**Audrey's POV**

His words wrapped around my heart like a vise.

I took a deep breath, meeting his gaze. He looked just like he had five years ago when I'd pulled him from that beach - desperate but determined.

If Evelyn was truly on that yacht - if she really saved Henry Hartford -she wouldn't have kept quiet about something so traumatic. She would've told someone. Maybe Adrian and the Australian Parkers did know something after all.

"Okay," I said finally. "I'll help look for evidence."

Blake opened his mouth, but Adrian stepped between us.

"Enough, Mr. Parker," he said sharply.′′Mywife already agreed to help.Stop harassing her."

Rachel appeared beside Blake's wheelchair. "He wras just asking questions about something from five years ago. How is that harassment?"

"How is it not?" Adrian countered, placing his arm around my shoulders."

Don't you find it strange your fiancé showed up at our hotel? He was

probably waiting to play hero when we arrived."

"But with his disability, heroism's inconvenient. So I stepped in."

He turned to me. "Which was more impressive - my flying kick that took down that girl. or Parker's rescue attempt?"

I had zero interest in Adrian's games, but we needed to maintain our cover.

I forced a smile. "You were definitely more impressive. That kick was so satisfying to watch."

**Blake's POV**

I closed my eyes, trying to block the pain.

She might just be maintaining her cover with Knox. I understood that intellectually. But hearing her praise him while dismissing my effort still cut deep.

"They make such a lovely couple," Rachel said. "Even if someone wanted to come between them... it would be impossible, righnt?"

"Are you trying to warn me off?" I asked coldly. "Telling me not to interfere in their relationship?"

"That's not what I meant," she backpedaled. "I just think they look good together-"

"Rachel." My voice dropped. "We both know exactly what our relationship is. In this arrangement, you don't have the right to criticize or manage me."

I turned to face Knox and Audrey. "That's enough. Miss Hayes has made her point. As for the online plagiarism allegations against Mrs. Knox, I'll have them cleared up."

"No one will bother you in New York again," I assured them. "Hartford keeps a low profile. I'm sure neither of you want unnecessary attention."

"You guarantee no one will bother us?" Adrian asked skeptically.

I nodded.

"What about you, Miss Hayes?" Adrian turned to Rachel. "Will anyone else

try to harass us?"

Rachel hesitated. "I... don't think anyone will hurt you."

"Rachel and her sister are remarkably similar," Audrey suddenly said, her voice cold. "Both expect Mr. Parker to clean up their messes."

The air around us seemed to freeze. Rachel stared at Audrey, caught off guard.

"No wonder Miss Hayes is willing to be my sister's replacement," Audrey continued. "She envies Laurel Rose, who could cause trouble and still be protected by Mr. Parker."

"I don't envy my sister," Rachel finally said. "And I'm not asking Blake to solve my problems! I didn't do anything wrong."

Her voice strengthened. "You plagiarized Audrey's designs! Should I stay silent just because you're her twin? Does being twins give you the right to steal her work?"

"Did you ever respect Audrey or her designs? I won't back down. If you're innocent,prove it."

"If you think I'm defaming you, take me to court," she challenged. "I won't go easy on you just because you're Audrey's twin."

Her voice cracked. "What connection do you have with Audrey besides blood? You never met her. You never cared for her."

"A sister who uses her identical face for attention, who steals her designs -you don't deserve respect from Audrey or from me."

"As Audrey's best friend, I'll fight for her until the end." With that, she

stormed off.

The area fell silent. Adrian turned to Audrey. "What are you thinking?"

"We'll be in New York for a while," she explained calmly. "The longer we stay, the harder she'll try to target me. If we ended this now, she'd just find other ways to come after me."

She glanced toward the hotel. "I understand who Rachel used to be, but not who she is now. I can't predict her next move. But this plagiarism issue? I can handle that."

"So you want her focused on the plagiarism until we leave?"

"Pretty much."

She turned to me. "Mr. Parker, your fiancée says she's in the right and doesn't need your help. You won't delete those plagiarism stories, will you?1

"I won't," I promised.

"Thank you." She brushed wet hair from her face. "You can dismiss your security. I need to go upstairs - my hair needs drying."

The breeze sent her damp hair dancing. She pushed it back, a simple gesture that held my attention completely.

She smiled at me, then walked toward the hotel entrance.

I watched her go, the afternoon light catching in her hair. She seemed more alive thanI'd ever seen her.

I had to admit-she was stronger than I'd expected. Calmer. More decisive.Her handling of Rachel was brilliant.

The friendshlp between her and Rachel... she'd let it go completely. Just like her feelings for me. She'd cut them both away with the same clean stroke.

I couldn't help but smile as she disappeared into the hotel.

**Audrey's POV**

After blow-drying my hair, I called Astrid from the hotel bed and filled her in on everything.

"Rachel's really going all-out to marry Blake," Astrid sighed. "She'll do anything for the Parkers' approval."

I stared at the ceiling. "The plagiarism thing is strange. I know I didn't steal Audrey's designs."

"Twins often think alike," Astrid said. "You're both jewelry designers with identical DNA. Similar ideas make sense."

"Remember that design your sister created before she died? Almost identical to something you'd sketched."

"Right. According to the dates, her design came about a year before mine."

I confirmed. "But before waking in Sydney, I didn't even know I had a twin."

I closed my eyes. Whatever others might believe, I truly thought twins shared some connection. The similarity in our designs couldn't be mere coincidence.

"You know what's rich?" Astrid said. "At Long Island, Rachel sought you out,going on about how your designs resembled Audrey's.She wanted your design process to 'understand Audrey's creative vision'or whatever."

"She didn't even know about the twin thing then."

"Now she knows, and suddenly you're a plagiarist?" Astrid's voice sharpened. "All this righteous defender-of-Audrey's-legacy act is total crap.11

"Face it -she's pissed that you and Adrian knocked her and Blake off the front page. She can't stand that you exposed the Sinclairs and embarrassed Rebecca and Thalia in public."

"This is just payback, plain and simple."

She sighed heavily.′′Ijust can't believe Rachel - our Rachel - turned into...this. Four years in a hospital bed, and she comes out completely different."

"After everything you did to save her from the Rose family,this is what you get."

I let out a small, humorless laugh. "She's just protecting her interests."

"To her, I'm probably just some dead friend who doesn't matter anymore."

I wiped my nose with the back of my hand. "But whatever. I've already died once. If she's moving on, so am I."

"They should all be forgotten."

"Good for you," Astrid said, the relief evident in her voice. "I've been worried sick this would mess with your head or your health or... I don't know."

"Seeing you handle this -"

A sweet little voice interrupted her. "Auntie, when are we going to Mommy's?"

"Emma misses Mommy!"