Matthew stood there, calm and self-assured, and Reese felt her heart skip a beat.


    They were so close she could catch the faint scent on him. It was clean, fresh- nothing like the cologne Sebastian wore.


    "By the way, you managed to boost de''s efficiency by twelve percent over projections. That means it can do more on the field, cover more area.


    "I submitted the report yesterday. The higher-ups already approved amendation, but it''s still confidential. Your name can''t be made public yet.


    "But hey, we can still celebrate you within the team."


    He''d just stepped out earlier to talk to n about it.


    Reese blinked, caught off guard.


    She''d pulled those all-nighters just to fine-tune de''s data, not expecting anything in return. She never thought Matthew would remember that, let alone stand up for her.


    "Come on. n''s waiting for you in his office."


    n''s recognition was low-key, just a few words of praise.


    But news always had a way of spreading. By the time L heard about it, she was practically seething.


    In L''s mind, Reese had only gotten into the development team because of Sofia''s mistake. She''s nothing more than a lucky assistant who happened to be in the right ce at the right time. Now, somehow, Reese''s name was at the top of the list-even ahead of Matthew, who was the team lead.


    If things kept going this way, how was L ever supposed to get noticed?


    Fuming, she pulled a sh drive from her pocket and plugged it into herputer.


    Just as the workday was ending, Reese got two calls-one letting her know that Mr. Ratcliff had woken up, and another with worse news: the old man was fading fast.


    No matter what had happened, Reese felt she owed him an exnation about the baby. She decided to go to the hospital.


    Downstairs, she ran into Matthew, who had just picked Annie up from school. When Annie heard her great-grandfather was so sick, she insisted oning along.


    The three of them arrived at the hospital and had just stepped out of the car when Matthew''s phone rang. Whatever he heard made him tense. He motioned for Reese to take Annie upstairs first.


    Reese could tell he had things to handle, so she took Annie''s hand and headed to the elevator. When they reached Mr. Ratcliff''s room, Jane was just stepping out.


    Jane looked as put-together as ever, but the exhaustion on her face was obvious. She hadn''t slept since the old man''s copse.


    As soon as Jane spotted Reese with Annie, her face darkened, her eyes full of


    scorn.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "We came to see Grandpa."


    Reese could feel Jane''s hostility, but she didn''t want to argue. She tried to look into the room, but Jane shifted to block her, her tone sharp and cold.


    "You''ve got a lot of nerve showing up.


    "Don''t you get it? He copsed because you went behind everyone''s backs and got rid of the baby. The shock almost killed him!


    "So what, you''re here now to check if he''s dead yet so you can grab your share of the inheritance?"


    ?


    Truth was Jane had no idea what really caused the copse. But after Sebastian showed up at the hospitalst night, he told Jane aboutthe abortion, and it was all Reese''s fault.


    Jane had always thought Reese wasn''t good enough for Sebastian. Now, after


    learning about the abortion, Jane''s contempt was on full disy.


    Reese''s brow furrowed. She''d suspectedst night that Hank


    might have gone behind Sebastian''s back and told Mr. Ratcliff everything, but she hadn''t thought he''d actually dot.


    She was about to speak when Annie pulled her hand away and stared defiantly at Jane.


    "That''s not true! Great-grandpa got sick because he''s old, not because of Auntie. This has nothing to do with her!"


    Annie never liked Jane after Jane defended Robbie when he hurt Matthew. Hearing Jane me everything on Reese, she had to stand up for her.


    "And anyway, Auntie doesn''t care about the inheritance."


    Jane shot Annie a re. "Who asked you to talk while the adults are speaking?"


    Her gaze was icy as she looked Annie up and down, her words turning even nastier.


    "You are just a brat with no mother to teach her manners. What makes you think you can meddle in the


    Ratcliff family''s business? What you think you get a cut of the inheritance too?"


    Jane didn''t get to finish. Reese''s voice rang out, loud and furious.


    “Jane, that''s enough. Watch your mouth."


    She pulled Annie into her arms, her eyes glinting with anger.


    Jane had always thrown insults her way, and Reese had always swallowed it for


    the sake of family peace, for Sebastian''s sake.