"Yes, it''s true."


    George sounded serious. "But I''ll need some time to pull together more evidence, just to make sure it all checks out. Ms. Meyer, can you wait?"


    "How long?"


    "Half a... no, at least a month. I hope you can give me a month.


    "And in the meantime, please don''t let Mr. Ratcliff know you''ve found out about the surrogacy. If he gets even a hint, with his resources... well, you know. He could destroy our entire evidence trail without breaking a sweat."


    A whole month?


    Reese hung up and sat there, deep in thought.


    "Patient in bed 076, time for your IV. Can you tell me your name, please?"


    A nurse walked in, nced at the IV in Reese''s hand, and frowned. "What happened here? Did someone bump into you?"


    Reese finally noticed the IV was out of ce. It must''ve happened when Robbie tried to snatch the thermos earlier.


    "Yeah."


    "Let me fix that for you."


    The nurse reced the needle, then gave Reese a concerned look. "You look pale. Did you eat lunch?"


    Reese thought of the tiny bit of soup left in the thermos. It hadn''t even taken the edge off her hunger.


    She didn''t want to trouble Millie again, so she called her aunt Rosie.


    Rosie was instantly worried when she heard Reese was in the hospital. After she got the details, she promised to bring soup that afternoon.


    But when the door opened, Reese was surprised to see her uncle Dylon came along with Rosie.


    "Reese, how are you feeling?"


    Dylon nced at the IV. "Did you tell the doctor you''re pregnant? Is this medicine okay for you?"


    "I did," Reese nodded.


    She noticed the way Dylon hesitated and asked, "Is something wrong?"


    "Uh..." Dylon looked a bit caught off guard. "Reese, did you hear they''re starting up the Eastside project again?"


    Reese nodded. She knew all about it. The Ramos family had invested a fortune, only to hit a snag when they found rare minerals underground. The whole thing stalled, nearly bankrupting thepany.


    Now that it was back on, the family finally had a shot at turning things around. So why did Uncle Dylon look so anxious?


    "They''re reorganizing the project, opening up new bids. Reese, you know our finances aren''t great... could you maybe talk to Mr. Ratcliff? See if he can help?"


    So that''s what he wanted.


    "How much are you short?"


    "About ten million," Dylon said, almost in a whisper.


    Reese froze. That much?


    Sensing her hesitation, Dylon added quickly, "It would just be a loan, Reese. We will pay it back as soon as we get the prepayment for winning the bid. Please, just talk to Mr. Ratcliff."


    Reese pressed her lips together. She didn''t want to get tangled up with Sebastian again, but thepany was her family''s legacy. As the legal representative, she couldn''t just leave them hanging.


    "I''ll try to figure something out."


    Dylon and Rosie told her to rest up, and only left once she''d finished her soup.


    Three dayster, Reese was discharged. She''d barely stepped inside her apartment when her phone buzzed with a text from Dominic.


    He sent her apany name-ckOak Tech-along with the address and a line: "Report tomorrow. Ask for n."


    Reese stared at the words "ckOak Tech" for a long moment. That was a big name in Al. She never dreamed they''d be the ones to buy her management system.


    She warmed up a bowl of soup, downed her meds with some water, and crawled into bed, feeling oddly numb.


    That night, she finally got a good night''s sleep. When she woke up, she actually felt rested.


    She put on a tailored ck suit, swept her hair into a neat low bun, and drove to ckOak''s downtown office, following Dominic''s directions.


    After parking, she ducked into the mall next door.


    Dominic had mentioned n was an old friend; it only felt right to bring a small gift for their first meeting.


    She checked out a few stores before stopping in a porcin boutique.


    A blue-zed vase with plum blossom patterns caught her eye. It was elegant,


    the kind of thing any executive would appreciate.


    "Could you wrap this up for me, please?"


    As soon as she spoke, a familiar, chirpy voice rang out behind her. "Wow, that vase is gorgeous."


    Tara strolled over, purse swinging, eyesnding on the vase before she finally looked up at Reese.


    "Reese, you like this one too? We always have the same taste.


    "But this would look perfect in the entryway of my new ce. Can you let me have


    it?"


    Reese nced at her watch. She had just over ten minutes before her meeting- no time to pick out another gift.


    "Sorry, Tara. I''m buying this as a present, and I''m really in a hurry..."


    "Oh,e on, Reese." Tara stepped closer and clung to Reese''s arm, her voice sugary sweet. "You always let me have what I wanted when we were kids. You''re the best cousin ever, remember?"


    Reese closed her eyes for a second.


    Of course. After her mom died, she was just a kid. Her dad had already moved on and barely paid attention to her. Her uncle took her in, and living under someone else''s roof, she learned to never step on anyone''s toes.


    "What''s going on?"


    A man''s voice cut through the awkwardness. Reese turned and met a pair of familiar eyes.


    "Zach, you''re here," Tara said, instantly letting go of Reese andtching onto his arm, putting on a pitiful look.


    "I wanted that vase for our new ce, but Reese won''t let me have it..."


    Zach patted Tara''s hand. "It''s not a big deal. You two are family. Reese won''t say no, right?


    "You''re not feeling well, Tara. Go wait in the car. I''ll bring it to you in a minute."