searching for the lie, the crack in her armor. Regina held his gaze, her heart pounding so loudly she was certain he

soap on his skin, see the water still beading on his collarbone. He was a force of

he asked, his vo

who looked nothing like him. Lily had her own father's eyes-warm, brown, kind. Not this man's sto

er than she felt. "And I have the truth. Wh

icity shot up her arm. She ignored it. He stared at the photo for a long moment, his thumb hovering over the screen as if he w

ook like me,"

e. "And your stubbornness. She's been asking about her father lately. What

g raw and painful in his eyes before the cold mask slammed back into pla

you want?

my daughter's surgery. And I want you to acknowledge her. Not publ

bitter sound. "You think you can waltz in here, drop a bomb like

s. The profiles. Valentine Martinez, the Ice King of Wall Street. The man who hasn't smiled sin

ngerously. "You kno

o be. Because if you were, you would have thrown me out the moment I me

could see the war raging behind his eyes-denial, anger, fear

he said slowly, "ther

he kept her expression neutr

a single soul. You will continue to work here as my maid, and you will ac

d L

ne-" He paused, as if the words were physically painful. "If she is mine, I will provide for her. M

manipulating him, using his grief and his doubt to save her daughter. She should

t sorry

oftly. "Those term

unreadable. "You will start tom

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Regina standing alone in the hallw

lt like jelly, her hands were shaking, and her heart was racing. But

texted Mrs. Alvarez. "I got

ntly. "Lily says she loves

refusing to cry. Not here. Not now. She had a daughter t

hut behind her. As she rode the elevator down to the lobby, she thought about Valentine M

her father. The father who had left when the bills came. The father who was probably in a

s life. But as the elevator doors slid open and she stepped out into the cool Manhatt

ht be the only one who

-

with worry and guilt and a thousand what-ifs. Mrs. Alvarez had agreed to watch Lily for a few extra hours, and

logne bottle had been cleaned up, the marble floor polished to a mirror shine. Th

rying to lose herself in the rhythm of the tasks. But her mind kept drifting back to the man

ilver hair swept into a chic chignon and eyes that missed nothing. She let hers

he woman asked,

leaping into her throat. "I'm

ed. "I'm Eleanor Martin

. The woman who would be devastated-and furious-to learn she had a secret gr

e steady despite the panic rising in h

"You're new. Valentine usually goes through maids faste

ile. "I'm just goo

smile that didn't reach her

rd the study. But she paused at the

ina. Do you h

a knife to the chest. She thought of Lily, of the lie s

she said. "

on her tongue. But wha

eared into the study. Regina let out a shaky bre

and already the lies were piling up. She could feel them pressi

w. She had come too far.

fe depend