Echoes Of a Forsaken Heart

Chapter 9

The morning sun had barely peeked over the horizon when Natalia’s doorbell chimed, rousing her from a restless sleep. Standing on her doorstep with a warm smile was the executive assistant from the office.

“Good morning. Ms. Jenkins. Mr. Fowler has arranged for you to have a check–up today,” she said, her tone polite yet friendly.

Natalia nodded, her voice still groggy, “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

They arrived at the clinic, where the sight of Scarlett by the blood draw station eased Natalia’s nerves. After the blood work, the assistant suggested grabbing a bite to eat.

“Mr. Fowler mentioned you could take today off,” she said, her eyes scanning Natalia for a

reaction.

“Sounds good to me,” Natalia agreed without hesitation, her mind already on the other matters she had to attend to.

They parted ways, and Natalia made a beeline for the diner where she had agreed to meet Lionel.

“What can I get ya?” Lionel asked as soon as Natalia slid into the booth opposite him.

“Just water, thanks,” she replied, keeping it simple.

Lionel flagged down the waitress and ordered a glass of ice water for Natalia. She took a sip and got straight to the point.

“You mentioned you needed my help with something. What’s up?” Natalia asked, a playful smirk dancing on her lips. “I didn’t get the details before, but you weren’t about to ask me to go jewelry shopping with you, were you?”

Lionel chuckled and shook his head. “No, it’s actually something serious.” He slid a document across the table to her. “Could you help me translate this?”

Natalia paused, surprised, as she picked up the document and skimmed through the Italian legal jargon.

“What’s this about?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

in Italian. We’ve been scrambling to find a professional translator, and then you called,” Lionel explained. Natalia fell silent, pondering for a moment. “How did you

University, you were quite the sensation–fluent in several languages and even served as an interpreter for

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nostalgia. “Those were the days,” she said, “but let’s

on the legal text, translating

knew you’d be perfect. Would you be willing to interpret for us in court, too? We’re really in a tight

check my schedule,” Natalia replied

let you know the court dates, and if you’re available, great. If not, we’ll figure something else out.” Lionel said, his

two chatted for a while, and Lionel suddenly asked, “You’re not looking

really want to tell Lionel too much about her

did help her a lot, in the end, Lionel was different from Scarlett.

Lionel glanced at his watch and suggested they grab lunch. He had a reservation at a

was Hamilton, dining with the same Ms. Miller from the day

but Lionel caught the subtle

senses. “Why don’t we change places?”

respond, Ms. Miller’s voice echoed through the room, calling out to Natalia

forced a polite smile, meeting Hamilton’s gaze with a stoic,

He acknowledged her with a casual nod, then shifted his attention to

took the opportunity to introduce himself. “Mr. Fowler, it’s a pleasure. I’m Lionel from Lio Law Firm, a friend of Natalia’s.

family empire at a young age, only to step down out of boredom and start his own venture. Now,

had always wanted to connect with Hamilton but

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stepping stone, but fate had other plans, presenting an unexpected encounter with

enigmatic smile playing on his lips as he

nod, his