Page 39 of Broken Destiny

Liam and Jessica took me out to lunch. Even though I had no appetite, I managed to eat some of the pasta I had ordered. By the time lunch ended, exhaustion had settled into every pore of my body, so I cut the day short at the office and headed home.

12

CALEB

Isat in the back seat of the car and told the chauffeur to head back to the hotel.

Little did I know how the ride into the city in the morning would change my life forever. I could not focus on anything except Nyah’s picture in the gallery from the weekend. I had kept studying it, searching for some hidden meaning, some explanation that would make sense of what I was seeing.

The painting captured a moment between two people who shared an intimacy. I kept wondering who had painted her like that—who had looked at her with such devotion—as if he had known her in ways I once had. That alone made me want to punch a hole in the wall.

I had doubted myself at the restaurant. I had blamed alcohol then, but there was no doubt seeing her today. She was not a figment of my imagination, and there was no alcohol involved.

Now, looking out the window, my thoughts spiralled in every direction. I could not hold on to a single clear idea. Seeing her again after all these years had cracked something open inside me.

Her face refused to leave me.

Her voice echoed in my ears.

Her eyes followed me wherever I turned.

Watching her present the project earlier, I could not deny how passionate she seemed. Her face lit up as she spoke, her brown eyes had sparkled.

For more than three and a half years, I had searched for her everywhere and found nothing, chasing leads that vanished like smoke the moment I reached for them. But as I sat in the conference room, I was stunned that she was real, standing only a few feet away from me, breathing the same air and occupying the same space.

Questions crowded my mind like a relentless drumbeat. How had she ended up here? How had she built a new life so easily, slipping into another identity as though the past had never existed? And how had she managed to marry into this family without anyone seeing through her constructed lies?

I had seen her expression change when our eyes had met, but I wasn’t sure if she had been uncomfortable or shocked seeing me there, frozen in the moment of recognition. I couldn’t read her, and that uncertainty gnawed at me like a persistent itch I could not scratch. Then again, she was a good actress, and she always had been one, capable of wearing masks so convincing that even the sharpest observer could be fooled.

She had tricked me into falling in love with her, only to take the money at the end with the fake story that she had made up, leaving behind nothing but betrayal and unanswered questions. Her alliance with Jeremy—her foster father, or so she claimed—had been proven when I saw the pictures of her taking the money from the driver at her apartment, the evidence laid out in front of me like a verdict I could not challenge. My father’s eyes had bulged when he saw the proof himself, as the truth shattered the image he had built of her. He used to sing her praises constantly as an employee and a mother, defending her character with unwavering confidence, never imagining that the woman he trusted could deceive us all.

Nyah had even used Lucas to achieve her goal, pulling at my heart in ways that still stung whenever his name crossed my mind. The boy I missed and loved like my own son had become collateral damage ina scheme I never saw coming. I remembered picking him up from school, dropping him off in the mornings, and attending his social events with Nyah, standing proudly beside them as though we were a real family. Everything had been snatched away from me in a single ruthless act of duplicity, leaving behind a hollow space where those memories used to live.

Had she done the same thing here? Had she scammed this family too, slipping into their lives with the same calculated charm she had once used on me while waiting for the perfect moment to strike again?

The thought settled heavily in my chest.

I had watched Liam praise her. I had seen the respect in the way he spoke to her, the trust between them obvious even from across the room.

Years ago, I had trusted her too.

Had she somehow convinced this family to believe in her the same way I once had? Had she built herself another life behind another carefully crafted story?

I didn't know, but I intended to find out and warn them, because accusations without proof would only make me look like a bitter man chasing ghosts from the past. I had learned that lesson the hard way, and I was not going to make the same mistake twice.

There was no doubt that I was going to be the investor for this project. I would outbid anyone who tried to stand in my way, no matter the cost or the consequences. I didn’t care how much money it took or how many competitors I had to push aside, because this was no longer just business.

Even though I had to check with my brother and sisters first, I already knew I didn’t want to waste any more time. I wasn’t about to give her the chance to slip away again. I didn’t know how many other people she had pitched this project to, but I was determined to win this. No matter what obstacles stood in my way, I would secure my place in this project.

And that’s exactly what I did when she finished her presentation.

Liam had confirmed that he would send the contract over shortly,and we sealed the deal with a handshake, polite smiles, and professional courtesy.

When the meeting ended, and our hands touched again, a spark ran through me, like a live wire snapping against bare skin. My pulse reacted before my mind could stop it, betraying emotions I had no intention of acknowledging.

This was not over.

Not by a long shot.