Victoria didn''t spare them another nce as she headed upstairs.


    Yulia, shaken and angry, waited until Victoria''s figure disappeared before shooting a venomous re at Simms.


    "Do you think Victoria already knows about us?"


    "Absolutely not," Simms replied with certainty. There was no way Victoria could know about his affair with Yulia.


    After the Turner family''s demise, he''d rewritten his entire past. He''d hidden Yulia away for years; the fact that Victoria had discovered Yulia''s existence was already a freak ident-there was no way Mann and Edith had known about her before they died.


    The only exnation was that Victoria was a true Turner through and through- arrogant, untouchable, unable to tolerate even the smallest imperfection.


    "I''m not worried about anything else," Yulia pressed on. "But if Victoria finds out about our daughter, we''re in real trouble. Sure, you''ve got those old-timers backing you at Golden Era Enterprises, but you only control fifteen percent of thepany. Simms, if I can''t marry you soon and give our daughter a proper family name, she''ll end up an illegitimate child. How will she ever marry well? You know perfectly well how snobbish that boy''s family is..."


    "Enough. I know what I''m doing," Simms snapped, yanking off his tie in frustration.


    "If things get dicey, you shouldy low for a while-go back to your old ce," he suggested.


    Yulia immediately bristled. "No! You want me and our daughter living like ghosts again, hiding from the world? We''vee this far, Simms. Maybe it''s time to just risk everything and see what happens."


    Victoria retreated to the study to keep working on Gwh''s programming project.


    She''d already pulled several all-nighters, but if she kept up the pace, she could finish before next month and have it ready for release.


    Her phone buzzed-a notification from Teague. His grinning, mischievous profile picture shed on her screen, and since she''d set his messages to priority, the chime startled her in the quiet of the night.


    Victoria was in the middle of a tricky bit of code, so she ignored him until she could finish her thought. Only after she wrapped up did she pick up the phone and reply.


    "What''s wrong with the car?" she typed.


    "Oh, you''re something else," Teague shot back immediately. "You wreck my car and expect me to figure out what''s broken? I thought you


    imed you could fix anythingee


    "Mr. Green isn''t my husband," Victoria replied coolly. "I was just passing by and decided to help."


    She paid no mind to his threats. So far, there hadn''t been a car she couldn''t repair.


    Still, this one was a special case. She might have to call in her old crew from Evermore City to help out in Starfall.


    "I don''t care who he is," Teague wrote back. "My car''s totaled-either you fix it, or you pay for it."


    Teague was relentless; that car was his pride and joy. He''d been stewing for days since the ident, unable to let it go. If Marcus wasn''t so well-connected in Starfall, Teague would have caused much more trouble-he wasn''t known for his patience or mercy.


    With anyone else, he might''ve taken things a lot further.


    "Send me the address. I''lle by when I can," Victoria answered.


    It would take some time for her team to arrive anyway. She could at least assess the damage and figure out what parts were needed. If she was lucky, she might be able to source them quickly-though she''d bet good money the parts weren''t avable anywhere local


    Teague sent her the address to his vi.


    The car had been towed back and left untouched in his garage ever since.


    "I''ll be waiting," was his final message.