The moment I saw that familiar name on the interviewer list, my stomach dropped. Kohl Easton — my ex — was supposed to be a neutral corporate representative for Empire, but nothing about this felt neutral. He walked in with that same smug grin, holding my file like it was a dirty secret. He knew exactly who I was.
He knew about the necklace, the family, the debt. And he used it all as leverage, throwing hints about my past while pretending to be professional. When I tried to leave, he cornered me with a final warning: “Helena Winslett, or should I say Helena Anderson? ”
I froze.
He knew my real name — the one I’d spent years hiding. Turns out, Empire wasn’t just exploring AI. They’d hired him specifically to dig into my background. And he wasn’t the only one.
My estranged grandmother sent a woman to find me, offering to clear my debts and give me a life of comfort if I’d just bring my son back into the family fold. But I refused. I’d rather die than let them touch Steven. Then the accident happened.
Steven ran into the road — they said it was my fault, that I wasn’t watching closely enough. The guilt crushed me as I sat by his hospital bed, watching his small chest rise and fall under the white sheets. He was only eleven. And Kohl was there again, playing the “concerned ex” while my son lay unconscious.
He whispered that if I cooperated, he could still salvage everything — my debts, my reputation, my family’s approval. But his eyes told a different story. He wasn’t helping me. He was controlling me.
The worst part? I still wore the Anderson family necklace, even though I swore I hated them. And when my grandmother’s lawyer pointed that out, I had no answer. Because deep down, I knew it wasn’t about love — it was about proving I wasn’t her.
That I was better than the family that abandoned my mother and left her to die in poverty. Now Steven’s in the emergency room, Kohl’s threatening my job, and my grandmother’s rejecting him further. And just when I think it can’t get worse, Kohl smirks and says, “This project means a lot to me. You’ll work on it — that’s an order.
”
I’m trapped. But one thing I’ve learned is that you never corner a desperate mother without expecting to get bitten. And right now, I have nothing left to lose.
