CHAPTER 3: GHOSTS AND GAMES
1371 Words
Audrey's POV
I did not sleep.
The PI report glowed on my laptop screen, the words blurring together as dawn crept through my office windows. I had read it seven times. Each time, the revelations hit harder.
Lucy Michaels was not her real name.
She was Lucia Vandenberg. Daughter of the Vandenberg dynasty, one of the oldest and wealthiest families in America. The same family that had been rivals with the Whitmores for generations, locked in bitter competition over real estate, oil, and old grudges that went back a hundred years.
She had targeted Alex deliberately. Planned it and executed it perfectly.
But why?
The report ended abruptly, the final paragraph cutting off mid-sentence.
~Subject's true connection to you requires genetic testing. Recommend immediate-
File corrupted.
I stared at those words until they burned into my vision.
Genetic testing and connection to me?
Why would Lucy Michaels, or Lucia Vandenberg, or whoever she really was, need genetic testing related to me?
My phone alarm went off at seven. Time to get ready for the executive meeting.
I showered, dressed in my sharpest suit, and applied makeup to hide the shadows under my eyes. By the time I walked into the Meridian Innovations conference room, I looked composed. In control.
But I was not.
"Good morning, everyone." I set my tablet on the table and pulled up the presentation. "Let us review the quarterly projections."
I launched into the numbers, the data, the forecasts. Words came out of my mouth, but my mind was somewhere else. Seattle. Five years ago. Blood on marble floors.
"Ms. Audrey?" My CFO's voice broke through. "You said third quarter, but the slide shows fourth quarter metrics."
I blinked at the screen. He was right.
"My apologies." I clicked on the correct slide. "Third quarter revenue is up eighteen percent, driven primarily by our enterprise contracts."
But the damage was done. My team exchanged glances. I never made mistakes like that.
The meeting continued, but I felt every eye on me, questioning.
When it ended, I gathered my materials quickly, ready to escape to my office.
"Ms. Whitmore?"
I turned.
A man stood near the back of the room. Tall, lean, with dark hair touched with gray at the temples. He wore a simple navy suit, no flashy watch or designer accessories. But something about him radiated wealth. The quiet kind that did not need to announce itself.
"Leonard Michaels." He extended his hand. "I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I am here as a potential investor."
I shook his hand. His grip was firm but brief. "Mr. Michaels. I was not aware you would be attending today."
"Last-minute addition." He glanced at the empty conference room. "Your team is impressive. Very sharp."
"Thank you."
He studied me for a moment, his expression thoughtful. "Are you alright? You seem elsewhere."
The observation caught me off guard. Harris was all charm and bold moves. This man was different. Quieter and more careful.
"I am fine," I said automatically.
"Forgive me." He slipped his hands into his pockets. "I do not mean to overstep. I lost someone once. The past has a way of reaching forward when we least expect it."
Something in his tone made me pause. There was understanding there. Real understanding.
"It does," I said quietly.
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card. Plain white, simple black text. Just a name and phone number.
"If you ever need to talk. Not business. Just talk."
He handed it to me and walked out before I could respond.
I stood there, holding the card, wondering why a stranger's kindness felt so disarming.
That afternoon, I drove to Lauren's apartment in Brooklyn.
She opened the door in yoga pants and an oversized sweater, flour on her hands. "Please tell me you are here to eat cookies and not talk about work."
"I need to go to Seattle."
Her smile vanished. "What?"
I walked past her into the kitchen. Marcus was at the counter, helping Adrian decorate sugar cookies. My son looked up and grinned.
“Hi, Marcus.” I walked to hug him briefly. Lauren and Marcus have been married for two years now.
“Audrey, I've not seen you in two weeks. You work a lot.” he hugged me back and we both laughed.
“I agree .”
"Mommy! Look! I made a dinosaur!" Adrian usually visits Lauren once every two weeks.
"That is amazing, baby." I kissed the top of his head, then looked at Lauren. "Can we talk?"
She wiped her hands on a towel and led me to the living room.
"That man almost destroyed you," Lauren said the moment we sat down. "And now his mistress is dying and you are going to visit?"
"I need to know the truth about everything." I pulled out my phone and showed her the PI report. "Lucy targeted Alex deliberately. She is not who she said she was. And the report mentions genetic testing related to me. Why would that matter?"
Lauren read the screen, her frown deepening. "This is insane."
"I know."
"Then do not go. Let it stay buried."
"I cannot." I took the phone back. "She knows something. About that night and about me. I need to hear it."
"Take Harris with you. Or Marcus. Someone."
"I need to do this alone."
Lauren grabbed my hands. "Audrey, please. Think about what you are walking back into."
"I have." I met her eyes. "That is why I am going."
She sighed, defeated. "Call me every day. Promise."
"I promise."
"And Adrian stays here."
"Of course. I would not expose him to this."
I had to lie to Adrian that I was going on a work trip.
The flight to Seattle was only six hours, but it felt like stepping back in time.
I checked into a hotel downtown, refusing to go anywhere near the penthouse Alex and I had shared. The memories there would swallow me whole.
The hospital was across town. I took a cab, watching the familiar streets pass by. Nothing had changed, and everything had changed at the same time.
Alex had texted me the room number.
When I walked through the hospital doors, my hands started shaking.
It was the same white walls. The same antiseptic smell. The same fluorescent lights that had flickered above me while I lost everything.
I found the elevator and pressed the button for the eighth floor. My breathing turned shallow because the walls felt too close.
I almost turned back.
But the elevator doors opened, and my feet moved forward.
Room 847.
I stood outside the door, staring at the number. I pushed the door open.
Lucy lay in the bed, pale and thin, with an IV in her arm. But her eyes were sharp. Too alert for someone supposedly dying.
She smiled when she saw me. "Audrey. I wondered if you would come."
I stepped inside, letting the door close behind me. "You said you had something to confess."
"I do." Her voice was strong despite her appearance. "About that night, the baby and who you really are."
"What are you talking about?"
Lucy's smile turned sad. "Sit down. This is going to take a while."
I moved toward the chair beside her bed, every muscle in my body screaming to run.
Just as I sat down, the door opened. Alex walked in.
He froze when he saw me.
The moment stretched, long and painfully. He looked older. Lines creased his forehead that had not been there before. His shoulders sagged under the weight of something I could not name.
Guilt, maybe. Why do I care?
"Audrey." My name came out like a breath. "You came."
Before anyone could say anything, Lucy's monitors started beeping. Nurses rushed in, their movements quick and practiced.
"Everyone out! NOW!"
Hands grabbed my arms, pulling me into the hallway. Alex stumbled out beside me. The door slammed shut.
Through the chaos, through the beeping machines and urg
ent voices, Lucy's voice cut through. Clear and cold.
"Ask him about the DNA test, Audrey! Ask him what he found out AFTER you left!"
“Alex.” I turned to look at him.
- Writer
