Chapter 27 27

Chapter 27 27

Vanessa’s POV

I should have known something was wrong the moment I stepped into the office.
The air felt different.
Too still.
Too watchful.

Elliot hadn’t arrived yet, but everyone on the floor was acting strange.
Whispering.
Looking up whenever I walked past.
Pretending to work when I met their eyes.

I ignored them and walked to my desk, placing my coffee down with a quiet sigh.

My chest was still a little tight from the incident at the crèche.
Emily almost ran to him again.
She adored him without knowing who he was. I couldn’t let that happen again.

I took a calming breath and opened my laptop, preparing the morning reports.

My phone buzzed.
A text from Asher.

Asher:
Be careful today. I have a bad feeling.

My brows pulled together.
Before I could type a response, the elevator behind me opened with a sharp chime.

Elliot walked out.

Everyone froze.
His expression was unreadable, deadly calm in the worst possible way.
He didn’t greet anyone, didn’t glance around.

His eyes locked onto me immediately.

My heart slammed once against my ribs.

He walked straight to me.

“Good morning, sir,” I said, keeping my voice smooth and steady.

“Inside. Now.”
He didn’t raise his voice, yet the command hit like a slap.

Something inside me went cold.

I followed him into his office and he shut the door behind us with a quiet click.

He didn’t sit.
He stood in front of me, arms crossed, gaze sharp enough to slice me open.

“Who are you really?” he asked.

My breath caught. “What do you mean?”

“Drop the act,” he said. “I know you forged your employment history.”

My stomach twisted.
My fingers tightened around the folder I was holding.

He stepped closer.
“So tell me… Nessa Adams. What exactly are you hiding?”

I forced myself to exhale slowly.
Calm.
Control.
No fear.

“I am hiding nothing,” I said. “I told you where I’m from, where I worked, and what I—”

“You’re lying.”

The words hit harder than they should have.

And then he leaned in just an inch, lowering his voice.

“You remind me of someone I used to know.”

I felt my pulse jump to my throat.

This was bad.

His eyes were searching my face, inch by inch, like he was peeling layers off me with his bare hands.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” I murmured.

“Don’t you?” he asked.

A long pause stretched between us, thick and suffocating.

He reached for a folder on his desk and slid it toward me.

“Your background check,” he said. “Half of it is fabricated.”

My fingertips turned cold when I touched the file.

He watched me with a strange mix of anger and… something else I didn’t want to decipher.

“Explain yourself,” he demanded quietly.

I swallowed. “If my credentials were an issue, HR would have handled it. Why are you personally concerned with my background?”

His jaw clenched.
He didn’t answer.

Instead, he stepped even closer.
Close enough that I could smell his cologne and my heart betrayed me with an unsteady flutter.

“Because I don’t like being lied to,” he said.

I forced myself to meet his eyes, icy and unwavering.

“Then you should understand,” I said calmly, “that not everyone has the privilege of starting fresh with a perfect past.”

Something flickered across his features.
Guilt?
Recognition?
I didn’t know.

His voice lowered.

“I’ll find out who you are.”

I gave him a faint, controlled smile. “Good luck with that.”

A muscle jumped in his jaw.

I turned to leave, but his voice stopped me cold.

“Why does your daughter attend the same crèche as mine?”

My entire body froze.

Slowly, I turned back around.
I kept my voice steady. “It was a coincidence.”

He stepped toward me again.

“Coincidence,” he repeated, like he didn’t believe a single syllable.

Then he whispered, “She looks nothing like you.”

My heart dropped.

I masked it with a cold stare. “Children take after different family members.”

He watched me for a long, suffocating moment.

“Do you know what bothers me most?” he finally said.

I didn’t answer.

“You stormed out of that crèche like you were hiding her from me.”

My pulse thundered.

I forced myself to breathe normally. “Your imagination is impressive, Mr. Hayes. But I don’t control who walks into a daycare center.”

He took another step.
Barely any space remained between us.

“I’ll find out the truth,” he said quietly. “About you. And about her.”

My heart stuttered because for a terrifying second, I saw it in his eyes.

Suspicion.
Dangerous suspicion.

I couldn’t let him get close.
Not to me.
Not to Emily.

So I tilted my chin up and met his stare head-on.

“I am not intimidated by your threats,” I said.

He smirked darkly, leaning in.
“Who said they were threats?”

I opened the door without another word and left his office, shutting it gently behind me.

Only when I reached my desk did I finally release the shaky breath lodged in my chest.

He was getting too close.
Too aware.
Too curious.

If he dug any deeper…

No.
I wouldn’t let it happen.