Chapter 2: Ghosts in the Room

Before the interview even started, the venue buzzed with whispers and rumors.

"The young woman being interviewed today? She runs the entire Morgan family now."

"I heard she went blind five years ago, even got kicked out. If her fiancé hadn’t stepped up, she’d never have made it."

"Shh, keep it down—"

I sat off to the side, forcing a brittle smile as my nails bit crescents into my palm. The cold from the folding chair seeped through my khakis. I kept my head down, pretending to scribble notes. My throat was parched, tasting faintly of metal—old nerves, old regret. Somewhere outside, a siren cut through Manhattan’s noise, the world spinning on, oblivious to the storm inside me.

Suddenly, Derek—my loud, well-meaning senior—twisted around. "Hey, Tyler, go grab me some water, will you?"

Just as I reached the water cooler, the main doors flew open.

Someone walked in. My brain went blank.

Three years had transformed Lillian Morgan. She’d grown into her strength—tall, poised, every feature polished by time and hardship. She strode in wearing a crisp navy suit, hair pulled back in a low ponytail that caught the fluorescents, every inch the Fortune 500 CEO. The faint scent of her perfume—something warm and expensive—brushed past me.

"Excuse me." Her voice was cool, composed, her gaze passing over me like I was just another face in the crowd. Surrounded by bodyguards, she stepped onto the stage. I froze.

It took a few heartbeats before I snapped back to reality. For two years I’d been by her side, back when she was lost and blind, banished by her own family. She never saw my real face.

…Maybe that’s for the best.

By the time I returned with Derek’s water, the interview was already in full swing. Lillian sat on stage, fielding questions with the confidence of a media-trained executive. Every answer crisp as a press release, every gesture controlled. She looked untouchable.

Suddenly, the side door swung open. Nathan Carter walked in, all movie-star smile, apologizing to Lillian: "Sorry, Lillian. Something came up with the crew—I’m running late."

He smoothed his suit and sat beside her. The room’s mood shifted, warm and charged.

Derek nudged me, eyes alight. "Tyler, you ever notice you and Nathan Carter kinda look alike?"

I forced a smile. "He’s a big star. You’re flattering me."

Of course we look alike. We’re blood—same dad, same mom. You’d think that would mean something.

Under these lights, the resemblance probably showed more than ever. Same sharp jaw, same stubborn cowlick. If anyone looked close enough, the truth might just leak out.