Chapter 5

The atmosphere in New Grant Group's executive suite was suffocating.

Alexander yanked at his tie and dropped into his leather chair, staring at the file of Iris on his desk.

A stack of photos fanned out beside it. They are Iris at events, on the street, laughing, watching, always with that same knowing arrogance in her eyes.

She reminded him of Vivian. Her eyes. Her voice. The way she squinted slightly when she drank, that small, unconscious habit.

But the file told a different story. [Iris. Centralian name unknown. Centralian-Arcadia, orphaned young.]

[She graduated from Wharton. Hit Wall Street at twenty-five. By thirty, she was the youngest partner in Phoenix Capital's history.]

Her background was almost too clean, too perfect, as if someone had designed it.

She had nothing like Vivian. Vivian had been raised without a care in the world, sheltered, soft, the kind of woman who couldn't tell Bordeaux from Burgundy.

A knock cut through the silence.

"Come in," Alexander said.

His assistant, Ben, pushed the door open, his face pale. "Mr. Grant, we... we lost the bid for that Newlands plot."

Alexander's eyes snapped wide. "What?"

"Phoenix Capital." Ben's voice wavered. "Their terms, no one could touch them. They waived profit share entirely.

"They only asked for exclusive development rights and full claim to any undiscovered mineral deposits beneath the land for the next fifty years."

"That's practically giving it away. What the hell are they after?" Alexander was already on his feet.

"I don't know." Ben was nearly in tears. "And their representative is Iris herself."

Alexander's mind went blank for a moment. It was Iris again. He didn't know what she wanted.

She was like a ghost that had crawled up from hell to take everything from Alexander.

"Alexander, what's wrong? You look terrible." Claire's voice drifted in from the doorway. She walked toward him carefully, a cup of coffee in her hands.

She set it down, reading his mood, then moved behind him and began massaging his temples. "Did something happen at the company?"

Alexander kept his eyes closed, saying nothing.

His mind was full of Iris and Vivian. And the way Vivian had looked at him at the end, calm, empty, like all the light had already left her.

"Alexander." Claire's voice was tentative. "Are you still thinking about that woman from last night?

"It's strange how much she looks like Vivian."

At the name, his whole body tensed.

Bitterness flickered across Claire's face, but she smoothed it over quickly, letting tears fill her eyes instead.

She touched her stomach. "I know you can't forget her. But it's been three years. We have a child now. This baby is your blood too.

"You left me alone all night because of her. Do you know what people are saying? They laugh at me. They say I can't compete with a dead woman."

The tears came harder now. She looked fragile and wounded, which made men want to protect her.

Alexander finally opened his eyes, exhaustion etched across his face. He took Claire's hand, his voice gentler. "Don't overthink it. I wasn't—"

"Then explain it to me." She pressed. "Why did you act so strangely? Do you really think she's Vivian? That she didn't die, and now she's back for revenge?"

"Enough." He pulled his hand away, his voice suddenly rough. "Vivian is dead. I watched them bury her.

"That woman is a lookalike. That's it. People look alike. It happens."

Claire froze at his tone, then started crying harder.

Realizing he'd lost his temper, Alexander took a deep breath, drew her close, and spoke in a gentler voice.

"Come on. Stop crying. It's not good for the baby.

"I've been exhausted. We've lost the Newlands deal. It's going to hurt the company."

He rubbed her back slowly, soothing her, or maybe himself.

"How could someone dead ever come back to haunt me? There's no way," he murmured under his breath. His gaze drifted vacantly to the stack of files on his desk.

Alexander swore to himself that if Iris dared come for Grant Group or anything that was his, he would make her pay.

He didn't care that Nathan Blackwood was backing her.

He would make Iris die, as Vivian had three years ago.