Chapter 2 - Shadows of the PastIsabella Laurent had not survived ten years at the top of Laurent International by falling apart. She ran multi-million dollar acquisitions, managed corporate boardrooms, and fought off hostile buyouts without letting her voice shake once. But standing in the rain on Route 9, watching Mason Carter circle the front of her car with a wrench in hand, she felt something in her chest go quietly to pieces.
He was different. And he was not. Broader in the shoulders, line at the corners of his eyes, hands scarred from years of honest labor.
“Coolant line cracked,” Mason said from under the hood, his tone carefully guarded. “You’ve been running dry.”
“Can you fix it?”
“Not out here. But I can tow it to my shop in town.” Mason looked toward his truck, where eight-year-old Emma was watching them through the rain-streaked window.
Isabella followed his gaze. “You have a daughter?”
“Yeah. Emma.”
The name felt heavy between them. Isabella remembered the dreams they used to talk about when they were twenty—sitting on the hood of his old truck in high school, talking about leaving Montana, buying a house, building a life. None of those dreams included her disappearing in the middle of the night.
“Mason, I didn’t know you were still in Crestfall,” she said softly, stepping closer.
“Why would you?” Mason replied without looking up. “You didn’t leave a forwarding address when your father’s limo picked you up ten years ago.”
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The sharp bite in his voice hit her like cold water. She wanted to explain. She wanted to tell him about her father’s blackmail, about the threats to destroy his family’s auto repair shop, about the forced contract that tied her to the Laurent empire. But the words stuck in her throat.
Mason finished securing the hood and wiped his hands on an old rag. “Hop in the truck, Isabella. It’s too cold out here, and my daughter is waiting.”
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