Chapter 3 THE WOMAN WHO LOOKED LIKE ME

Evelisse just kept staring at the photo.

The woman stared right back.

It wasn't an exact match, honestly. That would've been easier to shrug off. Exact resemblance-okay, maybe a long-lost cousin, or just some random coincidence. But this? It felt different. More unsettling.

The woman's eyes mirrored Evelisse's. Her jaw held the same delicate angle. Even that hesitant smile, barely there, looked so familiar.

Evelisse lifted the photograph, bringing it closer.

The woman couldn't be much older than thirty. Still, her eyes held something Evelisse recognized, though she wasn't sure from where. A memory without a story.

She glanced at Caelen.

"Who is she?"

Caelen stayed quiet. He just stared at the photo.

Then he reached for it.

"Give it to me."

Evelisse took a step back.

"No."

His hand hung in the air.

For six years, she'd rarely said no to Caelen. Not because he was controlling-she trusted him. If he said something was dangerous, she believed him. If he told her something didn't matter, she let it go. When he disappeared into meetings late into the night, she figured he was working for their future. If he came home too tired to talk, she thought he just needed rest. When he kissed her forehead instead of her lips, she convinced herself love didn't always have to be loud.

But tonight, something snapped.

She wasn't handing the photo over. Not until she understood.

Caelen lowered his hand.

"Evelisse."

"Who is she?"

"She has nothing to do with you."

"Then why does she look like me?"

His jaw tightened.

"She doesn't."

"She does."

"You're imagining it."

Evelisse almost laughed at that.

"Am I?"

She held the photo next to her cheek.

"Look at us."

Caelen looked. Said nothing.

That silence said everything.

"You see it," she whispered.

He looked away.

Her heart was pounding.

"You see it."

"It doesn't mean anything."

"Then tell me who she is."

"I already told you."

"No. You said she has nothing to do with me. That's not an answer."

Caelen moved toward her.

She held her ground.

For the first time in six years, Evelisse stood between Caelen and something he wanted to hide.

His eyes narrowed.

"Give me the photograph."

"No."

"Evelisse."

"You lied to me."

His face went hard.

"I've never lied to you about our marriage."

She stared at him.

"What about this?"

"This isn't related."

"Then why was it inside my divorce papers?"

Silence.

"Why was it hidden?"

Silence.

"Why is there a woman who looks like me, standing next to my husband, holding a baby?"

His jaw flexed.

"You don't understand what you're looking at."

"Then explain it."

"I can't."

He said it so quietly she almost missed it.

She stared.

"You can't?"

"Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because knowing the truth could put you in danger."

Her hand moved toward her stomach-almost instinctive.

Caelen noticed. His eyes followed.

The air between them changed.

"Does this have something to do with my pregnancy?"

"No."

Too quick. She caught it.

"You're lying."

Caelen's expression went blank.

"You're emotional."

"And you're dodging the question."

"You need to leave."

She blinked.

"What?"

"You shouldn't be here."

"You're divorcing me."

"Yes."

"You've kept photos of a woman who looks just like me."

"Yes."

"You know something about my past I don't."

Silence again.

"And you want me to leave?"

Caelen's voice went cold. "I'm telling you to go home."

"Which home?"

He froze.

Evelisse gave a bitter smile.

"The one you're giving me after the divorce?"

His eyes darkened.

"Evelisse."

"No."

She shook her head.

"I've spent six years trusting you."

"I know."

"I defended you."

"I know."

"I defended your family."

"I know."

"And all this time, you've kept secrets from me."

Caelen's face tightened.

"I'm trying to keep you alive."

Those words shut her up. For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Evelisse looked down at the photo again.

The woman.

The baby.

Caelen.

A fifteen-year-old mystery.

She lowered the photograph.

"Who's the child?"

Caelen met her eyes.

"I don't know."

That answer sounded different. Honest.

"You don't know?"

"No."

"Then why were you there?"

He said nothing.

"Caelen."

His eyes hardened. "Leave."

Something in her cracked.

She nodded, slow.

"Fine."

She clutched the photograph to her chest.

"But I'm keeping this."

"No."

His voice stopped her. She turned.

Caelen was staring at the photograph now.

"Why?"

He wouldn't answer.

That was enough.

Evelisse slipped the photo into her handbag.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"You shouldn't investigate this."

She paused at the door.

"I wasn't planning to."

For a second, Caelen looked relieved.

Then she turned.

"But now I am."

She walked out.

-

The elevator doors closed and Evelisse realized she hadn't taken a single breath.

Her hands shook as she pressed the lobby button.

Then she changed her mind-finger moving up to the executive floor.

The elevator started to rise.

She'd left Caelen's office barely thirty seconds ago. He'd think she was gone. Wouldn't expect her to come back.

And after years watching her husband, she knew his habits. When he was angry, Caelen used the private corridor-that conference wing. She'd seen him do it so many times.

Tonight, he'd walked toward the conference wing. So maybe she had five minutes. Five minutes to find anything.

The elevator doors opened.

Evelisse stepped out.

Silent-nobody around.

Caelen's office door stood open.

She went in.

The black divorce folder still lay on the desk.

She opened it.

Legal documents. Financial stuff. Property transfers. Medical confidentiality agreements.

Then, tucked below, she spotted a thin black compartment.

She pulled it open.

Photographs. Dozens.

Her breath caught.

She spread them out.

The same woman. Over and over.

One outside a hospital. Another entering a private residence. One beside a black car. Another holding a child. One beside a much younger Caelen.

Evelisse stared.

Caelen looked barely seventeen in that one.

The woman was still the same age as in the photo with the baby.

She picked up another.

A date underneath-eight years ago.

Another-ten.

Another-twelve.

She kept going: thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years back.

These photos stretched backward in time.

The woman hadn't aged the way Evelisse expected. Different clothes, hair, settings-but her face barely changed.

Evelisse's fingers were cold now.

She picked up the oldest one. Its edges were worn, the paper yellowed.

Two young figures stood outside an old building.

Caelen's father-the man she recognized.

The woman.

And another figure: a little girl between them.

Evelisse froze.

She recognized the dress. White with little embroidered flowers around the collar.

Her mother's favorite style.

Her breathing went shallow.

"No..."

She turned the photograph over.

There was a date. Fifteen years ago.

She was twelve back then.

Suddenly her memories flooded-rain, a dark hallway, her mother's voice, a woman's perfume, someone holding her hand. Then nothing-a blur where two years of childhood should have been.

Evelisse sank into Caelen's chair.

Why was she in that photo?

Why was Caelen's father there?

Who was the woman?

She grabbed another photo. The little girl was gone, just the woman remained.

Another-the woman stood outside the Arden family estate.

Another-beside Evelisse's mother.

Another-holding a baby.

Evelisse's heartbeat felt sharp, painful.

She flipped over the oldest photo again.

Something scrawled on the back.

Black ink, hurried handwriting.

She read it once.

Then again.

Her whole body chilled.

KEEP HER AWAY FROM EVELISSE.

She stared at the words.

Her fingers trembled.

Someone knew her name, fifteen years ago. Someone knew about this woman. Someone wanted her kept away.

Suddenly, the photograph wasn't proof of Caelen's betrayal anymore.

It was evidence of something older. Something that started before her marriage. Before Caelen. Before the divorce.

Maybe even before she could understand anything that was happening.

A noise came from the hallway.

Footsteps-someone approaching.

She tried to gather the photos but couldn't finish before the office door opened.

Caelen stood there.

His eyes scanned the photos on the desk, then the oldest one in her hand.

His face changed-not anger, not surprise. Fear.

"You came back."

Evelisse stood.

"Yes."

She lifted the photograph.

"Now you're telling me the truth."

Caelen stared at the writing on the back.

His skin went pale.

Evelisse stepped closer.

"Who was the little girl?"

He stayed silent.

"Was it me?"

Nothing.

"Caelen."

He finally met her eyes.

And the look in them scared her more than anything he could say.

Because he knew.

He'd always known.

And whatever happened when she was twelve had been hidden for a reason.

A dangerous one.