Emma smiled and relaxed in her seat, already pulling out her phone to figure out what to text Zayn Virelli.

Meanwhile, Alexander drove them home, trying not to think about the package sitting in his trunk or the timeline that was apparently speeding up faster than expected

For now, his priority was taking care of his daughter.

Everything else could wait.

*****

In another car across town, Zayn Cole Virelli was behind the wheel, watching the traffic go by as he waited for his sister’s call.

He couldn’t stop thinking about his run-in with Emma Kane.

The girl was intriguing, passionate, and totally unfiltered, genuinely upset about a wrecked dress, not because of the cost, but because she wanted to wear it for her friend in the hospital.

Kind, he thought. Refreshingly so.

As for her dad, Alexander Kane, there was something about him that felt off. His overly modest vibe didn’t match the calculating look in his eyes. Zayn noticed how Alexander had recognized him right away, but acted like he didn’t until it was unavoidable.

Interesting.

Zayn wasn’t like his brother Zayden, who was always intense and barely held back. Zayn was the smooth talker, the kind of person who could easily navigate social scenes and read people like a book.

But underneath that friendly exterior, he was still a Virelli, which meant he picked up on things others usually missed.

He grabbed his phone and shot a quick text to his brother:

"Ran into someone interesting today, Alexander Kane and his daughter Emma. Know anything about them?"

Got a reply almost immediately: "Why?"

"I’m just curious. The daughter called me a clumsy idiot after I spilled coffee on her dress. And yeah... I might already be into her."

There was a little pause. Then he replied, "That name sounds familiar. Let me check. Where did you meet them?"

"In the shopping district near the university. Emma’s starting her master’s in computer science."

"Interesting. I’ll look into it."

"Think there’s something going on there?"

"If you’re asking about him, there probably is. You’ve got good instincts, trust them."

"I always do."

Zayn put his phone away, totally intrigued now.

He’d see them tonight at the restaurant. Maybe he’d find out some stuff.

Or maybe he’d just enjoy watching Emma try to apologize while she’s turning red with embarrassment.

Either way, it’s going to be fun.

*****

The private waiting room on the third floor of St. Catherine’s Hospital was pretty quiet, except for the low buzz of the fluorescent lights and the distant beeping of some medical machines.

Aylin was sitting in one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs with her laptop on her lap, typing away like crazy. The glow from her screen lit up her focused face in the dim room.

Zayden stood behind her, one hand resting on her chair while he watched the data scroll by on the monitor.

Liam was on the couch against the wall, bouncing his leg nervously and checking the door that led to Ayla’s room every so often.

Zayden’s phone buzzed. He looked down at the screen, and his expression changed a bit.

"It’s Zayn," he said as he opened the message.

Aylin stopped typing. "What’s he want?"

Zayden read the text, narrowing his eyes, then read it again.

"What’s up?" Aylin asked, turning in her chair to look at him.

"Zayn met someone today," Zayden said slowly. "Alexander Kane."

The room went totally silent.

Aylin’s hands froze over the keyboard. "What?"

"He bumped into him at a shopping district near the university and spilled coffee on his daughter’s dress."

Zayden scrolled through the messages. "He got them a reservation at La Virelli to make up for it. They’re having dinner there tonight."

"His daughter?" Liam suddenly stood up. "Alexander has a daughter?"

"Looks like it. Emma Kane, starting her master’s in computer science."

Zayden looked at Aylin. "And by the way, Zayn is texting about her, I’d say my brother’s pretty interested."

Aylin felt her stomach drop. "Interested? As in—?"

"As in he thinks she’s ’refreshingly genuine’ and ’worth getting to know better.’" Zayden frowned a bit. "Yeah, that kind of interested."

"Shit," Liam muttered, running a hand through his hair. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"That’s putting it nicely." Zayden pocketed his phone and started pacing the small waiting room.

"If Zayn gets involved with Alexander Kane’s daughter before we find out what Alexander’s really done, things are going to get way more complicated."

Aylin’s mind was racing. "We have to move fast. We need to find out everything we can about Alexander and his daughter before—"

"Before my brother gets involved with the daughter of a killer," Zayden said with a serious look.

Liam brushed his hair back, looking more stressed out. "Wait a second. You said Alexander has a daughter, Emma Kane, who’s into computer science. But Aylin, you’ve been digging into Alexander’s past for a while now. Did you find anything about him having a daughter?"

"No," Aylin replied slowly, her fingers going back to the keyboard.

"I didn’t come across any info about him having a wife or kids or anything like that. His background was suspiciously clean, just his service record, and then... nothing personal."

"So either she’s not actually his daughter," Liam suggested, "or—"

"Or he’s been hiding her like he’s hidden everything else about himself," Aylin finished.

A light bulb went off in Liam’s head, and his eyes widened. "Aylin, the reason you didn’t find anything on Alexander is that he’s covered his tracks too well, right? Everything about him has been wiped clean or made up."

"Exactly..."

"So we should check out Emma instead." Liam leaned in closer, excitement breaking through his nerves. "If she’s his daughter, whether biological or not, she might help us find out more about him: family records, school stuff, medical history. Those are things that are trickier to completely erase."

Aylin’s fingers flew over the keyboard again, pulling up new search databases. "You’re right. If Alexander Kane’s been using a fake identity, he might not have been as careful about covering tracks for someone he thinks is separate from his past."

"Plus," Liam added, pacing next to Zayden, "if she’s really..."