"Do we have a deal?"
"Yes."
She didn't need a second thought. Her fingers moved faster than her heart could process. The pen slid across the paper like fate sealing its verdict. Esther Cole had signed her life into a contract.
Daniel gave a single nod. "Thomas will take you back to the hospital. Tomorrow, your mother will be flown out for treatment."
Esther offered a grateful nod, her voice caught in her throat. She followed Thomas, who opened the car door with his usual professionalism.
The drive back was silent. Not even the engine dared to interrupt the weight of what had just transpired.
When the car finally rolled to a stop in front of Cottage Hospital, Thomas stepped out and opened the door for her. "Miss Cole," he said politely, offering a slight bow.
But just as Esther stepped out, another cab pulled up beside them. Out came Sarah, heels clicking against the pavement, sharp brows already arched in suspicion.
"Thomas? Esther?" she called out, her voice lined with confusion and edge.
Her eyes danced between the two, zeroing in on Esther's tired expression and Thomas's guarded posture. "What are you two doing together? And how do you even know each other?"
Thomas kept his face blank. "Miss Cole, I'll report to Mr. Lewis on your safe return."
"Thank you," Esther murmured, exhaustion stealing her tone.
"Esther, go in," Sarah cut in sharply. "I'll be with you shortly. I need to speak with him."
Esther was in no mood to argue. Her legs ached. Her heart was heavier than her breath. So she obeyed and walked into the hospital without question.
Thomas moved to re-enter the car, but Sarah stepped in front of the door, arms crossed defiantly.
"Please give way," he said, calm but clipped, "or I'll be forced.."
"Forced to do what?" Sarah's voice rose sharply, her eyes narrowing into slits. "Now you better tell me what you're doing with my sister or else"
And just like that, it hit her.
Esther. Her sister.
The mysterious woman Mr. Lewis had been asking about. The one Thomas had refused to name.
It was her?
Her jaw tightened, voice trembling with accusation. "What business does Mr. Lewis have with my sister?"
"I'm afraid that's not your concern," Thomas replied smoothly. "If you want to know, ask your sister."
He pulled the door open and added, more softly, "Honestly, I'm disappointed in you."
And then he was gone.
But Sarah stood rooted in place.
She knew exactly what he meant.
Because Thomas knew her secret.
The lies she had spun to secure her place in the Lewis Corporation. The family she never mentioned. The fake identity she carefully curated, an heiress educated abroad, with elite credentials and no baggage.
No sisters.
No humble beginnings.
But it worked. The lie had worked. It got her the respect, the status, the trust of Daniel Lewis himself.
And now, everything she built was hanging on a thread. A single thread named Esther.
And now, everything Sarah had built, her reputation, her status, her carefully crafted identity, was hanging by a thread.
A single thread named Esther.
And she wasn't about to let her little sister unravel it all.
She stormed through the hospital hallway, her heels echoing against the sterile floor until she spotted her sister."You sold yourself to Daniel Lewis, didn't you?" she accused, voice sharp and loud enough to draw attention."Don't you dare lie to me, Esther. What were you doing meeting with him at this hour of the night?"
"What's going on?" Zianab asked, standing abruptly. She stepped between them, trying to calm the storm building in the room.
"Ask your darling little sister," Sarah snapped, "what business she has with the country's wealthiest man."
Esther's eyes narrowed slightly, her body exhausted but still holding ground.
"I have no idea what she's accusing me of," Esther replied, voice steady despite the fire rising between them.
"Oh please, don't act innocent now," Sarah scoffed, arms folded tightly over her chest.
"If you'd let me finish," Esther bit back, turning to Zianab, "you'd know I didn't sell myself, as she claims. I signed a contract with him. In return, he's going to pay for Mom's treatment."
Zianab froze, her breath catching for a second. Relief flooded her expression. "Wait… what?"
Sarah rolled her eyes. "So you're telling me that Daniel Lewis, billionaire, business tycoon, just happened to offer you a fortune and asked nothing in return?"
Zianab looked at Esther, concern creeping back in. "Esther, be honest. What did it cost you?" As much as she was relieved to hear the news of their mother medical bill being handled, of it cost her sister's life she wouldn't risk it and she swear she would fight him at all cost to cancel the contract.
"Zianab, I promise, it didn't cost me anything more than time," Esther said. "A year, to be specific. I'll be staying at his mansion, working as a governess to his daughter. That's all. He wants me to help her heal, she's been through a lot emotionally. It's connected to my psychology studies."
Sarah's brows flew up. "Wait, you're going to live at the Lewis mansion for a whole year?"
"Shut up, Sarah," Zianab snapped, the calmest of them finally breaking. "Where were you, anyway? I called you hours ago and told you Mom was in the hospital. Now you show up and start a fight?"
"I—I…" Sarah stammered.
"How great of you," Zianab continued, eyes blazing. "You show up late and the first thing you do is tear into your sister, without even asking how Mom's doing. Esther came here before I could even tell her. But you?" Her voice cracked. "You didn't even bother."
Sarah's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Zianab. I was wrong. I… I was in a business meeting. I didn't think it was this serious."
"Oh please," Zianab shot back. "Spare me the usual excuse. If you really cared, you would have dropped everything and come running. I left a client mid-session when the doctor called. So don't give me that."
"I know. You're right. I'm sorry," Sarah said, her voice now low and sincere. "And Esther, I apologize for what I said earlier. I was just worried. Men like Daniel Lewis… they're not to be tangled with."
Zianab's eyes narrowed. "You keep saying that name like you know him. Do you?"
Sarah's lips parted, then closed quickly. "Of course not. I've just heard things about him, that's all."
But that was a lie. A big one.
Sarah had never told her family who she worked for. She'd painted herself as an heiress, an only child, educated abroad, with an immaculate resume. It was how she got into Daniel Lewis's company… how she earned her seat beside him.
She had never told her family who she worked for, or where. Never revealed the false life she'd spun to get where she was. Being Daniel Lewis's secretary, and trusted confidant, came at the price of rewriting her entire history.
But her sisters didn't know that.
And she would keep it that way.
she wasn't going let everything she had worked for gone like that . Not when she was this close to becoming everything she'd ever dreamed of.
"Let's just… forget everything for now and go check on Mom," Sarah muttered, redirecting the conversation.
And just like that, the conversation shifted.
But the tension stayed behind, unspoken, unresolved, and simmering beneath the surface.