“Perhaps.” Thorn inclined his head, still thoughtful. “Are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know.” Evie set the paper down and stared at the table, tears pricking at her eyes. “What if telling him ruins everything? What if he thinks I’m trying to take Sloane Tech or part of his inheritance? There was nothing left after Oscar’s estate was settled, and Mom’s leaving everything she owns to the church.” She hesitated, her voice going small. “What if he doesn’t want me? I can’t lose him, Thorn. I need him in my life.”
“There are many negative hypotheticals there, Evie.” Thorn’s voice was gentle as he reached out and took her hands in his. “What if he is happy and embraces you? What if he already knows but does not know how to tell you? He already sees you as his little sister. What if nothing changes?”
“I don’t know!” Evie’s voice cracked as it rose. “This is too much, Thorn! I just graduated today, and Mom decided to dump this on me. She’s dying and going into hospice, I’m trying to pack everything up to move, I start my job on the first, and now I have to decide if I tell Tommy -”
“Tell me what?”
Evie jumped and twisted in her chair to see Tommy and Nissa standing in the kitchen doorway, both looking a mix of confused and concerned.
“I thought you were on a date?” she said faintly.
“We were,” Tommy replied, stepping closer. “Then I got a security notification that you were in the building, and when I checked the cameras, you looked like you were crying, so we came home.” He tilted his head, eyes searching her face. “What happened?”
Evie rose slowly, giving Thorn a warning look as she reached for the adoption certificate. He shook his head once, then thankfully began folding the rest of the paperwork and slipping it quietly back into the box.
Taking a steadying breath, Evie crossed to Tommy and held out the certificate.
“What’s this?” Tommy frowned, but when he saw what it was, his eyebrows lifted and his expression softened. “Oh.”
He handed the paper to Nissa and pulled Evie into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Princess. Your mother could’ve waited to tell you that.”
“Yes,” Nissa said, her mouth tightening. “She kept it a secret for twenty-three years, what was another day?” She rubbed Evie’s arm gently. “I’m sorry she dropped it on you like that.”
“I mean, I kinda always thought I was,” Evie murmured, “but seeing it in black and white…” Her voice trailed off as Tommy let her go. Her pulse was pounding in her ears, and she felt like she might throw up.
“On the bright side, you don’t share DNA with Oscar,” Tommy said, smiling faintly, clearly trying to make her laugh. “Why were you worried about telling me?”
“I don’t know.” She’d been about to tell him that they shared the same parents, but when she met his warm brown eyes, she couldn’t. “I think I’m just completely overwhelmed. Mom went on this whole speech about God keeping her from having an evil child with Oscar, and now this… I’m not thinking straight.”
Tommy nodded, his expression softening with concern. “Okay. Let’s get you home so you can rest. I’ll talk to the Calvary Hospital administrator first thing tomorrow to see if we can move your mom in earlier. Thorn, Nissa, and I will help you pack on Saturday and get you into your apartment ASAP.” He rubbed her arms gently. “You’ve had way too much dumped on you at once. You just need some help and a chance to breathe.”
“Thanks, Tommy.” She hugged him tightly, then met Thorn’s eyes over his shoulder.
He gave her a slight nod, picked up the box, and left the room without a word. She knew he was taking it to hide in his apartment. She’d have to make his favourite muffins tomorrow to thank him.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Clearance
Stepping off the elevator on the seventy-fifth floor, Evie turned right toward Tommy’s office, her stomach fluttering with a mix of curiosity, nerves, and excitement. It was her first day as Lead Systems Architect at Sloane Consulting, and Tommy had asked her to come by at ten to review her job description, sign the paperwork, and meet the team she would be working with.
She’d spent most of the past week, since moving into her apartment in the Tower, trying to pester Tommy, Nissa, or Thorn for details about either what her role entailed or what Sloane Consulting actually did, but each of them had brushed her off. Tommy’s only comment had been that she would report directly to him and that Project HELIX would be one of her top priorities.
When she tried to look it up herself, the Consulting page on the Sloane Enterprises website had been infuriatingly opaque, full of talk about “tailored solutions” to unspecified problems for clients ranging from corporations to governments, all shrouded in confidentiality. Even the contact page was useless, redirecting inquiries through the Tower’s executive offices.
Digging deeper, she’d checked the public business registry and found only that Sloane Consulting LLC was in good standing and authorized “to provide professional advisory, technology integration, and operational risk management services, and to engage in any lawful business activity incidental thereto.”
After that, she’d given up, conceding with reluctant admiration that Tommy was far too smart and meticulous to let anything he didn’t want known slip through the cracks.
Reaching the executive reception outside the administrative offices, Evie approached Tara Byron, Tommy’s executive assistant, a woman in her late thirties who managed his schedule with the precision of a high-priority military operation, which, Evie had to admit, wasn’t far from the truth.
Tara looked up at the clock and gave Evie a rare, approving smile as she stood to hug her. “You’re early.”
“Well, you’re the one who told me that being on time is actually late,” Evie teased, returning the hug. “How are the boys?”
“Amazing.” Tara beamed as she sat back down and handed Evie the framed photo she kept on her desk. “Jared got into Five-Star Basketball Camp this year, and Mackie’s going to Future Stars Magic Camp.”
Evie studied the picture. Both boys had inherited their mother’s strawberry-blonde hair and hazel eyes. Jared, nearly sixteen, had been obsessed with basketball for as long as she’d known him. Mackie, shy and sweet at thirteen, had fallen in love with magic after a performer Tommy hired for the company picnic four years ago let him help with a card trick.
