It had begun to rain by the time Chloe stepped outside again.
The soft drizzle blanketed the mansion's garden in mist. Somewhere behind her, the sound of music and laughter spilled from the glowing ballroom windows. But Chloe no longer heard it. Her heart was pounding too loud.
She's alive.
Mrs. Crepe,the woman who had raised her, then abandoned her. The woman who murdered her mother and stole her childhood,was alive. And now, apparently, watching her from the shadows.
Chloe pulled the thin silk shawl tighter around her shoulders, though it did little to block the chill. She walked along the cobbled garden path, her mind clouded with questions. Why would Mrs. Crepe want to see her now? After all these years? After ruining everything?
Behind her, a pair of heels clicked against the wet stones.
She turned slowly.
Mrs. Squibb.
The older woman stood still, arms folded, an umbrella in one hand, and something else tucked beneath the other arm. A white envelope.
"I know you took the photo," Chloe said, voice steady.
Mrs. Squibb's lips curled. "I did. And I know who that child is."
Chloe's chest tightened.
Mrs. Squibb stepped closer. "You're not Zoe. I knew the moment I saw you. Zoe never had a child. But you,whoever you are,do."
Chloe said nothing.
The older woman held up the envelope and threw it at her feet. "You've made a mess by coming here. You should've stayed in the gutter where you belong."
Chloe looked at the envelope. Her name was scrawled across it in jagged cursive.
Not Zoe.
She bent slowly, picked it up, and opened it.
Inside were pictures. Black and white. Grainy. But clear enough.
One showed a tiny hospital bed. A newborn baby wrapped in cloth.
The next,Chloe, holding her child.
The last one made her freeze.
A hospital document. DNA match pending. Name: Mark Williams.
"I had you followed after the wedding," Mrs. Squibb said calmly. "I saw the boy. I ordered a quiet lab to test the blood from your trash. I don't know how it's possible,but the DNA was almost a match."
Chloe's fingers tightened around the envelope.
"You're carrying the heir to the Williams empire. That child is a threat. To the deal. To everything."
"I didn't know who the father was," Chloe murmured, heart hammering.
Mrs. Squibb raised a brow. "So you admit it. You were never Zoe."
Silence.
Then Chloe slowly raised her head. "No. I'm not Zoe."
Mrs. Squibb's eyes glittered like a predator who had cornered her prey. "Good. Because now I can deal with you properly."
And with a turn, she walked back into the house, vanishing into the light.
***
Chloe couldn't sleep that night.
The envelope lay open on her bed, the pictures haunting her. Her son. The one secret she tried to protect above everything else. Now it wasn't a secret anymore.
She thought of Mark. Still asleep somewhere across the hall. The man she had sworn never to face again. The man whose child she had unknowingly carried. What would he do when he found out?
And Mrs. Crepe,was she truly alive? Would she find her? What else was she hiding?
So many lies.
Too many lies.
At dawn, Chloe made a decision.
She needed to see her son.
***
She left the house quietly, dressed in simple clothes, hair tied back. She called a cab and gave them the address. Aunty Remi lived in a small flat in the city, far from the mansion and its polished lies.
When she arrived, she didn't knock,she ran straight to the door and wrapped her arms around her little boy. He looked up at her, wide-eyed and sleepy.
"Mama!" he cried, wrapping his arms around her neck.
Tears spilled down Chloe's face. "I missed you."
"I draw'd you a picture," he whispered proudly. "Of our house."
She kissed his forehead and sat down with him on the floor.
Aunty Remi came in with tea. "You're not okay. I can see it in your eyes."
Chloe nodded. "Everything's starting to unravel. The man from that night... he's my son's father. And he's the man I just married."
Remi's hand flew to her mouth. "Chloe…"
"And worse,his world is full of danger. I'm scared they'll take my son if they find him."
Remi sat beside her, gripping her hand. "What will you do?"
Chloe looked at her son, who was humming to himself and scribbling with crayons. "I don't know yet. But I won't let them take him. Ever."
***
Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Mark walked into his private study and found a letter waiting for him.
No stamp. No name.
He opened it slowly.
One night.
One woman.
One heir.
Ask her who she really is.
Before it's too late.
He read the note twice, then looked up slowly.
His eyes darkened.
"Zoe," he murmured.
***
Back in the city, as Chloe stood to leave her son again, her phone buzzed. A message.
Private Number: We need to talk. Now. Before Mrs. Squibb talks to Mark first. -C
Chloe's blood froze.
C… Crepe?
She looked around the street.
No one.
But she felt it.
She was being watched.