Lauren's POV
The room froze, the air thick with stunned silence, as if the world itself had hit pause. Owen’s small, clear voice lingered.
“Mommy?”—a single word that rippled through the stillness, shattering logic and piecing it back together in a way that didn’t quite make sense.
My chest tightened. I could feel my heart hammering against my ribs, caught somewhere between confusion and an ache I couldn’t name.
Behind me, a maid let out a sharp, startled squeak, breaking the spell. Before I could fully process what had happened, a firm hand gripped my arm, tugging me backward. One of Owen’s bodyguards stepped in, his expression unreadable but his movements swift and commanding.
“Out. Now,” he said curtly, ushering me and the others out of the room without a second thought.
The doo
