He understood that finding footage from three years ago would take time.
Yet as the minutes ticked by, his heart raced uncontrollably.
His eyes remained fixed on his phone screen, his anxiety evident in the overflowing ashtray piled high with cigarette butts.
The phone suddenly vibrated.
He answered instantly: “Get the results?”
Instead, his butler’s respectful voice came through: “Young Master, the Elder Mr. Reed requests your immediate presence at the family mansion.”
Dominic frowned. “Is grandfather unwell?”
“He didn’t say, sir, but his tone was urgent.”
He ended the call and started the engine.
The Reed family mansion blazed with lights.
The moment Dominic stepped into the living room, a stack of photographs came flying at him, scattering as they struck his body and fell to the floor.
“Look at the kind of woman you’ve been chasing all these years!” His grandfather leaned on his cane, face livid with anger. “The heir to the Reed fortune, playing bodyguard, all for this… this kind of woman?!”
Dominic bent to collect the photos, his pupils contracting sharply-
The images showed Mia in revealing outfits, nestled against different men–aging billionaires, notorious playboys.
The most damning photograph captured her on tiptoe, kissing the cheek of a married business magnate, her eyes calculating and cold.
“You thought she was a pure, innocent flower?” His grandfather laughed bitterly. “The Reeves family barely registers in our social circles! This woman would do anything to climb the social ladder!”
Dominic clutched the photos, his knuckles turning white.
He suddenly recalled the conversation he’d overheard at the spa earlier–thinking that was as bad as it could get, only to discover Mia had yet another unpleasant surprise for him.
“Grandfather, I-”
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Before he could finish, the butler hurried in: “Young Master, Miss Mia Reeves has sent an invitation. She mentions tomorrow is your birthday and wishes to deliver a gift personally.”
Dominic froze.
Tomorrow was indeed his birthday.
He had originally planned, after a successful proposal, to announce Mia’s position in his life at the birthday
celebration.
To tell everyone she was the only woman for him.
But now…
His grandfather slammed his hand down: “Absolutely not!”
“Let her come,” Dominic suddenly spoke, his voice cold as ice. “And invite Mr. Reeves as well.”
As the butler turned to leave, Dominic called him back: “Also, investigate how Ariana Reeves has been treated in the Reeves household over the years.”
His grandfather narrowed his eyes: “What are you planning?”
“There are things I need to confirm,” Dominic looked up, his eyes concealing turbulent emotions. “Grandfather, give me one more day. I promise you’ll have an answer that satisfies you.”
His grandfather grunted, leaving with a final warning: “Remember, the Reed family will never accept such a
woman!”
Late that night, Dominic stood in his study, examining the thick folder of documents the butler had delivered.
The manila envelope felt physically light, yet impossibly heavy with implications.
He took a deep breath and untied the cotton string binding it.
But in the next… With each page he turned, his heart felt as if it were being sliced open.
The first page contained Ariana’s medical records from age seven-“Stress–induced mutism, persisting three
months.”
Beside it, a psychologist’s notes: “Patient witnessed mother’s death during childbirth, suffering severe trauma. Father brought illegitimate daughter home same day, patient exhibited strong rejection response…”
The papers trembled slightly in his fingers.
Further pages documented the year Mia transferred to the elite primary school.
Frederick Reeves had purchased a custom designer backpack worth $100,000 for Mia, while Ariana carried a faded
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Chapter 13
hand–me–down her mother had bought before her death.
At twelve, Mia’s birthday celebration spanned thirty banquet tables while Ariana was locked in the attic.
At fifteen, when Ariana qualified for a prestigious high school, her father refused to pay the tuition, claiming “too much education is wasted on girls.” Her maternal grandfather had secretly funded her education.
At eighteen, the study abroad opportunity that should have been Ariana’s was forcibly given to Mia….
The final page contained Ariana’s diagnosis at age twenty-
[Moderate depression with self–harm tendencies].
Dominic slammed the file shut, his chest constricting until he could barely breathe.
He suddenly recalled Ariana’s desperate behavior at the Reeves birthday party.
At the time, he’d dismissed it as unreasonable spite, even arranging for her to receive ninety–nine lashes because Mia had suffered one…
Just hours ago, he had been desperate to see the security footage, to confirm the identity of the woman who had captured his heart.
Now, he was terrified to learn the truth-
What if the person rescuing the bird’s nest three years ago wasn’t Mia at all?
What if that person had been Ariana?
What if she was the woman he’d fallen for at first sight, and he… what had he done to her?
He couldn’t bear to contemplate it further!
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