Chapter 3
He stood tall, looking sharp and handsome, his eyes full of authority. The kind of presence that made everyone around him feel he was born to lead.
It was Edward.
The headline screamed: [Edward Grant, CEO of Grant Holdings, back from illness—takes over Capland's biggest chip company]
My breath caught in my throat.
Three years had passed since I last saw that face. I thought I wouldn't feel a thing.
But the moment those familiar features flashed across the screen, a sharp stab of pain twisted in my chest—I couldn't help it.
"Emma? Are you there?" Sophie's voice snapped me back to reality.
"Yeah... I'm here." My voice came out hoarse.
"I found out—Edward got his memory back three months ago! He remembered you! And then he totally lost it, went after that bitch Isabelle! The White family went bankrupt, and he had Isabelle locked up in a mental hospital. Heard she's got some delusional disorder—thinks she's Mrs. Grant all day long!"
Sophie sounded absolutely thrilled—like she'd just watched the villain get what was coming to her.
"He's tearing the world apart trying to find you! Emma, your revenge is finally here! That jerk regrets everything—he totally deserves it!"
I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles turned white.
He got his memory back?
He regret it?
So what?
Did he really think a single regret could erase all the pain he put me through?
Could it undo the loss of the child I nearly lost?
Could it erase the exhaustion of three years, when I had to be both mom and dad to Charlie all on my own?
No, it couldn't.
"Sophie, none of that matters to me anymore," I said calmly. "Emma Reed is dead."
"But..." Sophie started.
"No buts," I cut her off. "I'm Emilia Reed now, Charlie's mom. All I want is a quiet life."
On the other end, Sophie was silent for a long time, then let out a sigh.
"I get it. Don't worry. I won't breathe a word about where you are," she said.
After hanging up, I sat in the car, frozen, unable to move for ages.
I thought I'd already let go, but Edward's sudden reappearance stirred up feelings I thought were long dead.
I turned on the car radio, hoping the sound would chase away the turmoil inside me.
The radio host's sugary voice was broadcasting a missing person announcement.
"Mr. Grant has asked us to help find a woman named Emma Reed... Mr. Grant says, 'Emma, I'm sorry. Please, come back to me. Wherever you are, I'll find you. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you...'"
I switched off the radio, expressionless.
Make it up to me?
Edward, you were way too late.
The gates of hell slammed shut the moment you pushed me in—there was no coming back from that.
Life seemed to go back to normal, at least on the surface.
But deep down, I was the only one who knew—some things had changed for good.
I started having nightmares all the time, filled with painful memories from the past.
Edward's cold face, Isabelle's triumphant smile, and the harsh lights of the operating room.
Most nights, I'd wake up in the middle of the night and just hold Charlie tight, unable to sleep again until morning.
I started getting scared to leave the house, afraid I'd run into him no matter where I went.
Charlie picked up on my anxiety and started acting extra sweet and thoughtful.
One day, I was rushing a draft in my studio while Charlie played with his blocks in the living room.
He suddenly ran over with a tablet, holding it up proudly like he'd found some hidden treasure.
"Mom, look! This guy looks just like me!"
I barely glanced at it, not really paying attention.
But the instant I saw it, my whole body went numb.
On the tablet was that business news article from earlier, with Edward's face front and center.
Charlie pointed at Edward's face, then at his own, looking totally amazed.
"Mom, look! His eyes, his nose, his mouth—they look just like mine!"
I looked at Charlie's face—he was the spitting image of Edward—and my heart dropped like a stone.
Genetics really are a scary thing.
No matter how much I wanted to deny it, the truth was right there, impossible to erase.
I snatched the tablet from his hands and quickly closed the page.
"Charlie, don't pay attention to that. We don't know this man," I said.
My words came out harsher than I meant, and it scared Charlie.
He pouted, his big eyes brimming with tears as he looked at me, hurt.
"Mommy, you yelled at me..."
My heart softened instantly, and I scooped him up into my arms.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Mommy didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just... a little tired."
Charlie wrapped his little arms around my neck and patted my back, trying to comfort me.
"Mommy, don't be tired. Let me give you a back rub."
I held my little boy in my arms, my heart aching with love and fear all at once.
Millgrad wasn't exactly huge, but it wasn't small.
There was no way Edward could find us here, right?
But in the end, I totally underestimated how much pull Edward really had—and way overestimated my own luck.
A week later, I got a call from an unfamiliar number.
"Hi, is this Ms. Emilia Reed? We're calling from the legal team at Grant Holdings in Maybury. We wanted to talk about turning your latest children's book, The Star's Guardian, into a movie," the caller said.
Grant Holdings?
It hit me like a thunderbolt. I was frozen.
Why was it them?
My picture books had some buzz, but it was not like Grant Holdings would care about someone like me.
Something was definitely off here.