Reese woke upte the next day, sunlight already streaming through her window. By the time she got to ckOak, it was almost noon. As she walked in, she spotted a man standing at the front desk. Something about him caught her attention, so she looked twice.


    The receptionist pointed in her direction, said something to the man, and he turned around.


    Reese''s breath caught in her throat the moment she saw his face.


    She hadn''t seen Hank in years.


    He''d changed so much. The boy she remembered was long gone, reced by a


    man who looked every bit the powerful, polished heir to the Meyer family. His ck suit was perfectly tailored, and he carried himself with the kind of confidence that came from always being in control.


    "Reese. Long time no see."


    Hank''s voice was warm, but Reese turned her gaze away. Suddenly, her feelings were a tangled mess.


    This was the brother she''d rely on as a kid, the one who stood up for her when other children picked on her. Now he felt like a stranger.


    So much had changed. Time had pulled them apart in ways she never expected. Who would have thought things would end up like this?


    "I sent you a message," Hank said, smiling just like he used to. "You never replied, so I had toe find you."


    Reese remembered the message now. She''d been caught up dealing with Robbie''s drama and never got the chance to respond. Then Matthew got hurt because of her, and the de project hit a critical phase. She''d buried herself in work, barely remembering to eat, let alone answer texts.


    Before she could say a word, a familiar voice chimed in behind her.


    "Hank!"


    Sofia breezed over to Hank''s side, looking wless as always, a medical file clutched in her hand. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of smugness when she nced at Reese.


    Reese''s heart sank. She tried to keep her voice steady. "What do you want?"


    Hank frowned, clearly not happy with how distant she sounded. He nodded at Sofia, who handed Reese the file.


    "Take a look," Hank said.


    "Sofia''s been med for your miscarriage for months. The Ratcliff family keeps going after her, and she can''t even go back to work at DeepQuanta.


    "It''s not just her. The Meyer family''s reputation is on the line, too."


    "All I''m asking is that you go to the Ratcliffs and clear things up. Telk them you lost the baby by your own choices that it had nothing to do with Sofia. If you do, I''ll make sure things don''t get any worse for you.''


    Reese stared down at the file, a cold smile tugging at her lips. So that was it. Hank wanted to meet just to stand up for Sofia.


    "You want me to rify what, exactly? I never said Sofia was the reason I lost the baby."


    She looked up, meeting Sofia''s smug look head-on, her tone calm and even.


    "If Sebastian''s upset with Sofia, maybe it''s because she got Robbie to hurt me, locked me in theb, shut off the venttion, and almost killed me."


    "Reese, are you seriously going to im Sebastian knows you had an abortion?" Sofia''s face lost all its color.


    Hank was her real brother. If he found out Sofia had almost killed her, who knew what would happen?


    "Don''t listen to her, Hank!" Sofia burst out, her voice shaking. "She never wanted that baby. Now she wants to me me! She''s jealous I have a better degree, jealous Sebastian was close to me!"


    Hank gave Sofia a reassuring pat on the back, then turned to Reese. Disappointment was written all over his face.


    "I can''t believe you''d go this far, Reese. Lying just to dodge responsibility?"


    Reese almostughed. She couldn''t believe Hank would blindly take Sofia''s side.


    He must have had it way too easy in


    the Meyer family. Easy enough to forget Sofia and her mother were


    the ones who tore their family apart. Easy enough to forget all those promises to always protect her, f? bring her and their mom home where they belonged.


    "Hank, you''d rather believe a mistress'' daughter than your own sister? I guess


    you really have lost your mind."


    Her voice was soft, but the disappointment was clear as she nced at Sofia.


    "If you think I''m making this up, why not ask Sebastian yourself?"


    Sofia went pale, lips pressed tight. She hadn''t forgotten that Sebastian still had the surveince footage from that night.


    She''d gotten careless. She thought that with the medical file, all she had to do was convince Sebastian Reese ended the pregnancy herself. Then Sebastian would turn on Reese, and Reese would be finished in the Meyer family for good.