4-Six Years Later
1319 Words
The conference room at Sutton Holdings was built to make people feel small.
Floor-to-ceiling windows towered over the city skyline. Black marble reflected the cold glow of chandeliers overhead. The twenty-foot table in the center of the room looked less like a place for meetings and more like a place where empires decided who survived.
Parker Taylor wasn’t intimidated.
She had spent the last six years carving her name into rooms exactly like this—rooms filled with powerful men who underestimated her until she started talking.
Then regretted it.
She adjusted the sleeve of her cream blazer and glanced down at the confidential file in front of her one final time.
High-profile corporate dispute.
Federal exposure possible.
Client requested complete discretion.
Retainer paid in full before consultation.
The amount alone had nearly made her pause.
Which meant one thing.
Whoever hired her was either incredibly dangerous—
or incredibly desperate.
Possibly both.
“Ms. Taylor?”
Parker looked up as the assistant stepped into the room.
“He’s ready for you now.”
Professional mode slid into place instantly.
Controlled.
Untouchable.
Exactly who she needed to be.
Parker gathered her tablet and followed the assistant down a long corridor lined with glass offices and security doors. Sutton Holdings practically radiated money and power from the walls.
None of it impressed her.
Not anymore.
The assistant stopped outside a set of private double doors.
Then opened them.
“Right this way.”
Parker stepped inside—
and the world stopped.
Her breath caught so violently it hurt.
No.
No, no, no—
Because standing near the glass wall overlooking the skyline was a man she hadn’t seen in six years.
A man she had spent six years trying to forget.
A man she would’ve recognized in any room, in any city, in any lifetime.
Maxton Sutton.
For one impossible second, nobody moved.
Then he turned.
And Parker watched the most composed man she had ever known completely lose control of his expression.
Shock hit first.
Then disbelief.
Then something darker.
Something dangerously close to devastation.
His eyes locked onto hers like he thought she might disappear again if he blinked.
“Parker.”
Her name came out rough.
Wrecked.
Like he hadn’t said it out loud in years.
Parker felt her pulse slam painfully against her ribs.
This couldn’t be happening.
Out of every law firm in New York—
out of every attorney in the country—
he had hired her?
No.
Worse.
He had done it intentionally.
Because the realization hit her immediately.
The confidential client.
The hidden identity.
The impossible retainer.
He knew.
Her spine straightened instantly.
Emotion disappeared behind years of carefully built armor.
The girl who ran before sunrise six years ago vanished.
In her place stood Parker Taylor, one of the most feared corporate defense attorneys in the country.
Cold.
Sharp.
Untouchable.
“Mr. Sutton.”
The title hit him like a slap.
She saw it land.
Saw the muscle flex in his jaw.
The assistant glanced nervously between them before wisely retreating and shutting the doors behind her.
Silence exploded across the room.
Heavy.
Electric.
Dangerous.
Parker crossed to the table slowly, placing her tablet down with steady hands that absolutely did not reflect the chaos detonating inside her chest.
“You hired me.”
Not a question.
Maxton still hadn’t looked away from her.
Like he was trying to convince himself she was actually standing there.
Alive.
Real.
Finally, he moved.
One slow step toward her.
Then another.
“Yes.”
Parker opened the file deliberately.
“If I’d known the client identity beforehand, I would’ve declined.”
A humorless laugh escaped him.
“I know.”
Her eyes snapped up sharply.
“You concealed your identity.”
“That was intentional too.”
Anger flickered hot beneath her skin.
Of course it was.
Because Maxton Sutton had always known exactly how to corner people.
Parker closed the file.
“Then this meeting is over.”
She stood immediately.
But Maxton moved faster.
One step.
Then another.
Until he was standing between her and the door.
Too close.
Close enough that she caught the familiar scent of cedar and expensive cologne.
Close enough that six years collapsed into nothing.
“You disappeared.”
The words hit like a blade.
Not hello.
Not how have you been.
Just the wound they never survived.
Parker’s expression hardened instantly.
“This is not relevant to your legal issue.”
“It’s relevant to me.”
Her laugh turned sharp enough to cut glass.
“Six years too late.”
Something dangerous flashed in his eyes.
“I looked for you.”
That nearly broke her composure.
Nearly.
She forced herself not to react.
“You should’ve looked harder.”
His jaw clenched.
“You vanished overnight, Parker.”
“You had Vanessa.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Silence.
Then confusion flickered across his face.
“What?”
Parker hated herself immediately for saying it aloud.
But the damage was done.
She crossed her arms tightly.
“The messages,” she said coldly. “The night I left.”
Realization hit him instantly.
And then—
anger.
Not at her.
At something else.
“Jesus Christ.”
Parker stiffened.
“You left because of that?”
His voice sounded genuinely stunned.
“You were asleep beside me while another girl texted you she couldn’t wait to finish what you started.”
“That wasn’t what you thought it was.”
“Of course it was.”
“No.” His voice sharpened. “It wasn’t.”
Parker shook her head once.
“I’m not doing this.”
“You should’ve asked me.”
“You shouldn’t have given me a reason to.”
The tension between them turned unbearable.
Six years of hurt.
Six years of searching.
Six years of loving each other badly.
Exploding all at once.
Maxton stepped closer again, his voice dropping lower.
“I went to New York looking for you.”
Parker froze.
Everything inside her stopped.
“What?”
“Twice.” His eyes locked onto hers. “I called every number I had. Sophia wouldn’t tell me where you were. Nobody would.”
Her chest tightened painfully.
No.
Because if he had searched for her—
if he had cared—
then everything she believed about that night might’ve been wrong.
And that thought terrified her more than the anger ever had.
“You left a note telling me to forget you,” he said quietly. “You disappeared before I even woke up.”
Parker opened her mouth—
A sharp knock interrupted them.
Then the office door burst open before either could respond.
“Mom!”
Parker’s blood ran cold instantly.
A small figure flew into the room in a blur of dark curls and untied sneakers.
Luca.
No.
No, no, no—
Parker dropped to her knees automatically as her son launched himself into her arms.
“Luca, what are you doing here?”
“Aunt Sophia said your meeting was over!”
Parker barely heard him.
Because across the room—
everything had gone silent.
She looked up slowly.
And saw Maxton staring at the little boy in her arms.
Not casually.
Not politely.
He was staring like the ground beneath him had disappeared.
His eyes moved slowly across Luca’s face.
The dark eyes.
The stubborn jaw.
The familiar expression.
Recognition hit him piece by piece.
Brutal.
Unavoidable.
Parker felt the exact moment it happened.
Saw the horror spread across his face as the impossible began fitting together.
Luca looked toward him innocently.
Then smiled.
A smile Parker had seen before.
On Maxton.
God.
Maxton’s entire body went still.
Completely still.
Then his gaze lifted to hers.
And when he spoke, his voice was quieter than she had ever heard it.
More dangerous too.
“How old is he?”
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