Chapter 4
The morning light over Briarhaven was pale and watery, filtering through the high windows of the penthouse kitchen.
Mara stood by the marble island, holding a mug of black coffee that had long since gone cold. She hadn't slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she relived the terrifying moment Willa had slipped past the receptionist and walked into the lion's den.
Footsteps approached behind her. She didn't need to turn around to know it was Everett. The quiet, deliberate rhythm of his stride was unmistakable.
“She’s still asleep,” Everett said quietly. He was dressed in a charcoal cashmere sweater and dark trousers, looking less like a titan and more like a man who had survived a shipwreck. He held two fresh cups of coffee, extending one toward her.
Mara didn’t take it. She kept her arms crossed over her chest, her posture defensive. “I’m not staying here, Mr. Rowe.”
“Everett,” he corrected automatically.
“Everett,” she repeated with a bitter edge. “Whatever you want to call yourself. I’m packing my bag, and Willa and I are going back to New Jersey. You can have your lawyers draw up whatever non-disclosure agreements or custody waivers you want. Just leave us alone.”
Everett set the coffee cups down on the counter with a heavy thud. He didn't approach her aggressively, but he planted his hands on the marble edge, boxing her in without touching her.
“You think I’m going to let you walk out of here?” he asked, his voice low and incredulous.
“What choice do I have?” Mara snapped, finally turning to face him, her hazel eyes flashing with years of accumulated fatigue and fierce maternal pride. “You saw what happened yesterday! Your board hates me, your aunt wants to destroy us both, and the media is going to tear my daughter apart the second they find out who her father is. I didn't come here for your money, Everett. I didn't come here for a piece of your empire. I came because our apartment building was condemned last week, and I needed legal help to get our security deposit back from a slumlord. I took a wrong turn in this mausoleum of yours, and now my entire life is imploding.”
Everett listened in silence. He didn't interrupt. He let her fury wash over him because he knew he deserved every syllable.
When she finally ran out of breath, her chest heaving as unshed tears pricked her eyes, Everett reached out very slowly—giving her every opportunity to flinch or pull away—and gently touched her wrist.
“When you walked out of that hotel room in New York three years ago,” Everett said, his voice dropping into a register so raw it made Mara’s breath catch, “I spent three weeks looking for you.”
Mara froze. “What?”
“I sent investigators to every catering company in Manhattan,” Everett said, his gaze locked onto hers. “They told me the agency list was incomplete, that you had used a cash-only temp alias, that you had vanished. I thought... I thought you were just another girl who wanted nothing to do with a man who ate, breathed, and slept work. I buried it. I told myself it was better that way.”
He squeezed her wrist gently, his thumb tracing the pulse point.
“I didn't know about Willa, Mara,” he whispered. “If I had known—if I had spent even one day knowing I had a daughter out there—I would have torn this city apart to find you both. No apartment in New Jersey. No diner shifts. No scrubbing floors.”
Mara swallowed hard, a stray tear finally breaking free and tracking down her cheek. “It wasn't about the money, Everett. It was about... safety. You live in a war zone. Look at this place. It’s made of glass. Everything shatters here.”
“Then we’ll build something stronger,” Everett said fiercely.
Before Mara could answer, a soft, sleepy yawn echoed from the hallway.
They both turned. Willa stood rubbing her eyes, wearing an oversized Rowe Meridian cotton t-shirt that hung down to her knees like a nightshirt, clutching her torn gray rabbit in one hand.
She looked up, blinking against the bright morning light, and spotted Everett. Her face lit up with an instantaneous, radiant smile.
“Daddy!” Willa chirped, dropping her rabbit and running across the hardwood floor on her bare feet.
May you like
Everett didn't hesitate. He dropped to his knees, catching Willa in his arms and swinging her up into the air as she giggled with pure delight. He buried his face in her soft chestnut curls, squeezing her tight as if he would never let go.
Mara watched them, her hand flying to her mouth to stifle a sob. The iron wall around her heart, built over three hard years of solo survival, cracked right down the center.
