Chapter 10

If Xander hadn't had his hands tied, he would've raised one to swear, "Sis, I swear on everything-cross my heart-I didn't mean to hurt you. That twisted couple told me to drug you and hand you off to that fat guy, yeah, but come on, you're my sister. You think I'd actually do that? I only gave you the knockout spray so they'd see it. Later, I called in a girl to send to that guy instead. Then I made sure the next room was empty before I took you over there to crash for the night." Vanessa studied Xander carefully. His eyes were clear, tone dead serious-not like he was making this up. Besides, ever since she came back to life, she'd developed this sixth sense for danger. Like how she sensed something was off when Grace tried to drug her. Or that one time she knew the old man was about to get hit by the truck. But when Xander used the knockout spray on her, her senses didn't budge. That's what convinced her-he wasn't trying to hurt her. What happened last night... must've really just been a fluke. What she didn't know was, that so-called "fluke" of a man was currently lounging in his sleek office like a king, legs crossed, eyes slightly closed, replaying every bit of her in his head-and clearly enjoying it way too much. After a few minutes of reminiscing, his mouth was dry and he couldn't focus on work at all. He waved a hand and told his assistant, "Find out who sent that woman last night. Bring her to me." The assistant was stunned. Seriously? Their usually ice-cold boss was finally interested in a woman? First time ever. He figured this might actually be a good thing-definitely had to handle it right. Back in Vanessa's room, she was still interrogating Xander like he was some criminal. She pinched his annoyingly handsome face again. Xander pulled a dramatic face. "Sis, seriously, if you keep doing that, I'll walk around looking like I got beat up. How'm I supposed to face people out there?" "Cut the crap. That day, Grace and John were whispering in the private booth-planning to mess with your head and trash my reputation. Once we hit nineteen, they wanted to take everything Grandpa left us. You knew that?" Xander's jokey expression vanished. He grit his teeth and said, "I knew it. Those two snakes... Dad and Mom helped them out so much while they were alive. They've only been gone a few years, and look at them already showing their true colors." "Sis, honestly, that inheritance from Grandpa? That's actually what Mom and Dad left behind. They were both big names in the jewelry world, remember? It's not just money-there's a bunch of unpublished designs in there too, worth a fortune. You seriously don't remember any of this?" Xander frowned a little. Something was off. His sister seemed... different. Not like before. The old Vanessa? Kinda pretty, yeah, but absolutely clueless-a real airhead, even he had to admit it. But now? She seemed sharp. Real sharp. Vanessa frowned and jabbed her finger at Xander's forehead, glaring. "Seriously? All you know is how to play around. You don't even care about me! I almost drowned a few days ago, you know? Ever since I woke up, there's stuff I just can't remember. Maybe I've got some kind of aftereffect or whatever..." "What?" As soon as Xander heard that, his face turned serious. The sheet he had tied around his wrist somehow came loose, and the dizziness from earlier disappeared in an instant. He jumped up, grabbed Vanessa, and started dragging her toward the door. "Hey! Xander, what are you doing? Where are you taking me?" Vanessa tried to yank her arm free, but her brother, even though the same age, had surprising strength. She couldn't break away and ended up getting pulled along. Downstairs, John and Grace were sulking. When they saw the siblings come down, Grace quickly stepped up, saying, "Vanessa, about the engagement with Peter, it's still-" "Aunt Grace, whatever it is, we'll talk later. We have something urgent," Xander cut in, his face more serious than Vanessa had ever seen. His tone made Grace hesitate and step aside awkwardly, watching them rush out the house. Xander hailed a cab and had them speed straight to the hospital. He even managed to get a specialist appointment in all that urgency. They waited outside the consultation room in line. Vanessa muttered, "Told you, I'm fine. Just a little fuzzy on some memories..." "‘Fuzzy' means something's wrong," Xander grumbled, clearly annoyed. "You're already not the brightest bulb-what if your brain's worse now? You were born just a few minutes earlier than me, but always act like a clueless big sister. Honestly, between us, I'm more like the older one." Vanessa didn't know what to say. It wasn't brain damage, okay? It was a whole new person inside now. But obviously, she couldn't say that out loud. So she let him fuss over her. But wait, they were twins? There was so much she didn't know-might as well ask him more while she had the chance. Just as she was about to speak, Xander stood up. "I'm grabbing a bottle of water. Stay here. Don't wander off." Seeing how paranoid he looked, Vanessa couldn't help but chuckle. She was almost twenty, come on. Did he really think she still needed to be babysat? The old Vanessa must've been seriously clueless. He'd already explained why he drugged her-just to get her away safely. As long as he wasn't in on it with Grace, she could forgive him. She'd been an only child in her past life. Having a twin brother this time wasn't such a bad deal. In the waiting area, the hospital had a flat-screen TV hanging on the wall to keep people from getting bored. The news was playing. A tall guy in a suit stepped out of a fancy building, surrounded by his assistants. His chiseled features looked impossibly flawless on camera-he was the kind of good-looking that made people do a double-take. Vanessa stared at the screen, eyes going wide and mouth dropping open. Oh. My. God. That was the guy from last night...