The CEO’s Masked Secret Wife

Hazel's POV

I could scarcely believe my eyes as I turned around. Liam was approaching with Damian beside him, but what made my heart leap was the sight of my son in Liam's arms. Leo was beaming with joy, enthusiastically waving at passersby who couldn't help but smile at the charming little boy.

"Mommy! I came to get you!" Leo exclaimed as they reached my desk, wiggling excitedly in Liam's arms.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I embraced my son, showering him with kisses. The simple moment filled me with overwhelming love.

"I hope you don't mind that I picked up Leo and sent Clara home," Liam said, his voice warm with affection.

"Of course not, my love!" I moved closer, and Liam placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

Leo proudly held up a package filled with assorted sweets. "Mommy, Uncle Damian gave me this, look!"

"Oh really?! And did you say thank you?" I asked, maintaining my maternal responsibility even in my emotional state.

"Yes, mommy," Leo replied earnestly.

"Very good!" I rewarded him with another kiss before turning to Damian. "Thank you, Damian."

"Don't mention it, Hazel. This kid is amazing!" Damian's genuine praise made my heart swell with maternal pride.

Morris approached us with curiosity. "Well, well, what do we have here?" He extended his hand toward Leo. "Hello, young man."

"Hi," Leo responded with a radiant smile, taking Morris's hand. With childlike generosity, he immediately offered, "Want some candy?"

"No thank you, young man." Morris turned to me. "Is this your son?" I nodded in confirmation. "What a handsome little guy! He looks just like his father," he remarked, glancing between Leo and Liam.

Liam beamed with pride. "My son is beautiful indeed, thank you, Morris," he replied, deliberately not correcting the misunderstanding about Leo's paternity.

"You two have been spending quite a bit of time on my floor," Morris commented playfully to Liam and Damian. "I hope you're not planning to poach my two favorite employees."

"For now, Morris, just one of them, but you never know," Liam responded with a laugh.

"I'll have to ask you for a job too if you take both," Morris joked.

"I think Adrian would be upset with us," Damian added, joining the laughter.

They said their goodbyes, and I gathered my belongings before leaving the building. Outside, we met Chloe, Noah, Adrian, and Stella, and the group decided to have dinner together. Owen and Thea would join us at the restaurant.

Later that evening, after Chloe had gone to Noah's place, Liam sat at the foot of my bed, massaging my feet with skilled hands. He broke the comfortable silence with a question.

"So, angel, when are you coming back to Collective Sterling?"

"Liam, I haven't decided that yet," I replied cautiously.

"What do you mean? You've forgiven me, you're back with me. Just come back to be near me every day, Hazel." His tone suggested he thought the answer was obvious.

"My love, I still don't know if I want to come back. I love working at Apex Galaxy, I really like my colleagues, I'm doing great there." I tried to make him understand my perspective.

"But you'll be better with me." His expression turned slightly sullen.

"But we're fine like this. Why do we need to work together?" I questioned, genuinely curious about his insistence.

"Hazel, I want to be surrounded by people I trust. Stella's already there. Bianca can be let go. I need you by my side." He paused, his face growing more serious. "Besides, the audit is progressing, and we already have substantial evidence. Thanks to Fiona, I've discovered other things involving my personal life and my parents that are being investigated."

"What else did you discover?" I asked, intrigued.

Liam's eyes darkened with sadness. "Probably my parents' accident wasn't an accident at all—the helicopter might have been sabotaged. Fiona overheard Julian talking to the investigating officer, saying that I wanted the investigation closed. Later she heard him telling Bianca that he paid a fortune to bury the investigation."

"Liam, that's extremely serious!" I sat up in bed, shocked by this revelation.

"Yes, it is. She also heard my father arguing with Julian the day before the accident, saying he was going to fire him." I listened in disbelief as he continued, "She also told me that Bianca was informing Isabella Clairemont about all my movements, which explains why she showed up almost everywhere I was, including that day at the company. Bianca orchestrated it knowing Evelyn had instructed you not to let anyone in without my authorization. She hoped I would fire you."

"But why would Bianca want me fired? I had just started working there," I asked, confused.

"Bianca wanted the assistant position, and Evelyn had dismissed her for not meeting the requirements. As my assistant, she would have had much more access to information. Bianca has been Julian's mistress for at least ten years."

"So Bianca passes information to Julian. He must be involved in the company fraud," I concluded, horrified by their duplicity.

"He might be the mastermind behind the fraudulent operation," Liam agreed, though I sensed there was more to the story.

"And what else did Fiona tell you?" I pressed, feeling increasingly anxious.

"Fiona knows everything in that company. She told me a lot. But there's one more thing." Liam hesitated, clearly concerned about my reaction.

"What is it?" I encouraged him.

"Hazel, when my parents died, I had met someone, someone who turned my world upside down very quickly." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Too quickly, even. But this woman disappeared, and I tried everything to find her. I hired three detectives, but they all took away any hope of finding her. The last one was about a year ago."

"Evelyn mentioned this woman briefly. Said you gave up on love after that," I remarked, trying to mask my sudden insecurity.

"Until you came along." Liam looked at me tenderly. "But it seems Julian manipulated those investigations too, paid the detectives to make me give up, telling me it would be impossible."

My mind began racing with doubts. What if Liam still loved this mysterious woman and now wanted to find her? What if I was merely a replacement, not truly loved?

"Hazel, look at me. Listen very carefully." Liam took my hands firmly in his. "I love you! That woman was a crazy story that was left behind the moment I heard your voice on the phone. So please, don't start putting ideas in your head. I'm not going to look for her again, but I wanted you to know about this. I don't want anyone twisting things for you."

Despite his reassurance, I couldn't help feeling insecure. Liam noticed my unease and took my face in his hands, kissing me slowly and passionately, conveying his love without words. Then he made love to me thoroughly, his body convincing mine of his devotion. Once again, we fell asleep in each other's arms, our bodies intertwined in silent promise.