MARRYING MY STEP BROTHER

*James Blackwood's POV*

I grabbed my phone with shaking hands, dialing Elizabeth's number. It rang once, then went to a recorded message: "The number you have dialed has been disconnected."

"No!" I dialed again. Same message.

I tried five more times, each disconnected tone like a knife to my chest.

She'd cut off her phone. She didn't want me to find her.

I grabbed my keys and ran to my car, speeding toward Elizabeth's mother's house across town. Mrs. Patterson had never particularly liked me, but she'd help. She had to help.

I pounded on her door, not caring that it was nearly nine at night.

"Mrs. Patterson! Please! It's James! I need to talk to you about Elizabeth!"

The door opened a crack, and Elizabeth's mother's cold eyes stared at me through the gap.

"She's not here."

"Please, I know she must have contacted you-"

"I said she's not here." Her voice was ice. "And even if she were, I wouldn't tell you."

"You don't understand! There's been a terrible misunderstanding-"

"I understand perfectly." She stepped back to close the door. "My daughter finally saw who you really are. Don't come here again."

The door slammed in my face.

I stood there, stunned, then turned and stumbled back to my car.

She knew nothing. Or if she did, she refused to help me.

I drove aimlessly through the city, calling everyone I could think of. Elizabeth's friends. Old coworkers. Anyone who might know where she'd gone.

No one knew anything. Or no one would tell me.

Finally, I ended up at a bar on the edge of town, a glass of whiskey in front of me that I couldn't even bring myself to drink.

"James?"

I looked up to see Patrick Carlos, my business partner and closest friend, standing over me with concern etched on his face.

"Your secretary called me. Said you never came back to the office after lunch. What's going on?"

"She's gone," I whispered. "Elizabeth took Helen and left."

Patrick slid into the booth across from me. "What? Why?"

"She found the photos." My voice broke. "Of Kelvin. She thinks... she thinks I had an affair. That I have another family."

"Jesus." Patrick ran his hand through his hair. "Did you explain-"

"I didn't get the chance!" I slammed my hand on the table, making the whiskey glass jump. "She locked herself away from me, and when I came home today, they were gone. Just... gone. A letter and her wedding ring on the table."

Patrick was silent for a moment, processing. Then: "You have to find her. Explain about the adoption."

"I tried!" My voice cracked. "Her phone's disconnected. Her mother won't help. She's vanished, Patrick. Completely."

"Then we'll search. Hire investigators. Whatever it takes."

I looked at my oldest friend, tears streaming down my face.

"I adopted Kelvin," I said, my voice hollow. "Six months ago. I wanted to surprise her with twins. A boy and a girl, like she always talked about. I was planning to tell her next month, to bring Kelvin home, to give her the family she dreamed of."

My hands shook as I continued. "But I kept it secret. I wanted it to be perfect. The photos were just... I was documenting him growing up so I could show her everything she missed while he was with his nurse. I wanted to surprise her."

I dropped my head into my hands.

"I ruined everything, Patrick. I destroyed my marriage because I wanted to surprise my wife. I'm a fool."

Patrick gripped my shoulder. "We'll find her. We'll explain. She'll understand once she knows the truth."

But even as he said it, I could hear the doubt in his voice.

Elizabeth was gone. And she thought I'd betrayed her in the worst possible way.

....

*Elizabeth's POV*

The small apartment smelled like mildew and old carpet, but it was all I could afford on short notice. One bedroom, tiny kitchen, bathroom with a leaking faucet.

It was three states away from James. That's all that mattered.

Helen cried in my arms, her wails piercing the empty space. She was hungry, and I'd run out of formula on the bus. It was nearly midnight, and I hadn't seen any stores open on the walk from the bus station.

"Shh, baby, shh," I murmured, rocking her desperately. "Please, Helen. Mama's trying."

My mother had been shocked when I'd shown up at her door hours ago, suitcases in hand, baby crying, eyes swollen from crying. I'd told her everything-the photos, the betrayal, the other family.

She'd held me while I sobbed, let me stay for dinner, then helped me find this apartment through a friend. She'd given me money for the deposit and first month's rent.

"You did the right thing, leaving him," she'd said firmly. "You and Helen deserve better."

Now, alone in this tiny apartment with my crying daughter, I wondered if I'd done the right thing at all.

No. I pushed the doubt away. I had done the right thing.

James had lied. He'd built another family while I'd been pregnant with his daughter. That woman, that baby boy-they were his priority. Not us.

Helen's cries finally subsided into hiccups, then exhausted whimpers. She stared up at me with teary eyes, and my heart broke all over again.

"I'll give you everything, even without him," I whispered, stroking her soft hair. "You won't miss having a father. I'll be enough for both of us. I promise."

I looked around the shabby apartment, at the peeling wallpaper and the single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling.

This wasn't the life I'd imagined for my daughter. But it was honest. Real. Built on truth, not lies.

Helen's eyes drifted closed, finally falling asleep from exhaustion.

I held her close, my jaw setting with determination.

James Blackwood had made his choices. Now I was making mine.

"I'll never tell Helen about her father," I whispered into the darkness, my voice hard with resolve. "As far as she'll ever know, he's dead to us."