Betty crouched in front of her, eyes filled with concern. "You look like you fought the gym and lost."
Anna tilted her head back. "The gym didn’t just win. It humiliated ."
Shawn shook his head, faint amusent flickering across his face. "You’ll feel worse tomorrow."
Anna pointed at him weakly. "Don’t curse ."
She shifted slightly, grimacing when her legs protested again.
"Daniel tried to help," she added, voice softer now. "He massaged my legs last night before we fell asleep. It worked... temporarily."
Betty’s eyes widened. "That sounds nice."
"It was," Anna admitted. "For about an hour. Then my legs decided to revolt anyway."
She glanced down at them accusingly. "Still jiggly. Still unreliable."
Shawn chuckled under his breath. "Welco to delayed muscle pain."
Anna groaned and let her head fall back against the cushion. "I hate that you sound experienced."
He shrugged. "I am."
Betty straightened, crossing her arms. "Next ti, you’re not allowed to overdo it alone."
Anna peeked at her sister. "Next ti?"
"Yes. Next ti," Betty insisted. "Because knowing you, there will be a next ti."
Anna sighed dramatically. "You have too much faith in my poor decision-making."
Despite the soreness, despite the embarrassnt, she felt sothing warm settle in her chest as she sat there—supported, teased, cared for.
"So tell what brings you here Anna. I am sure a phone call would have done the work" Shawn said oberving her pitied state, but Anna simple brushed it off.
"I would have," Anna said calmly, "but I have a shoot today. And more importantly, I wanted to et you in person." She finally stated her reason, her voice steady despite the weight behind it.
Shawn did not question her further. He simply leaned back on the chair and waited, giving her the space to speak when she was ready.
"I want you to dig into my family’s history," she said.
The words were simple, but the effect was not.
Betty blinked once. Then twice. Shawn frowned, clearly caught off guard.
"This is the first ti I’m seeing soone who doesn’t know their own family," Shawn joked lightly, trying to break the sudden tension. But the mont he noticed how serious Anna looked, his smile stiffened into sothing awkward.
"Did I say sothing wrong?" he asked, suddenly feeling the pressure settle in the room.
Anna let out a slow breath.
"I would have agreed with you if I were the real daughter," she said evenly. "But since I’m not, and my family seems extrely talented at keeping secrets, I suddenly feel like revisiting the entire history they’ve buried."
Silence fell. Betty stared at Anna, her mouth slightly open whereas Shawn’s expression mirrored the sa disbelief.
The revelation left both of them speechless. Then Betty jumped in her seat.
"So it was true," she blurted out, pointing at Anna. "All those tis you got drunk and kept saying you weren’t who you thought you were."
She paused, eyes widening. "That wasn’t drunk nonsense, was it?"
Anna pressed her lips together as embarrassnt washed over her. If she could go back in ti, she would absolutely fix her head and keep herself far away from alcohol that night. But regrets would not undo anything now.
"No," she admitted quietly. "Turns out, it wasn’t."
Betty slowly sank back into her chair, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I really thought you were just being dramatic," she muttered.
Anna rolled her eyes lightly. "Trust , if this were drama, I would have preferred the scripted kind."
Shawn, however, had gone quiet. His expression shifted into sothing thoughtful, analytical. "I did run a background check on you when Betty brought you to for work," he said carefully.
Anna stiffened slightly, but she nodded. She had expected that much.
"I found records that matched what you told . Your na, your upbringing, your family," Shawn continued. "Everything pointed to you being a Bennett. That’s why I believed you were telling the truth. Or at least what you believed was the truth."
"That’s the thing," Anna replied. "I believed it too. I was living in delusion all this ti"
Her voice softened for a mont before steadying again. "But there’s more," she said. "And this is where I need your help."
Shawn straightened. "Go on."
"I want you to find out whether there was ever a report of Kathrine being kidnapped," Anna said, her eyes sharp with curiosity. "And if there was, I want to know who did it. And why there is absolutely no ntion of it anywhere."
Betty frowned. "Kathrine?"
Anna nodded.
"Ever since Ethan brought it up, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. At first, I brushed it off. Then I thought maybe it was just another loose theory." she voiced rembering the ti she t him.
"But the more I think about it, the more it doesn’t sit right."She paused, fingers curling against her palm.
Shawn tapped his fingers against the desk. "A kidnapping would leave traces. Police records, hospital admissions, legal paperwork. Sothing."
"Exactly," Anna said. "But there’s nothing. Not a whisper."
Betty leaned forward, suddenly serious. "So you think soone erased it?"
"I don’t know," Anna admitted. "But my family has already hidden one truth from for years. It wouldn’t shock if there were more."
The room grew heavy again, but Anna forced a small smile.
"As much as you both look shocked, trust , I’m still trying to process everything myself."
Her tone turned dry. "So if I sound sarcastic, please excuse . That’s just coping."
Shawn studied her for a long mont before nodding slowly. "All right," he said. "I’ll dig. Properly this ti."
Anna nodded in understanding, knowing Shawn would not disappoint her, and with that they concluded the eting and headed to the studio where the photoshoot was held.
***
[Bennett’s International]
Hugo was buried in paperwork when the door to his office flew open without so much as a knock.
"Ben, have you forgotten your manners?" Hugo snapped, irritation flashing across his face.
But the reprimand died on his tongue the mont he took in his assistant’s expression.
Ben looked pale, almost sick, his usual composure nowhere to be found. His hands trembled as he clutched a tablet to his chest.
Hugo’s eyes softened. "What is it?" he asked, his voice lowering instinctively.
"Boss..." Ben swallowed hard before stepping forward. "You need to see this."
He handed over the tablet.
Hugo frowned as his fingers wrapped around it, his annoyance fading as his gaze dropped to the screen. One second passed. Then another.
Color drained from his face.
The news stared back at him, bold and unforgiving. His grip tightened, knuckles whitening as his eyes skimd the words again, as if rereading them might sohow change what they said.
"That’s not possible," Hugo muttered, disbelief seeping into his voice. "How... how is this even possible?"
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