Haines didn’t even have the chance to change out of his indoor clothes before Hugo dragged him away. He couldn’t grab his wallet—or anything else he might need.
Seated in the front passenger seat, Haines turned to Hugo, who was behind the wheel.
“Care to tell me what’s actually going on?” he asked after several long minutes of nothing but silence. “Why does Atlas need to talk to me so urgently?”
Hugo smiled faintly but didn’t answer.
“Did Butler Jen ask him for help?” Haines pressed, already imagining several possible scenarios.
He’d been with the family long enough to predict these things. If Butler Jen felt that Haines’s relationship with Charles was beyond repair, he would almost certainly turn to Atlas for help.
“Nope!” Hugo shook his head, shooting his uncle a quick glance. “We’ve got bigger things to worry about than your little spat with Dad.”
Haines arched a brow. “Such as?”
Hugo kept his eyes on the road. “Such as… uh… your former lover.”
At that, Haines’s expression darkened immediately.
“Hugo, I know you’ve heard the story by now,” Haines sighed, his voice heavy. “But I’m not ready to talk about it. Even with Grace by my side… I’m still trying to process everything. And believe it or not, I’m not even angry with Charles.”
“I know it was an accident. He didn’t mean for it to happen. But how am I supposed to just… move on? I waited decades for her.” His eyes snapped back to Hugo’s profile. “You’re a smart kid. I don’t need to explain how that feels.”
Hugo said nothing, his gaze fixed ahead. He was listening—but he already understood. He didn’t need Haines to spell it out.
But then—
“Naylani Pierson,” Hugo said quietly, sliding his eyes toward Haines. “That’s the woman’s name.”
Haines frowned. “No. That’s not her name.”
“Well, apparently, it is, Uncle,” Hugo replied, his tone level. “That photo you saw… that’s a picture of Zoren’s mother. Not the woman you claimed as your former lover. And certainly not the woman who died during that special operation. Naylani Pierson died years after that mission.”
Haines’s frown deepened, his mind working overtime to process Hugo’s words.
“What?” he breathed. “That’s… impossible.”
“That’s why I’m taking you home,” Hugo said firmly. “You and Dad will make up eventually, but this isn’t the time for grudges and distance.”
He paused, his voice lowering. “Penny’s already captured Nina’s mother. But this woman… this mystery… it’s been haunting our family for as long as I can remember.”
Silence settled heavily in the car. Haines stared at his nephew’s side profile, confusion etched across his face.
“Impossible,” he muttered under his breath.
But he wasn’t the only one saying that.
Everyone who knew about this hadn’t slept a wink either, consumed by the same impossible questions.
—
[Skyline Plaza: Zoren’s]
The sharp sound of curtains being pulled back echoed through one of the guest rooms. Sunlight poured into the space, a beam landing directly on a woman’s face.
She groaned, her brows creasing against the brightness even though her eyes remained shut. Pain pulsed at the side of her head, making her wince before she could even open her eyes.
“Ugh…” she groaned again, turning her head slightly to avoid the light—only to cry out softly when the movement sent a sharp jolt through her head.
“Aw…” she whimpered, slowly blinking her eyes open.
As she shifted, she instinctively moved her hands and feet—only to be stopped by something cold and unyielding.
Her heart skipped a beat when she looked down.
Handcuffs.
“What—” She froze as the memories of the previous night came crashing back without warning. Her eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat.
She remembered sneaking out of the Miller residence, sensing someone following her. She’d tried to lose them by leading them into a deserted alleyway. Then she turned to confront whoever it was… and realized it was Patricia.
And then the confrontation… Patricia’s single, damning question:
“Are you Nina’s mom?”
That was all it took to set everything in motion.
She couldn’t afford to let her cover be blown. She couldn’t risk Patricia reporting her to the police. But then Theo Miller arrived, and everything spiraled out of control.
Before she knew it, something had struck her hard—and then… nothing.
“No—!” Panic surged through her chest as she sat up abruptly, only for dizziness and pain to slam into her.
“Aw…” she groaned, clutching her head. Her wrists rattled against the cuffs as she tried to find balance.
And then, she noticed the figures standing at the end of the bed.
Slowly, she lifted her gaze.
Penny and Slater stood there, both wearing equally cold, emotionless expressions. Penny’s arms were crossed beneath her chest; Slater stood with one hand shoved into his pocket, his eyes devoid of sympathy.
Her heart clenched tighter.
And then she sensed another presence.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Mint.
Mint was smiling wide—so wide her eyes squinted nearly shut as she approached, dragging a chair noisily across the floor. The loud screech made the woman wince again.
Mint spun the chair around and straddled it, resting her arms on the backrest as she leaned forward with a bright, unnerving grin.
“We’ve got a lot of questions for you, Nina’s Mom.”
Her grin widened as she cracked one eye open.
“Let’s try to keep this civil, yeah? No one needs to get hurt… if you cooperate.”
The woman’s entire body trembled as she paled even more. Her eyes shook, studying the diabolical and twisted grin plastered on Mint’s face. Moving her gaze away from her, she ended up staring blankly at both Slater and Penny.
“Hey there, Mom,” Penny’s voice was cold and distant. “You really… gave us a real headache.”
Slater clicked his tongue as bitterness burned in his eyes. “Tch.”
Both of them carried not just thousands of questions, but also emotions, because this woman… was the root of it all. Because of this woman’s action, everything for them spiraled out of control.
Even if they say things were better now, that wouldn’t change the fact that Penny had spent two lifetimes being swapped as a child.
“You better have answers,” Slater warned. “I’m not in the mood to play nice as well.”
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