Chapter 289
Adrian squeezed my hand. “As long as you’re okay.” Then he led us toward the exit. “Hello there.”
He smiled politely at Blake and Rachel. “Mr. Parker, Miss Hayes. I didn’t expect Dr. Clarke would arrange for you both to meet us.”
Blake was still on his phone, but Rachel waved and walked toward us.
“The Clarke family’s swamped today,” she said with a bright smile. “Picking up guests is the least we can do!”
She shook Adrian’s hand. “I’m Rachel Hayes. Heard a lot about you.”
“Adrian Knox,” he replied, then gestured to me. “My wife Evelyn Knox, and our daughter Emma.”
Rachel turned to me, extending her hand. “Mrs. Knox, you…”
The moment our eyes met, she froze. Her mouth opened and closed without sound.
I’d expected this reaction.
I shook her hand briefly, then pulled away. “Emma, say hi to the nice lady.”
“Hello! I’m Emma Knox!” The little girl’s sweet voice broke Rachel’s trance.
Rachel blinked rapidly, staring at my face. “Mrs. Knox,” she managed finally, her voice hoarse. “Have we… met before?”
S
I kept my smile steady. “I don’t think so.”
Without waiting for her response, I carried Emma past her toward the exit.
Blake’s POV
I ended an irritating business call and glanced over at Rachel.
That’s when I saw her.
THE
The face that had haunted me for ten months.
Audrey Sinclair.
Alive.
–
My world stopped. The woman in the white dress had Audrey’s face exactly her face.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe,
Was I dreaming again? I’d tried so many times to see her in my dreams, but she’d never appear clearly.
I’d thought she hated me too much to visit even my subconscious.
But now, I wasn’t asleep, so why… why was I seeing her?
Audrey’s POV
1/2
“Mommy,” Emma tugged at my collar, her voice tiny against my ear. “That man keeps looking at us.”
She pressed closer, her small body warm against mine. “He’s scary.”
I followed her gaze.
Blake stood frozen, staring at us like he’d seen a ghost. The naked emotion in his eyes made my stomach drop.
I turned away quickly. “Don’t worry, baby.”
Holding Emma tighter, I walked faster toward the exit. Adrian was ahead talking to Rachel, leaving just enough space for me to slip past without another interaction.
In the parking lot, I’d just clicked Emma’s seatbelt into place when footsteps approached from behind.
I knew those footsteps. The rhythm, the weight of them.
I kept my hands busy, pretending I hadn’t heard.
Then strong hands grabbed my shoulders, spinning me around. The car door slammed shut as Blake pulled me against him.
“Audrey.”
His voice cracked on my name, his body solid and warm against mine.
“I knew it,” he said, his grip almost painful. “I fucking knew you weren’t dead.”
His chest rose and fell rapidly against me. “They lied. All of them. Astrid, Ethan, all of them.”
His words vibrated through his chest and into mine. “I told them I wouldn’t believe it until I saw your body with my own eyes.”
Ten months since I’d felt his arms around me. Ten months since I’d breathed in his scent.
Part of me remembered how safe I once felt here.
But that part was dead.
I shoved hard against his chest and stepped back. My hand moved before I could think, cracking across his face.
The slap echoed through the parking garage. People turned to stare.
Blake touched his reddening cheek, eyes wide with shock.
“Get your hands off me,” I said, loud enough for others to hear. “I don’t know who you think I am, but you’ve got the wrong person.”
