"Mommy?" Kaylee sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. "You smell like ozone. Did you explode something?"

"Metaphorically," Katarina said, kissing her forehead. "Go back to sleep."

In the suite next door, Dimitri sat in his office chair. His tie was undone. He was watching the security footage from the hallway again.

He watched Katarina hug Draven. He watched the way she shielded him from the guards.

"She's a good actress," he muttered to himself. But there was a doubt gnawing at him. Draven never let anyone touch him. Not even the nannies. Why her?

Draven was sitting on the floor, playing with a set of magnetic blocks. He was building a complex structure.

"Draven," Dimitri said. "Why did you let her hold you?"

Draven didn't answer. He placed a red block on top of the tower.

Dimitri sighed. He turned to his computer. "Lars, get me everything on Katarina Acosta. The last five years. There's a gap. I want to know where she was."

Suddenly, his screen flickered. A skull and crossbones appeared in pixelated green.

"Sir!" Lars's voice came over the intercom. "Someone is bouncing a signal off our server. They're trying to mask an IP address."

"Who?"

"It's... it's coming from the suite next door."

Dimitri's eyes narrowed. "Katarina?"

"I don't know, sir. The encryption is military grade. It's... it looks like the signature of the hacker 'Ghost'."

"Or," Dimitri said, standing up, "it's a woman trying to spy on me."

Next door, Kaylee was typing furiously on her tablet under the covers.

"Oops," she whispered. "Almost got caught."

"Kaylee, lights out!" Katarina called from the bathroom.

"Yes, Mommy!"

The next morning, Katarina dragged herself to the hotel buffet. She needed coffee. Intravenously.

Kaylee skipped ahead to the dessert section.

"Can I have a donut?"

"Protein first, sugar later," Katarina said, piling eggs onto a plate.

Kaylee ignored her and beelined for the donut tower. She reached for the last strawberry frosted one.

Another hand reached for it at the same time.

Kaylee looked up. Draven looked down.

They froze.

It was daylight. No shadows. No sleepiness. They stood face to face.

It was like looking in a mirror.

Kaylee's eyes went wide. "Whoa."

Draven stared at her. He blinked. He slowly pushed the donut toward her.

"Thanks!" Kaylee beamed. "I'm Kaylee."

Draven didn't speak, but the corner of his mouth twitched. A tiny, almost invisible smile.

"Draven!"

Dimitri marched across the restaurant. He looked like a thundercloud in a polo shirt. He grabbed Draven's hand and pulled him back.

"I told you not to bother them," Dimitri growled at Kaylee.

"Hey!" Katarina slammed her coffee cup down. It spilled. She didn't care. She marched over. "Don't you dare yell at my daughter."

"Then keep her away from my son," Dimitri snapped. "She's harassing him."

"He gave her a donut!" Katarina shouted. "Are you blind? Look at them!"

She pointed at the kids.

Draven was waving at Kaylee. Kaylee was waving back.

Dimitri looked at them. He saw the resemblance. The dark hair. The eyes.

"She looks like him," Dimitri said, his voice losing some of its edge.

"Coincidence," Katarina said quickly. Too quickly. "Kids look alike."

"It's uncanny," Dimitri murmured. He looked at Katarina. "Did you clone yourself?"

"Funny," she deadpanned. "Come on, Kaylee. We're eating in the room. The air here is toxic."

She grabbed Kaylee's hand and stormed off.

Dimitri watched them go. He looked down at Draven. Draven was looking at his hand, the one that had touched Kaylee's. He looked... happy.

"Lars," Dimitri said into his phone. "Forget the background check. Find out who the father of that girl is."

---

She opened it to find a wall of red roses. Two hundred of them.

"Delivery for Ms. Acosta," a muffled voice said from behind the flowers.

"I didn't order these. Throw them in the trash," Katarina said, reaching to close the door.

A foot jammed into the gap.

"Ow! Kat, wait!" Auston Mcmahon squeezed through the flowers and the door. He was wearing a casual suit that tried too hard.

"Auston," Katarina sighed. "You are persistent. Like a fungus."

"I brought you these," he said, breathless. "Ecuadorian roses. Listen, about last night... Francis is crazy. But I'm not. I still have feelings for you."

Kaylee poked her head out of the bedroom. "Mommy, is that the Bug Spray Man?"

"Yes, baby. Go back to your game."

Katarina looked at Auston. She was about to kick him out, but then she remembered something. Auston was currently trying to broker a deal with Charlton Walton, her mother's nemesis.

She forced a smile. It hurt her face.

"Come in, Auston. Five minutes."

Auston beamed. He strutted in like he owned the place.

"So," Katarina said, pouring him a glass of tap water. "You seem confident these days. Business must be good."

Auston laughed, taking the water. "Good? It's phenomenal. I've got Charlton Walton in my pocket. We're about to close a deal that will shake the FDA to its core. I have connections, Kat. Real power."

Katarina's eyes sharpened. She tapped her phone screen twice under the table, signaling Solo to activate the room's listening sniffer.

"Walton?" she asked innocently. "I heard his new drug, Serenity, was stuck in approval hell."

"That's what the public thinks," Auston bragged, leaning in. "But let's just say I know a guy on the board who owes me a favor. Next week, Serenity gets the green light. The side effects? Buried."

Katarina didn't need him to say more. Her phone vibrated. Solo had just used Auston's presence to ping his phone and download the attached documents from his email outbox. The raw data on cardiac failure was there. Auston was a fool, walking around with a digital smoking gun.

"Interesting," she said. "You're playing a dangerous game, Auston."

"High risk, high reward," he winked.

"Thanks, Auston," Katarina said. She walked to the door and opened it wide. "Now get out."

Auston blinked. "What? But... the roses..."

"Are dying. Like this conversation. Goodbye."

She pushed him out.

As Auston stumbled into the hallway, Dimitri walked by. He saw Auston leaving Katarina's room. He saw the roses.

Dimitri's jaw clenched.

Of course, he thought. She plays the victim, then entertains her ex-fiancé the next morning. She's playing all sides.

He stormed into his suite.

"Lars," he barked. "Send the email to Dr. Anti. Offer double. Tell him my grandmother is fading."

Next door, Katarina's secure laptop pinged.

Subject: Urgent Request. Patient: Helena Shaffer. Offer: $100 Million.

Katarina read it. She looked at the wall shared with Dimitri.

She typed a reply.

To: D. Shaffer

From: Anti

Subject: Re: Urgent Request

Mr. Shaffer,

I do not treat patients based on their bank accounts. I treat them based on need. And currently, my schedule is full. Also, stop trying to trace my IP. It's amateurish.

- A

Dimitri read the email. He slammed his fist on the desk. "Amateurish?!"

Meanwhile, Kaylee was bored. She pulled out her tablet. She opened a Bluetooth scanner app.

Scanning nearby devices...

Found: Silent_Boy_iPad

Kaylee grinned. She sent a pairing request.

Message: I'm the Donut Girl.

In the next room, Draven's iPad lit up. He looked at the screen. A picture of a donut appeared.

He pressed Accept.

Draven:

Kaylee: My mom hates your dad.

Draven: (Dad face)

Kaylee: We should fix that.

Draven:

---

Dimitri looked up from his brooding. "Did you find the father?"

"No, the birth certificate lists 'Unknown'. But we found a photo of Dr. Anti."

Dimitri sat up straighter. "Show me."

Lars placed a grainy photo on the desk. It was taken five years ago in a hospital in Switzerland. It showed a figure in surgical scrubs, back to the camera, performing surgery.

The figure was... large. Heavy-set.

"This is Anti?" Dimitri asked.

"Confirmed by three sources on the dark web. Anti is a woman. And... well, she was significantly overweight at the time."

Dimitri stared at the photo. He traced the outline of the figure. A heavy woman. Five years ago.

His mind flashed to the old photos of Katarina. The resemblance in body type was undeniable.

"It's a match," Dimitri murmured. "Physically, at least."

"Sir?" Lars asked. "You think Ms. Acosta is Anti? But she's... well, look at her now. And Anti is a neurosurgeon. Ms. Acosta has a degree in Art History."

"People change, Lars. Bodies change. And degrees can be bought or faked." Dimitri tapped the photo. "But the skill gap is the problem. You don't learn to perform experimental neurosurgery in a few years while dealing with a pregnancy and a weight loss journey. It's improbable."

He leaned back, his eyes cold. "But improbable isn't impossible. Keep digging. And don't stop looking for the girl's father. If Katarina is Anti, she's hiding more than just medical skills. She's hiding a life."

"Understood, sir."

Next door, Katarina looked at herself in the mirror. She touched her flat stomach.

"Thank god for old photos," she whispered.

Her phone rang. Candi.

Katarina put it on speaker while she painted her toenails.

"What do you want, Candi? I'm busy plotting world domination."

"You're going to be destroyed tomorrow!" Candi shrieked. "I called The Sun. They're running a story about your teen pregnancy. About how you were a whore!"

"Yawn," Katarina said. "Is that it?"

"And... and I heard about that Dr. Anti person Dimitri is looking for. They say she's a fat cow. Just like you used to be! Maybe you're related!"

Katarina smiled. The rumor she had planted years ago was working perfectly. "Goodbye, Candi."

She hung up.

"Mommy, can we get pizza?" Kaylee asked.

"Yes. But we have to wear disguises."

They put on hoodies and sunglasses. They opened the door.

Dimitri was in the hall, waiting for the elevator. He was alone.

He looked at Katarina. His gaze was different now. Less suspicious, more... calculating. He was dissecting her, layer by layer.

They got into the elevator.

Katarina stared at the numbers.

Kaylee's stomach growled. Loudly.

Dimitri glanced down. He saw the little girl rubbing her tummy.

Without a word, he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a pristine, white silk handkerchief.

"Wipe your mouth," he said to Kaylee. "You have chocolate on your chin from earlier."

Kaylee took it. "Thanks, Grumpy Mister."

"Kaylee," Katarina scolded gently.

"It's fine," Dimitri said. He looked at Katarina. "You should feed her more."

"I feed her plenty," Katarina snapped. "She has a high metabolism. Unlike some people's egos."

The doors opened.

"Keep the handkerchief," Dimitri said, walking away.

Katarina looked at the white silk. It was embroidered with D.S.

She felt a pang. He was kind to the child. He just hated the mother.

---