The Billionaire Who Stole My Heart novel Chapter 837

Brittany was immersed in her design drafts, working tirelessly with hardly a moment to spare. The office door swung open with a bang.

"Bri." Derek stormed in, a sheen of sweat on his brow as he leaned heavily against her desk. "Tell me, did you meet Zac years ago, way before all this mess started?"

"Ms. Dustin, I apologize; Mr. Bishop insisted on coming in," the assistant explained tentatively.

"It's fine; you can leave," Brittany dismissed the assistant and turned her attention to Derek. "What have you found out?"

"Zac's been digging into Joie's past, and it hit me—you had a similar photo once."

Brittany set her pencil down.

Yes.

After she was kidnapped, the captors had photographed each of their victims.

She and Joie were close in age and bore a resemblance. Over time, with exhaustion taking its toll, they became nearly unrecognizable to anyone but their closest kin.

But Derek was her cousin, her flesh and blood, and he had pieced some things together.

"Yes."

A realization seemed to dawn on Derek. "Was it you who saved Zac back then?"

Oh my goodness! Does that mean Joie took all the credit for what Brittany did?

"Cuz," Brittany rarely used the term of endearment. "Let's keep this between us, okay?"

"Why?" Derek looked at her, a chill in his gaze, as if he'd stumbled upon a deeper truth. "You knew all along that Joie took your place, didn't you?"

"I knew."

Brittany had been aware for a long time.

At first, she kept silent because Isaac had broken her heart, and she wanted to see his reaction when he learned the truth. But then the right moment never came, and eventually, it didn't seem to matter.

Derek was incredulous. "So, Joie..."

"She's no threat to me now."