Chapter 2

2.

The penthouse boardroom was so quiet you could hear the distant buzz of tourists in Central Park below.

The board members who had come with Damian suddenly found the documents in their hands incredibly fascinating, desperate to avoid the vortex of what was clearly personal drama.

Damian swept the shredded contract to the side of the table. He lunged forward, his hand reaching for Anya's arm, ready to physically drag her away.

I stepped between them, a solid wall. I didn’t touch him, but my stance was a clear warning: not one more inch. My glare was a blade that stopped him in his tracks.

Damian looked up and met my eyes. Behind him, the board members gasped.

The air in the room froze solid.

I watched his expression shift from pure shock to a kind of twisted, disbelieving scrutiny.

"Evelyn… Reed?"

Someone behind him choked.

"Evelyn? As in, Damian Sterling's ex-wife from seven years ago?"

"I thought she vanished at Penn Station? How could she be…?"

I knew what they were thinking.

The last anyone heard, a young woman clutching an infant had disappeared after being spotted on a security camera at the train station. Everyone, including Damian Sterling, had assumed that woman was me.

"Evelyn? You're alive? You have the nerve to come back here?"

I ignored his question.

Using his moment of shock, I gently pulled Anya behind me. Her little hand was cold as ice. I knelt down and whispered, "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Anya shook her head, but her eyes were locked on Damian, watchful and wary like a wolf cub.

I stood up, my voice as calm and flat as if I were reciting dry data.

"I think you're mistaken, Damian. I'm Evelyn Reed, Chief Technology Officer of Abyssal Blue Data Solutions."

"Evelyn Reed?" Mr. Davis, a VP standing behind Damian, repeated instinctively.

"That's right."

Before another word could be said, the conference room doors burst open.

Claire Vance rushed in, a sheen of sweat on her forehead. She shot a concerned look at Damian, then her eyes landed on me. Her smile froze.

"Evelyn? Is that really you?"

She took two steps forward, reaching for my arm with a practiced familiarity. I sidestepped her easily.

Her hand hung awkwardly in the air for a second before she plastered on a perfect, PR-approved smile. "Oh my God, it is you! Where have you been all these years? We were all so worried…"

Her performance was flawless, as if she'd rehearsed it a thousand times.

"You just left without a word. We thought… we thought something terrible had happened to you. After we heard about the train station, Damian couldn't function for days. It's just so good to see that you're safe…"

Every word was a carefully aimed dart, meant to remind the board members that I was emotionally unstable, a woman with a "dark past," a completely unreliable business partner.

The disgust in Damian's eyes deepened.

"Evelyn, I don't care who you are now. Take that child and get out of my company."

I glanced at Damian and Claire, standing so close together, then looked at the secretary who was frozen by the door, too scared to breathe.

"Please inform the front desk," I said, my voice quiet but carrying to every corner of the room. "Abyssal Blue is open to a partnership with the Sterling Group. However, we only negotiate with professionals who are clear-headed. When your company appoints a suitable representative, you can schedule another meeting."

"Evelyn!" Damian's face turned purple with rage. He took a menacing step forward. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?! Get your bastard child and―"

"You're the ones who should be leaving."

I cut him off calmly, took Anya's hand, and walked back to the head of the table.

The plush Herman Miller chair felt like a throne. I sat down and met his furious gaze.

"Since you're here seeking a technical collaboration, the Sterling Group should at least send―" I tilted my head, a cold, mirthless smile touching my lips. "―an adult who can control his emotions. Don't you agree, Mr. Sterling?"

The secretary turned pale, looking back and forth between me and Damian, completely lost.

"Show them out," I said finally.