Chapter 91 Do you know me
Maverick sat alone in his office at the base.
Work files were stacked high across his desk unsigned, half-read, abandoned. Empty glasses lined the corner like silent witnesses. He had drowned himself in work and alcohol, anything to keep his mind from drifting back to her. He had lived with guilt for years and he couldn’t move past it.
His eyes were cold and dull. The eyes of a man who had long stopped hoping.
His phone lay face-down beside him.
He hadn’t touched it in a month. He never answered calls and he ignored messages because it was Eva she called his phone endlessly, demanding he come home.
But where was home?
On his days off, he found himself at the Avalon Estate house, the one he’d bought for Heaven before she left him. The house was untouched. Frozen in time, he renewed the flowers everyday, the clothes laid there untouched. Like she might walk back in if he waited long enough.
His phone dinged.The sound sliced through the silence.
Maverick frowned and picked it up reluctantly. A single message glowed on the screen.
Is she not the one? They look quite alike.
His breath caught.
His fingers trembled as he scrolled up.A photo. Her. His Heaven.
Her hair was no longer brown; it was dyed a deep wine shade but the smile… that smile was burned into his bones.
His heart slammed violently against his ribs. He dialed the number instantly, already on his feet.
“Where is she?” His voice was hoarse, urgent. “Where was this taken?”
“Slow down, sir,” a calm voice replied. “Does the payment still stand?”
“To hell with the money,” Maverick snapped. “I’ll double it. Just tell me where she is.”
Silence. Then a soft snicker. “I will,” the voice said smoothly. “Once the funds are wired.”
The line went dead.
Maverick didn’t hesitate.
He had promised a fortune to anyone who could find her. Years had passed with nothing but dead ends and lies. This time was different. He wired the money immediately and redialed.
“So quick,” the voice said with amusement. “She goes by the name Vera Johnson now. She returned to Ivory City about a month ago.”
Maverick’s grip tightened around the phone.
“She recently launched a small hospital,” the man continued. “It’s called Safe Heaven. Located in the Savannah Province.”
The call ended.
Maverick didn’t wait. He ended the call himself as soon as he got the location, he grabbed his coat, and strode out of the office with purpose for the first time in years.
Hope and relief, dangerous and sharp, burned back to life in his chest.
He had found her
Heaven took several buses before she finally arrived at the school she had researched all night.
She needed a place that was secure for her son.
Her last memory was being chased, then she needed to take precautions.
THE MILITARY MIDDLE SCHOOL.
The name alone had given her comfort. It was luxury, discipline, and safety combined. Her son deserved the best. She didn’t want him to ever feel like something was missing, especially since she was so broken, so empty, that she couldn’t even remember his father.
She wished she could remember something. Anything. Other than being chased.
She stepped into the administrative office.
“Hi,” she said softly. “I’m here to pick an entry form for my child.”
“Okay, ma’am,” the receptionist replied politely. “Please have a seat. We’ll attend to you shortly.”
Heaven nodded and sat down, clasping her bag in her lap.
The director’s office door opened.
Eva stepped out.
Her heels clicked lightly against the floor as she smiled, composed and elegant.
“All thanks to the donations made,” the director was saying warmly, “we are able to handle some of the top activities in the school.”
“Don’t mention it,” Eva replied smoothly. “It’s our responsibility to support our children’s future. Just keep taking good care of Havilah for me.”
The attendant turned toward Heaven.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” he said kindly. “Please follow me this way so you can pick up the form.”
Heaven rose immediately and nodded, adjusting the strap of her bag as she followed him walking in the exact direction Eva stood.
Just as Eva was about to turn.
The attendant spoke again, his voice cutting in at the perfect moment.
“This way, ma’am.”
Heaven turned with him just in time,moving down the corridor.
Eva paused.
She squinted slightly, a faint unease tightening her expression, as if she had seen something she shouldn’t see. Then she shook her head and walked away.
Unaware she had just passed the woman she had once destroyed.
Unaware the past was now standing in the same building.
Heaven clutched the form tightly as she sat in the taxi. She hadn’t been able to finish it. There was a space for Liam’s father’s signature.
She had told them she was a single mother and that Liam had no father. They judged her. She saw it in their eyes but covered it up with a polite smile and said the father could either sign, or her brother could, but someone had to. The school needed a father figure on record.
Heaven blinked back tears.
What was she supposed to do now?
She had thought she could do this on her own. Truly thought she could.
But it was getting harder. Fabian hadn’t called her for days. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pulled out her phone to call him.
“We’re here,” the taxi driver announced.
She looked up, paid quickly, and stepped out.
The familiar sight of her small hospital steadied her just a little.
She walked inside, unlocked the door, and glanced around half hoping and praying a patient would come today. She needed to employ staff too, she couldn’t handle it all.
She sighed softly, slipped into her coat, and draped her stethoscope around her neck.
The door opened before she could turn, she was pulled into a crushing hug. “My Heaven.”
Her body froze. Her mind blanked.
She knew instantly it was a man from the strength, the scent. The way his arms tightened around her like he’d been holding his breath for years.
She pushed back just enough to look at his face. Her heart thudded violently.
“Do you… know me?” she asked softly.