"Calm down Carter," Adrian said. "Don’t be dramatic. The only person who can ruin this is Julian. I am an original Blackwood. I was born to take over the mafia and rule this city. I won’t let a stray like Julian stop ."
Carter sighed, wiping sweat from his brow. "What do we do now?"
"We hope, that Julian doesn’t think of conducting a DNA."
"And if he does?" Carter asked, his voice trembling. "Julian isn’t stupid, Adrian. He’s paranoid. He doesn’t trust anyone, especially not a ’lost son’ who suddenly appears out of nowhere."
"Then we make sure the lab results say exactly what we want them to say."
....
Catalina walked into Mateo’s house and slamd the door shut. She threw her bag onto the table and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
She knew Julian would co for her. She knew he would be furious about what she had done to Lyvana.
"Let him co," she whispered to herself. At this point, she didn’t give a damn what he did.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
She walked slowly to the door and saw two police officers through the glass.
"Can I help you?" she asked, walking outside.
"Catalina Windsor," the lead officer said, "you are under arrest for the assault of Lyvana Montclair. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
"Get your filthy hands off !" Catalina snapped, pulling her arm back before he could even touch her. Her eyes flashed with pure rage. "Do you have any idea who I am? Do you have any idea what will happen to your career if you touch ?"
"You have the right to remain silent," the officer continued, reaching for her arm again. "Do you understand these rights?"
"Nonsense. I am a Windsor. We own half the people in your departnt. You should be out looking for real criminals instead of bothering !"
"Miss Windsor," the officer said almost losing his patience. "Turn around and put your hands behind your back. Now."
"Don’t you dare speak to like that!" she hissed, stepping closer to his face. "If you don’t get out of here, I will make sure you’re directing traffic in the middle of nowhere for the rest of your miserable life!"
The lead officer didn’t flinch. He looked at his partner and gave a small nod. "We’re doing this the hard way, then."
He reached for her again and this ti Catalina slapped him hard across the face. The officer’s head snapped to the side.
"Assaulting a police officer," he said, now getting angry. "Add that to the list."
Before Catalina could scream again, the two officers grabbed her. They spun her around and shoved her face-first against the glass wall.
"Get off ! You’re hurting ! You’re dead, do you hear ? You’re all dead!" Catalina shrieked.
Click. The cold tal of the handcuffs snapped shut around her wrists.
So this was Julian’s plan. He couldn’t face her, so he would rather humiliate her.
The officers opened the back door of the cruiser and pushed her inside.
"I’ll have your badges!" Catalina scread, banging her forehead against the glass window. "I’m a Windsor! You can’t do this to !"
The officer slamd the door shut, cutting off her voice.
....
Two days has passed, since Zara showed up at the Grant mansion and turned their world upside down.
Since then, everything has moved very fast.
Andrew Thorne was finally found, but he was in terrible shape, so he had to be hospitalized.
Catalina had a very different kind of night.
She had been locked in a small, cold jail cell. Her expensive dress was wrinkled, and her pride was broken.
She spent half the night screaming and cursing at the officers, until morning, when her mother bailed her out.
As for Lyvana, she was ho now. No one had heard a word from Julian yet. He had disappeared the mont Andrew was found, leaving behind more questions than answers.
Lyvana was on strict bed rest. Her grandmother would only let her out of bed if she has to go to the bathroom. Emily spent most of the ti with her, filling her in on most of the blank parts of her mories.
"Good morning to my favorite granddaughter," Lady Glowen said, her voice warm as she walked into her room.
Lyvana looked up and managed a small, teasing smile. "I am your only granddaughter, Grandma."
Lady Glowen chuckled as she sat on the edge of the bed. "You don’t have to rub it in, dear."
They shared a rare mont of laughter, but it didn’t last long. Lady Glowen’s eyes grew serious as she searched Lyvana’s face. "How are you feeling today? Any... changes?"
Lyvana knew what she was looking for. "If you’re asking about my mories, Grandma... nothing yet."
"Well, Mark ca over again," Lady Glowen said, her voice turning cold. "I told him you were asleep. To be honest, I can’t stand him being near you anymore. Even if you are carrying his child."
Lyvana looked away, her hand instinctively resting on her stomach. Emily had already told her the truth.
Mark wasn’t the father. Julian was. But Lyvana wasn’t ready to say it out loud yet. She needed Julian to be there, to stand beside her, before she broke the news to the family.
It was still so hard to wrap her mind around. In her head, she could still feel the cold betrayal and the flash of the gun from just days ago. The mont she had died in her previous life. Now, she was in a new tiline, and she had even fallen in love and was carrying a miracle.
"Have you heard from Julian?" she asked softly.
Her grandmother lifted an eyebrow. "Julian? No, dear. Why do you ask? Have you tried calling him yourself?"
Lyvana felt a small pang of disappointnt, but she quickly masked it. She gave a small, shrug and looked down at the blankets.
"Never mind, grandmother," she murmured. "I’ll try to call him later."
"Now get up," Lady Glowen said, already heading to the door. "Go and take a shower. And co down for breakfast."
Lyvana nodded happily. She lay down for a few more minutes, then got up to take a shower.
The warm water felt good against her skin, helping her forget, for just for a mont, the dark mories from her past life.
When she finally finished, she wrapped herself in a thick white towel and stepped out of the steam. She began to dry her hair as she walked back into the bedroom, but she stopped dead in her tracks.
Julian stood leaning against the doorway, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.
He looked even more perfect than she rembered from the hospital.
Lyvana froze, her hand still holding the towel over her damp hair. For so reason, her heart started beating faster than normal.
Even without her full mories, her body seed to recognize the pull he had on her.
"Julian," she murmured. "What are you doing in my room?"
"I ca to see if you were okay," he said quietly.
Lyvana felt her face grow pink, as she realized she was wearing only a towel.
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