Page 180 of Secret Heir For The Billionaire Twin

“Right.”

I lower mine.

“I’m not bringing that world anywhere near him.”

“I know.”

“I mean it, Maya.”

“I know you do.”

I lean against the counter.

“Julian doesn’t know Theo exists. Nobody in that family does, and I’ve worked very hard to keep it that way.”

Maya nods slowly.

“Then maybe that’s the real question. Not whether you can handle Julian. Whether you can take the assignment without changing Theo’s life.”

I look back toward my son.

“That’s the only question that matters.”

Emma comes over after work with takeout and the kind of practical expression that tells me Maya has already briefed her.

Theo is halfway through telling her about the pulley project before she even gets her coat off.

“And the cup kept falling over,” Theo explains, holding up the cardboard model.

“So I fixed the string.”

Emma crouches beside him.

“Did your teacher like that?”

Theo thinks about it.

“She said I was supposed to follow the directions.”

Emma looks up at me.

I point at her. “Don’t encourage him.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Emma replies, smiling.

Later, after Theo disappears upstairs to get ready for bed, Emma sets her fork down and looks at me across the kitchen table.

“You’re thinking about taking it.”

“I’m thinking about whether I can take it without letting it touch him.”

Emma leans back slightly.

“That’s the part you need to be honest about.”

“He stays here.”

“With me and Maya.”