Chapter 5 The Twin

Nathaniel's POV

The air in my office had turned thick enough to choke on.

Lila Carter sat frozen in the chair opposite me, her fingers gripping the armrests like they were the only things keeping her from tumbling into a pit .

I could see the rapid movement of her pulse at the base of her throat, the way her chest rose and fell in shallow, panicked breaths.

"I swear to God, I didn't know," she whispered, her voice cracking.

"Claire and I... we haven't spoken in nearly a year."

I leaned back against my desk, deliberately casual even as rage brewed beneath my skin.

"How remarkably convenient."

Lydia chose that moment to burst back into the office, her tablet clutched in white-knuckled hands.

"Sir, security has the intruder in holding.

She's..."

"Identical," I finished, watching with sober satisfaction as Lila jerked.

"Down to the tiny scar above her right eyebrow.

The one you got when you were seven, isn't that right, Miss Carter?"

Lila's breath hooked. "That was from a bicycle accident. Claire was there when..." She cut herself off, pressing her lips together.

Richard Graves scoffed from his position by the window, spinning his whiskey with unnecessary force.

"And we're supposed to believe this is all some cosmic coincidence? That your doppelgänger just happened to break into Sterling & Graves on the eve of our most important merger?"

Lila's hands balled into fists in her lap. "Check my phone records.

My apartment's security logs, my fucking Uber receipts if you want.

I was home all night, watching reruns of The Great British Bake Off and eating Thai food."

I studied her for a long, silent moment. The stubborn set of her jaw.

The way her fingers trembled even as she met my gaze head-on, it was either she was the best damn actress I had ever encountered, or...

My phone buzzed.

A text from security.

Subject claims she was paid.

Asking for immunity in exchange for names.

A slow, predatory smile curved my lips.

"Well, Miss Carter.

It appears your sister is considerably more talkative than you are."

Lila's POV

The walk to the security office felt like a forced march.

Nathaniel Sterling moved like a caged panther ahead of me, his broad shoulders tense beneath his custom Tom Ford suit.

Every few steps, Richard Graves would shoot me a look so venomous I could practically feel my organs shutting down.

The holding room was colder than I expected, the fluorescent lights buzzing ominously overhead.

And there, handcuffed to a metal table that looked like it belonged in a police routine...

"Claire." The name tore from my throat before I could stop it.

My twin looked up, her usually flawless makeup smeared, her designer silk blouse wrinkled beyond repair.

For one heart-stopping moment, her face lit up with genuine relief. "Lila! Thank God you're..."

Then her gaze landed on Nathaniel.

Her expression shuttered instantly, transforming into something cold and calculating.

"Miss DuBois," Nathaniel murmured, taking the seat across from her with deliberate calm. "What an... unexpected pleasure."

I blinked.

DuBois? Since when did Claire use our mother's maiden name?

Claire's gaze moved to me, then back to Nathaniel.

"I want a lawyer."

"You'll get one," Nathaniel agreed smoothly.

"Right after you tell me who paid you to steal from me."

The silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken history.

Then Claire did the unthinkable.

She laughed.

A rich, throaty sound that made the hair on my arms stand up.

"Oh Nate," she hummed, leaning forward until her cuffs clinked against the table. "You always did take things so personally."

Nathaniel went remarkably still.

Nate?

Since when did my sister...

Nathaniel's POV

That fucking nickname, only one person had ever dared call me that.

One person who...

My gaze snapped to Lila, taking in her shocked expression, the way her lips parted in silent confusion.

Then back to Claire, the same face, the same eyes.

But where Lila's fingers twisted nervously in her lap, Claire's sat perfectly still.

Too still.

Like she had rehearsed this moment a hundred times.

A cold realization settled in my gut.

"This was not about the merger," I said slowly.

Claire's smile turned razor-sharp.

"Ding ding ding, handsome."

Richard made an impatient noise.

"Then what the hell was..."

"It was about you, Nathaniel." Claire leaned back in her chair, the picture of calm.

"And all those delicious secrets you've been keeping."

Lila made a small, confused noise. "Claire, what are you..."

But I already knew.

Because the woman smiling at me across the table?

I had seen her before.

At my wedding.

In my bed.

Before she disappeared without a trace three days later.

The door burst open with enough force to slam against the wall.

My head of security stood there, his usually composed face pale as death.

"Sir," he gasped.

"We just got a tip from the press."

He hesitated, then slid a photograph across the table with trembling fingers.

One look, and my blood turned to ice.

Because there, clear as day in high-resolution color, was a picture of me, and Claire, from five years ago.

Naked.

Entwined.

And very, very clearly not strangers.