Chapter Nine: Shadows from the Past
1571 Words
The sun had barely risen when Anna’s phone vibrated violently on her nightstand.
Still half-asleep, she reached for it and blinked at the unknown number flashing across the screen.
"Hello?" Her voice was groggy.
Silence.
Then, a female voice slithered through the speaker. "I see you’ve gotten comfortable playing house."
Anna sat upright. "Who is this?"
The woman chuckled. "You’ll find out soon enough. Just a warning—don’t get too attached to things that were never yours to keep."
The line went dead.
Anna’s heart pounded. Her hands trembled as she set the phone down.
The boys were still asleep. Liam was in the guest room, having insisted on giving her space until she was sure about where things were going.
She tiptoed down the hallway and knocked softly. Liam opened the door immediately, already dressed in a white shirt, sleeves rolled up, jaw tight.
“I heard your voice. Is everything okay?”
“No,” she whispered. “Someone called. A woman. She said... she said not to get too comfortable.”
Liam’s face darkened. “Did she say who she was?”
Anna shook her head.
He exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his hair. “I think I know.”
She looked at him, alarmed. “You do?”
“There’s someone from my past. Her name is Clarissa Kane. We were briefly engaged... before I realized she was only interested in power and status. She didn’t take the breakup well.”
Anna’s throat tightened. “You think she found out about us?”
“I know her. This isn’t just a coincidence.”
He paused, then gently cupped Anna’s face. “I won’t let her hurt you or the boys. I swear.”
But Anna wasn’t convinced that promises alone could stop someone who thrived on revenge.
---
Meanwhile, Clarissa stood on a rooftop terrace, sipping champagne and watching a drone video loop on her tablet. It showed Anna leaving the daycare, Liam picking up the boys, and snapshots of the small house they lived in.
She smiled coolly.
“So this is your secret, Liam. A waitress with twins.”
She turned to the man standing behind her—a tall, wiry investigator with a leather briefcase.
“Do it. I want her humiliated. I want him ruined.”
The man nodded.
Clarissa tilted her head. “Start with the custody rumors. Then leak the daycare inspection report. Let’s see how quickly her world crumbles.”
---
Back in their quiet neighborhood, Anna and Liam tried to keep the morning normal for the twins, who happily ate cereal and watched cartoons, unaware of the storm building just beyond their door.
But by noon, it began.
Anna got a call from the daycare director.
“I hate to do this,” the woman said regretfully, “but an anonymous report was filed. We have to temporarily suspend the boys’ attendance until an inspection clears you.”
Anna’s hand clutched the phone tighter. “What report?”
“Claims of neglect and unsafe living conditions. I know they aren’t true, but protocol is protocol.”
Anna barely managed to say thank you before hanging up. Her knees buckled.
Liam caught her.
“She’s attacking our life, Liam. She’s targeting the boys.”
“I won’t let her win.” His voice was steel.
Anna looked into his eyes—determined, angry, protective.
The man who once disappeared from her life was now fighting to protect it.
But Clarissa wasn’t finished.
And soon, the secret Anna had buried for years—the truth about that night, the twins’ paternity, and the identity she’d hidden—would explode into the open.
Anna sat on the bench in the quiet park, her hands clenched tightly around the handles of the twin stroller. The boys were napping peacefully, their tiny chests rising and falling in rhythm. But Anna’s heart was a storm.
The DNA test Clarissa had somehow obtained… the smug press whispers she’d overheard… it was all unraveling faster than she could contain.
She felt Liam approach before she saw him. His shadow stretched over her shoulder just as he sat beside her.
“I’ve spoken to my legal team,” Liam began softly. “We can press charges for the invasion of privacy. What she did was illegal.”
Anna shook her head. “Even if we do that, the damage is done. People know now. About the boys. About me.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Anna. Clarissa’s the one exploiting our private lives for revenge.”
She looked at him with eyes full of pain. “You don’t get it. You have wealth. Protection. Power. I don’t. People will drag my name, and I have no armor.”
Liam reached out, gently brushing her hair back from her face. “Then let me be your armor. Please.”
Her lip trembled.
“I want to,” he said. “I want to take care of you, of the twins, of everything.”
“But we don’t even know each other. Not truly. That night years ago… and now this mess... We barely even had a chance.”
“You’re right,” Liam admitted. “But I want to take that chance now.”
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a velvet box.
Anna stared at it, stunned.
“No—it’s not what you think,” Liam said quickly. “It’s not a proposal. Not yet. It’s a promise.”
He opened the box. Inside was a delicate chain necklace with two small pendants—each shaped like half a heart. One for each twin.
“I had this made after I found out. It’s not much. But it’s a start. A promise that I won’t run again.”
Anna blinked back tears as she took the necklace, her fingers brushing the tiny hearts.
Before she could speak, Liam’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen—and cursed under his breath.
“It’s Clarissa,” he muttered. “She’s threatening to release more... photos. Ones from that night. She has connections in the tabloids.”
Anna paled. “But we didn’t even take any photos—”
“Someone did.”
Liam stood, fury simmering beneath his usually calm exterior. “She’s crossing a line.”
But before he could return the call, Anna’s phone buzzed too. A message from an unknown number.
“Nice necklace. Looks good on you. Too bad the public will think it’s just hush money.”
Her hands trembled.
“She’s watching us,” Anna whispered. “Right now.”
Liam scanned the park, his eyes narrowing. “We’re not safe here.”
He turned to her. “Come home with me. Tonight. Please.”
Anna hesitated—then nodded.
For the first time since that fateful night years ago, they were facing everything together.
The downtown streets were bathed in twilight when Anna stepped out of the car. Her heart pounded, but she masked her nerves with a steady breath. Liam waited in a car nearby with a security team—not too close, not too far.
She approached the small, dimly lit restaurant where Clarissa had chosen to meet. Clearly, Clarissa wanted to keep things quiet. But Anna had anticipated that.
Clarissa was already seated at a corner table, her sunglasses perched atop her sleek blond hair, though the sun had nearly vanished. She smirked when she saw Anna.
"You're braver than I thought," Clarissa said smoothly, sipping her wine. "Or maybe just more foolish."
Anna sat across from her, back straight. "Let’s skip the games, Clarissa. What do you want?"
Clarissa leaned forward, her voice silky. “Simple. Stay away from Liam. Disappear. Leave the twins with him if you must, but you? You’re the scandal.”
Anna’s jaw clenched. “You know that’s never going to happen.”
Clarissa smiled like a cat playing with a mouse. “Then I’ll destroy you. Your job, your name… everything.”
Anna stared at her evenly. “You’ve already tried. I’m still standing.”
Clarissa’s face darkened. “You think because Liam plays the doting father now that you’re safe? Men like him don’t change.”
“He already has,” Anna said, voice calm but firm. “And he’ll stand by me. Unlike you, Clarissa, I’m not hiding behind threats. I’m living with truth.”
Clarissa scoffed. “Truth? You’re a waitress who got lucky.”
Anna stood up slowly. “I’m a mother. A woman who survived heartbreak, loneliness, and raising two boys on her own. That’s not luck. That’s strength.”
Clarissa opened her mouth to retort, but Anna leaned in one last time.
“And if you come after me again,” she whispered, “you’ll learn just how strong I really am.”
She turned and walked out without another word, the city lights flickering around her like applause.
Liam was waiting outside. The moment she saw him, she exhaled the breath she’d been holding.
“Well?” he asked, stepping closer.
“I think I just gave her something to be afraid of,” Anna said.
He smiled proudly. “That’s my girl.”
As they drove away, Anna glanced back once at the restaurant. She didn’t see Clarissa—but she knew the message had been received.
And the next chapter of their lives had just begun.
- Writer
