Chapter 10
1020 Words
EDEN'S POV
I don't sleep, every time my eyes close, the same things return.
Jack's face, the notebook and the hospital room. Janice going completely silent when I asked about his father.
Something is wrong and I know it now, whatever she's hiding is big enough to terrify her.
Morning arrives without rest. By the time I walk into Duncan Enterprises, irritation already sits heavy beneath my skin.
Richard notices. "You look terrible."
"Good morning to you too."
"You didn't sleep."
"I'm fine."
"That bad, huh?"
I ignore him and keep walking, my day doesn't improve. Meetings drag endlessly, numbers blur together and executives keep talking while my thoughts circle somewhere else entirely.
Jack laughing in the hospital bed, calling medical equipment dinosaurs and Janice trying not to panic.
By noon my patience is gone completely. Richard closes the conference room door after the latest meeting.
"You need to let this go." I loosen my tie slightly. "I'm trying."
"No you are not." His eyes narrow. "You're investigating."
The silence that follows answers for me, Richard exhales slowly. "This isn't healthy."
"What isn't?"
"The obsession."
"It's not an obsession."
"You're reviewing employee files and thinking about somebody else's kid at three in the morning."
I glance toward him. "That specific?"
"You sent me emails at two-thirteen and four-forty-six."
Damn it, Richard folds his arms. "You barely cared about people before this woman walked into your hotel."
"She works for me."
"Right."
The sarcasm drips heavily then his expression sharpens slightly. "You like the kid."
The statement catches me off guard because it's true. I lean back against the desk and Jack's face flashes through my mind immediately.
The way he talked without stopping, the way he trusted me instantly and the way he laughed.
None of it felt awkward or forced. The connection happened too naturally.
That's the part I can't stop thinking about, Richard watches me carefully then says quietly, "You need boundaries."
Maybe I do but that thought disappears the second my phone buzzes with another hotel update.
By afternoon I'm back at The Grand Sterling. The atmosphere changes when I walk through the kitchen.
Voices lower, movements sharpen and everybody remembers professionalism.
Chan notices me first. "Our emotional support billionaire returned."
Several cooks laugh and Celine snorts loudly from the prep station. "Careful, Chan. He'll fire you."
Janice doesn't laugh this time, she barely looks at me at all and that bothers me more.
Celine notices and her eyes move between both of us then she mutters, "Oh my God, they fought."
"We didn't fight," Janice says instantly. "Definitely fought."
Chan points a knife toward her. "You look divorced."
Janice snaps, "I was never married."
"You still look divorced."
The kitchen laughs again even Janice almost smiles before catching herself but the exhaustion under her eyes remains and once I notice it, I can't stop noticing it.
Later that afternoon I end up reviewing documents for an upcoming company charity gala.
Mostly sponsorship approvals, medical partnerships, children's assistance programs and routine paperwork until one application catches my attention.
Jack Soto, my hand stills as I stare at the name longer than I should then pull the file closer.
Submitted several years ago as a medical assistance request that was ultimately rejected due to incomplete documentation, the application carries Janice's signature as Jack's legal guardian.
My eyes move lower and father's information is blank again, always blank.
Something uncomfortable twists inside my chest because this isn't one missing form anymore, it's every form, every record and every document like the father simply doesn't exist or was erased intentionally.
I close the file harder than necessary. An hour later I find Janice alone near the supply office.
For a second I almost walk away then she notices me.. "What?"
Straight to the point, I study her quietly then ask, "Why are all his records missing a father?"
Every bit of color drains from her face as she folds her arms immediately. "He doesn't have one."
"Is that really the truth."
"You don't know anything about my life."
Her voice sharpens fast and defensive but not enough. "Nobody just appears out of nowhere, Janice."
"You need to stop asking questions."
"Why?"
"Because it's none of your business."
The words hit harder than they should, I take a step closer before thinking.
"Then why does it feel like you're hiding something?"
Her jaw tightens instantly. "Maybe because you keep cornering me."
The frustration between us crackles painfully, neither of us backs away and neither of us softens because we're both standing inside half-truths pretending they aren't suffocating us.
Finally she looks away first. "I have work to do." Then she leaves fast like staying near me too long is dangerous.
Night falls slowly over the city, most of the building empties and I end up alone in my office.
Tired and restless, still thinking about her, about Jack and about all the missing pieces. Without fully deciding to, I pull open the bottom drawer of my desk.
The old storage file waits exactly where I left it years ago. Chloe, I haven't opened it in a long time.
Photographs slide free first and old memories stare back at me. Trips, dinners, miles, a life that feels impossibly far away now.
Then paperwork, hospital forms, Insurance documents and discharge summaries.
My chest tightens slightly, I almost put everything away again then one folded paper slips loose and lands on the desk.
A hospital discharge summary dated five years ago.
I stare at it absently at first, then something catches my attention.
Emergency Contact: Janice Soto
Not strange by itself, sisters exist and family helps family but under it sits a handwritten note.
*Patient requested sister remain primary contact at all times.+
I go completely still because one impossible thought enters my head.
What if Janice wasn't simply connected to Chloe? What if she had been there for everything?
Closer than anyone ever told me, closer than she should have been.
The office feels too quiet and for the first time, I start wondering how much of the past I never actually understood.
- Writer
