Page 38 of Begin Again, Part 2

"So?" Matthew swivelled away from the desk, hunching forward in his chair.

"Eden doesn't have any of that. When I fetched her this morning, all her stuff fit in a small box."

"Maybe she doesn't like clutter."

Liam exhaled loudly. "I get that. But what about her son's photo? She's crazy about him. There should be at least one photo of him. I watched her pack her box, and I didn't see it."

Matthew picked up a pen and twirled it in his hand. "Point taken."

"Something isn't right, Matt."

"You still think she's hiding something?"

"Have you ever seen photos of Aiden?"

"I've never been curious. But now that you've brought it up again—" Matthew shook his head, his voice trailing off as he scrolled through his phone. "Damn, her Instagram's still set to private."

"I could have told you that."

"Let's try Lydia's vlog."

"Nothing there either," Liam announced, brushing his hair away from his forehead. "All the videos featuring Aiden are gone."

They fell silent and tried to connect the puzzle pieces. But no matter how long they thought things through, nothing made sense, and Liam arrived at the same unsettling conclusion over and over. "My gut still says Aiden's mine. You said he's not, and I tried to believe you. But I'm telling you, Matt, I can feel it. I have to see him."

"And if he is yours? What then?" Matthew asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged helplessly. "But I have to get to the truth. I need to know."

"Need to know what?" Julian asked as he strolled in, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Matthew filled him in while he mixed drinks at the bar.

"I thought you did all the checks?"

"I did!" Liam said, sounding a little too defensive. "James ran a background check on her, but there were no photos of the kid anywhere. He wanted to keep digging, but I stopped him."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I had no fucking reason to keep digging."

"She vanished for two years and came back with a toddler. How did any of that not set off warning bells for you?" Julian asked pointedly. "If you weren't so bloody determined to hate her when she came back, maybe your focus would have been on the right things."

"I'll fix this," Liam said. "I'll make it right."

Julian whistled softly. "Hell, if Aiden's yours, not one of your billions will make up for the shit you put Eden through."

"Don't you think I know that?" Liam demanded. "Don't you think I haven't thought of that? Hell, what the fuck did I do?"

"Don't beat yourself up," Matthew patted him on the back and shoved a glass in his hand. "You made a mistake, but how you handle this shit is what will define you."

Julian nodded his agreement and gulped down his drink. He slammed the empty glass on the bar and headed out. He had a meeting with the Reserve Bank governor to discuss some economic policy.

The glass in his hand couldn't hold Liam's attention. His gaze wandered through the room, falling on a leather-bound notepad on Matthew's desk. "What's that?"

"Oh, this?" Matthew glanced at the book. "Eden left it in the conference room this morning. I forgot to return it to her."

"I'll drop it off at her desk," Liam said as he reached for the book, and paged through the illustrations, blown away by her talent and the detail in her works. He knew she was gifted. His father couldn't stop raving about her paintings. Her illustrations were just as amazing, it seemed. But then again, he could be biased since he was the subject of several, in various poses, and moods while he sat in meetings.

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