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.

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

you were quite the sensation–fluent in several languages and even served as an interpreter for dignitaries. Then you aced the diplomatic service exams during grad school.”

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

focused on the legal text, translating it with

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

check my

I’ll let you know the court dates, and if you’re available, great. If not, we’ll

looking so good. Is it because of what happened with

tell Lionel too much about her personal affairs. She

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

and suggested they grab lunch. He had a reservation at a nearby

Ms. Miller from the day before. It was clear she had become more than

the entrance, but Lionel caught the subtle shift in her demeanor. “Something

quickly returned to her senses. “Why don’t we change places?”

to Natalia in what seemed like a boastful

polite smile, meeting Hamilton’s gaze with

eyes were deep, without the slightest emotion showing. He acknowledged her with a casual nod, then shifted his attention to Lionel, sizing him up with an

took the opportunity to introduce himself. “Mr. Fowler, it’s a pleasure. I’m Lionel from

synonymous with success. Rumor had it he had taken over the family empire at a young age, only to step down out of boredom and start his own venture. Now, his

but had never found

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much to use her as a stepping stone, but fate had other plans, presenting

nod, an enigmatic smile playing on his lips

nonchalant nod, his gaze