I had just inherited $80 million and planned to surprise my sister, but a terrible car crash sent me to the hospital. She never came to visit. When I called, she said she was too busy for me. Days later, she walked in with her new boyfriend… But when he saw me, he shouted, “Oh my God, you’re my…”

I told Thomas to keep everything confidential until I reached Savannah, because I needed time to think clearly before anything became public. The next morning I took leave, flew south, checked into my townhouse, and arranged to meet him the following day.

Brooke called that same night with a voice that sounded casual but carried curiosity. “You’re back in town?” she asked.

“For a few days,” I replied.

“What for?”

“Personal business.”

“What kind?”

“The private kind,” I said before ending the call, knowing she would not accept that answer quietly.

The next morning I drove to the riverfront property, where the house stood beneath wide oak trees with a long porch facing the water. For a brief moment I imagined keeping it, finally having something stable that did not belong to an assignment cycle.

Then I pictured Brooke turning it into a stage for her own ambitions, and the thought disappeared quickly.

I locked the house and drove back toward town, but two blocks from my neighborhood, a white delivery truck ran a red light and crashed into my car from the side. The impact crushed metal around me, shattered glass across my lap, and left a sharp ringing in my ears as everything spun.