*Chapter 13: The Interview*
9:00 AM.
The Sterling Corp elevator felt like a coffin.
Jane stood with her portfolio clutched to her chest like a shield. No Aiden today. Grandma was home with both twins and a thermometer.
_Just you,_ Mira’s text had said.
The doors opened to the 52nd floor. Silent. Empty.
Mira wasn’t at her desk.
“Ms. Miller,” a voice said from behind her.
Ryan.
He wasn’t in a suit. Dark jeans. Black shirt. Sleeves rolled. He looked like he hadn’t slept.
“Come in,” he said, and opened his office door.
She walked in.
The door clicked shut.
*The Office*
No conference table. No team.
Just two chairs. A desk. And a window that showed all of London.
Ryan didn’t sit. He walked to the window and stood there with his back to her.
“You brought your son in yesterday,” he said. No greeting.
“Yes,” Jane said. Her voice was steady. “I’m sorry about that. It won’t happen again.”
“Don’t apologize.” Ryan turned around. “Kids get sick.”
Jane nodded. Waited.
He wasn’t looking at her portfolio. He was looking at her.
“Can I ask you something, Jane?”
Her full name. He’d never used it before.
“Yes.”
“Where were you five years ago. On March 14th.”
The floor dropped out from under her.
March 14th.
The party.
The punch.
The wrong room.
“I...” Jane swallowed. “I was in college. In the US.”
“Which college?”
“State,” she lied. Fast. “I transferred. It’s on my resume.”
Ryan walked to his desk. Picked up a folder. Dropped it.
“Your resume says Jane Miller. Born in London. Parents unknown.”
“That’s a mistake,” Jane said quickly. Too quickly. “My admin must’ve—”
“Stop.”
One word. Quiet. Final.
Ryan came around the desk and stopped two feet from her. Close enough that she could smell his cologne. Clean. Expensive. Nothing like vanilla.
“I have a son, Jane,” he said.
Jane’s heart stopped.
“I don’t know him yet,” Ryan continued. “But I saw him yesterday. In your arms. And he has my eyes. My mouth. The way he frowns when he’s sick.”
Jane shook her head. “Mr. Sterling, I don’t know what—”
“Don’t lie to me.” His voice cracked. Just a little. “Please. Don’t lie to me.”
Tears burned Jane’s eyes. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop them.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered.
Ryan stared at her for a long time.
Then he sighed and stepped back.
“Okay,” he said. “Okay. We’ll do this the legal way.”
He picked up an envelope from his desk and held it out.
Inside: a court order. For a DNA test.
“I filed this an hour ago,” Ryan said. “For Aiden. And for Aria.”
Jane’s knees almost gave out.
“You can’t—”
“I can,” Ryan said. “I’m their father, Jane. I know it. And the court will too.”
Jane took the envelope with shaking hands.
“This isn’t fair,” she whispered.
“I know,” Ryan said. And for the first time, he looked tired. Not CEO tired. Human tired. “Nothing about that night was fair. To either of us.”
Jane looked up. “You remember?”
“I remember a room,” Ryan said. “I remember being drugged. I remember a girl running out. I remember vanilla.”
Jane said nothing.
Ryan walked back to the window.
“You have 48 hours to comply with the test. Or I file for emergency custody.”
*1:00 PM - The Bedsit*
Jane threw the envelope on the table.
Grandma read it. Once. Twice.
“They want blood,” Grandma said. “From both kids.”
“What do we do?” Jane asked. She was shaking. “If we run, he’ll find us. If we stay, he’ll take them.”
Grandma was quiet for a long time.
Then: “We don’t run. We fight.”
“How?”
“With the truth,” Grandma said. “All of it. The party. The drugging. What Victoria and Chloe did.”
Jane stared at her. “You want me to tell him?”
“I want you to tell a judge,” Grandma said. “Before he does.”
*Meanwhile - Sterling Tower*
Ryan sat in his office alone.
On his desk: the crayon drawing. _Me + Mom + Aiden_
And a photo Mira had just sent. Jane, 18. Graduation photo. Jane Carter.
He put them side by side.
Same smile. Same eyes.
Just older. Tired.
He picked up his phone and dialed a number he hadn’t called in 5 years.
“Thomas,” Ryan said when it was answered. “We need to talk. About your daughter.”
On the other end, Thomas Carter went silent.
Then: “She’s not my daughter anymore.”
“She is,” Ryan said quietly. “And she has my children.”
*That Night*
Jane couldn’t sleep.
She sat by the twins’ bed and watched them breathe.
Aiden rolled over. Mumbled in his sleep: “Dad?”
Jane froze.
Aria mumbled too: “Don’t go, Mommy.”
Jane pulled them both close and cried silently into their hair.
48 hours.
In 48 hours, Ryan Sterling would know the truth.
And so would the world.