No way. She couldn''t just sit around and let this all happen. She needed to wreck Reese''s standing in the Ratcliff family before Sebastian found out the truth. She needed Sebastian to hate Reese.
Tara pulled out her phone, her hands shaking as she typed out a message to Sofia. Ms. Meyer, did you get the proof about Reese''s abortion yet? We can''t drag this out any longer. DeepQuanta Al still needs you to take charge. Every day your name isn''t cleared, thepany loses more.
Across town, Sofia was curled up on the living room couch, phone gripped tight, her eyes flicking to the door every few seconds.
Hank had promised he''d get Reese''s medical records. It''d been days-still nothing. Her nerves were shot.
Just then, the front door finally clicked open.
Hank stepped inside, shrugging off his coat and handing it to the maid. He looked exhausted.
“Hank!” Sofia jumped up, grabbing a fruit tray and hurrying over to him. She stood on her tiptoes to offer him some grapes. "Here, have some fruit, you look wiped out."
Hank took a grape from her hand, popped it into his mouth, and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Why aren''t you asleep?"
"Slept too much during the day," she pouted, trying to look both innocent and pitiful. "I want to go back to work at DeepQuanta. Being stuck at home every day is driving me crazy."
She hesitated, then nced up at him, hope in her voice. "Did your friend get Reese''s medical records?"
He smiled at how impatient she was, then pulled a folder out of his briefcase and handed it over.
"When have I ever let you down?"
Sofia snatched it up and flipped through the pages so fast her hands shook. When she saw proof Reese had ended the pregnancy herself, she practically bounced on the spot, her eyes sparkling.
"Thank you, Hank! With this, I can go back to work, and everyone will know it was Reese who didn''t want the baby, not me!"
Hank watched her celebrate, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.
He''d actually tried reaching out to Reese before, to give her a chance to clear Sofia''s name and fix things with the Ratcliff family. But Reese never replied. She didn''t even show up.
If she wasn''t willing to y fair, she couldn''t me him for what happened next.
"That''s all you want?" Hank''s voice turned little cold. "Reese let you take the me and you just want to clear things up? Didn''t you ever thin about getting even?"
Sofia froze, looking up at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"
Of course she wanted revenge. She wanted to see Reese ruined. But she''d never admit it out loud, not after working so hard all these years to be the perfect sister in Hank''s eyes.
Hank sighed and gently patted her head. If my little sister stays this innocent,
she''s going to get eaten alive one day.
"Reese ruined your reputation. Maybe you don''t care, but it hurt the Meyer family''s name too. I can''t ignore that.
"Tomorrow I''ll take you to ckOak.
het
First, we''lNet everyone at herpany know what she did. "Then we''ll talk to the Ratcliff family and have them clear your name too Sound good?"
Sofia''s eyes lit up. She nodded so hard her hair bounced. "You''re the best, Hank!"
This would save her so much trouble. Reese, let''s see you try to get out of this.
The street was empty and silent, the only sound the crunch of fallen leaves under Sebastian''s shoes as he wandered with his hands in his pockets.
He kept running over that conversation in his head. If Reese hadn''t drugged him seven years ago, then what had all those years of coldness and humiliation really been about?
A sharp pain stabbed in his chest.
Before he even realized it, he was standing outside Reese''s apartment building.
He looked up. Reese''s balcony was lit with a soft yellow glow, and through the curtains, he could see more than one shadow moving around.
He couldn''t stop his mind from racing.
Who would be at Reese''s ce thiste? Matthew? Zach?
The thought made his hands curl into fists.
He finally understood what he''d done wrong. But it wasn''t toote. This time, he''d
protect Reese. He''d apologize. Reese was his, and he wasn''t letting go.