“I checked. All thosepanies are backed by the same person.”


    Someone else was buying up Ramos Corporation shares? And they were offering more than the Meyer family?


    Reese stopped in her tracks, her eyes narrowing in confusion.


    Ramos Corporation had been circling the drain for years under Dylon''s leadership. They''d just scraped through a bankruptcy, and if Mr. Ratcliff hadn''t


    asked Patrick to step in, the whole thing would''ve been history by now.


    Who would want to buy into Ramos Corporation at this point?


    "Did they say anything about actually buying Ramos Corporation?"


    Just the thought made Reese tense up.


    "Not yet," came the response.


    Reese let out a quiet breath, her shoulders rxing. That was something, at least. "Don''t mind them for now."


    She didn''t have enough money to make a move anyway, and there weren''t any better options on the table. If those shares ended up in someone else''s hands, that was still better than letting the Meyer family have them. She''d rather see anyone but Grace and Sofia benefit in the end.


    If whoever was behind this wasn''t out to hurt her, she could just wait until the deal went through, then step up and clear the air. She''d even count it as a favor.


    Stepping out of Maple Street Diner, Reese felt the cool evening breeze brush across her face, carrying away some of the weight she''d been feeling.


    She pulled out her phone and shot Matthew a quick message: "Thanks. Got the medical records."


    He replied almost right away. Just six words, but they made her smile: "If you need anything, just ask."


    Reese stared at his message, a small, involuntary smile tugging at her lips.


    The Ratcliff family''s old house was quiet, but the living room was full of tension. Jane sat on the couch, cradling Robbie in her arms. He had a big purple bruise on his cheek, and she couldn''t hide how worried she was.


    "Why were you fighting at school, sweetheart?"


    She''d nearly dropped the phone earlier when the teacher called to say Robbie had gotten into it with Jamie.


    "Jamie called me a murderer''s kid," Robbie grumbled, frowning hard. The movement made his bruise ache, and he let out a sharp hiss. "It''s Mom''s fault. She shouldn''t have pushed her in the first ce."


    If it had been anyone else, maybe it wouldn''t matter. No one else knew


    Reese was his mom. But Jamie was close,


    different their families we out


    and Jamie knew everything about him and Reese. They''d never gotten along, not even as kids.


    Jamie finally got his chance to rub it in, so of course he didn''t hold back.


    Robbie only fought back because he was terrified Jamie would tell everyone his secret. Luckily, Jamie kept quiet when the teacher asked what happened.


    If Reese wasn''t his mom, none of this would''ve happened.


    Thinking about it, Robbie looked up at Jane. “Grandma, when is Dad finally going to divorce Mom?"


    Jane''s head started to throb. She


    wasn''t just trying toe up with a


    reason to convince Reese to have


    another baby and stall the divorce


    with Sebastian-now she had to figure out how to get Reese to guit her job at ckOak, too.


    Otherwise, Leslie would never let things go, and that evidence Reese had was a ticking time bomb.


    "They can''t get divorced right now," Jane finally said.


    Robbie immediately startedining. "Why not?"


    "Grandma, why won''t you let Dad and Mom split up? Having a mom like her is so embarrassing!”


    Jane''s headache only got worse. She was about to say something when the butler walked in.


    "Ma''am, the hospital sent over some reports."


    "What reports?" Jane asked, reaching for the envelope.


    "The ones Mr. Ratcliff arranged before he passed," the butler exined. "When he got sick, he had some gic testing done and found a hereditary condition. He had Mr. Ratcliff and Robbie tested, too."


    Jane opened the report. As soon as she saw that both Sebastian and Robbie carried the gene for the disorder, and that it could show up anytime, her heart clenched and her face went pale.


    "Is it confirmed?" she asked in a thin voice.


    "Yes, ma''am."


    Seeing how shaken Jane was, the butler hurried to reassure her.


    "Please don''t worry too much. It''s a recessive gene, and they''re not sure what inggers it, Mr. Ratcliff only showed symptoms veryte in life. Maybe"


    "Maybe what?” Jane cut in, her voice suddenly sharp. "They could get sick at any


    moment!"