"I think we should invest in hospitals next, my dear sister-in-law."
lody blinked as she looked up at the man who had just entered the room. Despite the casual smile on his face and the wink he threw her way, a cold ripple of fear crept down her spine. Her breath hitched for a fraction of a second. Who was this person?
Her gaze shifted quickly toward the door. Was anyone else nearby? He seed to know her but she had no idea... if Adam was here, she would have had a chance to at least know the person’s na...Should she fake being sick or call for Adam. No...she couldn’t risk that. Not yet. She needed ti to think.
Her mind raced as the man stepped further inside with a relaxed air, walked past the foot of the bed, and placed a bouquet of fresh flowers on the small table beside her.
Before she could react, before she could ask him anything or co up with a believable excuse, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. The gesture was warm and brotherly, but to her it might as well have been a threat. Her muscles tensed instinctively, as she tried to think hard about who this could be.
"This is what now? Your third hospital visit... or the fourth?" he said with a chuckle as he straightened. "At this rate, I’m beginning to think it would be more profitable for Stordge to invest directly in the hospital business. Saves us a fortune in bills, and who knows, we might even get your husband a permanent office here."
He grinned at his own joke, clearly expecting her to laugh along. lody managed to smile in return, but her eyes stayed fixed on his face. She was trying really really hard to think. He had called her sister-in-law. That ant he knew Adam. Not just knew him, he was close enough to throw around that kind of familiarity without a second thought.
She studied him more closely now. He was soone close in Adam’s circle. For a mont, she felt panic. She didn’t know who this person was. Her act was going to be revealed.
Just then, the man’s smile faded slightly. He narrowed his eyes, frowning as he tilted his head at her.
"Why are you staring at like you don’t know at all? And no cobacks either?"
Panic hit her like a jolt of electricity. Her stomach turned. She’d looked at him too long.
lody quickly shook her head, forced a soft laugh and said, "Of course I know you, Max. As if you would let forget."
That did the trick as Max rolled his eyes and shook his head, going to sit on the couch on the other side. lody let out a quiet breath, almost soundless, and allowed her shoulders to ease just slightly. That had been far too close. One more second of hesitation, and he might have started asking questions she couldn’t answer.
Damn it. She needed to be more careful. Much more careful.
Luckily, her obsession with Adam had left her with so unexpected advantages. During the endless hours she had spent reading up on him, digging into anything connected to Stordge, she had co across the na Maximilian Stone. Chairman of Stordge. She rembered seeing a photograph of him, maybe in a business profile or an investor’s report, though she hadn’t paid much attention at the ti.
What she hadn’t realized and no article had made clear, was just how close he was to Adam. Or to lanie. Apparently close enough to walk in without warning, call her sister-in-law, and plant a kiss on her cheek like it was the most natural thing in the world.
This ti, she had gotten lucky. A na, a face, a vague recollection from a late-night search had saved her.
But next ti?
What would she do if soone else walked in, soone she hadn’t read about, soone who expected lanie’s mories and lanie’s reactions?
Should she pretend to have amnesia? But the thought was imdiately discarded. The doctors had already run their tests, checked her thoroughly, and they’d confird that her head was fine. No trauma. No mory loss. If she claid anything now, it would only raise more suspicion if she slipped up later.
She was still trapped in that tangle of thoughts when Max’s voice broke through her haze.
"So, where is Adam, anyway? How could he possibly bear to leave your side?"
lody snapped out of her daze, blinking once before shifting her expression into a calm smile. This was safer ground. A simple question about Adam. One she could handle.
"He went to take Adir to lanie’s..." she caught herself and corrected smoothly, "I an, to my friend Laela’s place."
She glanced at Max, checking for any reaction about her slip up. Dam* it! She had almost referred to herself in third person. Thankfully, there was no reaction as Max had started to check out the fruits and started eating them so she continued to explain, "Since I’m going to be here for the next few days, we figured it would be better for Adir to stay there. Laela has looked after him before, and he really likes being with her. He’d be more comfortable at her place than being stuck in a hospital waiting room."
That part, at least, was true. Buther next problem was going to be Laela. No one knew much about the girl other than that her parents were powerful and that she was good friends with lanie. As such, her biggest fear was facing Laela. It was why she has pretended to be asleep and exhausted when she had arrived to see her. She would be able to recognise her easily.
So, the best way to avoid Laela and keep her away without raising suspicion was to keep Laela busy with Adir. With Laela out of the way, lody could focus her entire energy on becoming lanie....
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