, joyful energy.

No.3

"Wait for me!" Jewel called, but Kayden was already gone, her small legs pumping as she ran back into the school building.

She rounded a corner at full speed,her eyes on the floor, her mind on her new school, her new life.

She didn't see the man sitting in the chair.

She ran directly into his legs.

The impact sent her stumbling backward. She bounced off his expensive leather shoes, her small body pitching backward before she landed hard on the polished floor, the precious admission packet spilling from her hands.

August's reflexes were instantaneous. He shot out a hand, his large, warm fingers closing around a small, surprisingly solid shoulder, steadying her just before she hit the polished floor.

"Whoa there," he said, his voice a low rumble.

No.4

The little girl righted herself and looked up.

And August's world tilted on its axis.

She looked up at him with wide, startled eyes. And for a dizzying, heart-stopping second, he wasn't looking at a stranger's child. He saw a disquieting echo of himself.

It wasn't just the shape of the eyes, a perfect almond that was so much like Elisa's. It was the color-a shade of stormy gray so familiar it made his heart stutter. A ridiculous, impossible thought struck him like lightning, causing his heart to stutter in his chest. But he immediately crushed the notion. Impossible. Her name was Gilmore. And Elisa would never have the audacity. It had to be a coincidence, a trick of the fluorescent lights and his own frayed nerves.

Kayden stared up at the tall, imposing man. His eyes were intense, a little scary, but she wasn't afraid. Just... curious.

"Sorry, sir," she said, her voice small but clear. She tried to pull away.

He didn't let go. His grip was gentle, but firm. He was staring at her face, his brow furrowed in deep,agonizing concentration. He saw the stubborn set of her jaw. He saw the faint arch of her eyebrow.It was Elisa. But it wvas also... him. It was a terrifying,impossible composite of the two of them.

No.5

"What's your name?" he asked,the words coming out before he could stop them. His voice was rough,strained.

Kayden shrank back a little. "Kayden. Kayden Gilmore."

Gilmore. The name was a splash of cold water.Jewel's last name. Of course. This was Jewel's child. The child Elisa was so obsessed with. It had to be.

But the feeling... the feeling wasn't going away.

"Kayden!"

Jewel came running around the corner, her face a mask of panic. She saw August's hand on Kayden's shoulder and her blood ran cold.

She lunged forward,snatching Kayden and pulling her behind her back like a shield.

No.6

"Mr. Chambers," Jewel said, her voice shaking with barely suppressed rage. "What do you think you're doing?"

August blinked, as if waking from a trance.He pulled his hand back, straightening his cuffs in a reflexive gesture of regaining control.

"The child... she ran into me," he said, his own voice sounding distant to his ears.

"Then thank you for catching her," Jewel said,her tone dripping with ice. "We'll be going now."

She grabbed Kayden's hand and practically dragged her away, her pace fast and urgent. Kayden,confused, looked back over her shoulder one last time at the strange,sad-looking man.

August stood frozen in the empty hallway,watching them go. He watched the little girl's back,the way her hair bounced when she walked.

The jolt in his chest had subsided into a deep,hollow ache.

No.7

He pulled out his phone. His hands were steady,but his mind was reeling.

He dialed his assistant.

"Simon," he said, his voice low and dangerous."I have a new task for you. I want a complete,deep-dive background check on a woman named Jewel Gilmore. I want to know everything. Her finances,her family, her history. And Simon..."5

He paused, the image of those stormy gray eyes burning in his mind.

"I want to know everything about the child."