"It's all in the past," Charlie mumbled, sinking into Debra's embrace. He remained silent.

After a long moment, Debra whispered, "Can I see her?"

Charlie chuckled bitterly. "Mom, let it be. She'll have her life, I'll have mine."

Debra's heart ached. "I just want to see what she looks like. She was the girl you loved."

Charlie's silence spoke volumes. Debra realized the depth of his hidden pain. "She wouldn't want us to see her," he finally murmured.

"We'll just look," Debra insisted, patting his back. "But what if she's not doing well? Or... what if she's not married?"

"Mom, don't jinx her!" Charlie exclaimed.

Debra laughed, a little sadly. "Okay, okay. I won't." But a sliver of hope remained. He hadn't completely dismissed the idea. She pressed him for information, twelve-year-old information, nonetheless.

Claire Sullivan. Economics major. They'd planned to introduce her to the family. Then, she'd vanished to Yowhayton.

"Don't worry," Debra reassured him. "I'll find her."

Debra immediately contacted Patrick, Adrian, and Bryce. Stacey relayed the information to Hayden.

Hayden's text arrived swiftly: [Is her name Claire Sullivan?]

[Yeah.]

[Do they look alike?] A photo followed.

Stacey gasped. The resemblance was uncanny. Claire, young and fresh-faced, and this other woman… mature, elegant. This wasn't just coincidence.

[Who... is she?]

Ten minutes later: [Kelly Jones. Daughter of the Jones Group chairman, sole heir.]

Stacey's head swam. Jones Group. One of Yowhayton's three power brokers.

[Maybe we've got the wrong person.]

[They do look somewhat alike.]

Stacey agreed. The similarity was striking. Could Charlie ever hope to be with someone of this caliber?

[I'll go ask.]

Stacey found Debra and Patrick. Maybe it was a simple case of mistaken identity. Surely, Charlie's university classmate couldn't be the heir to a vast empire. Debra, anxious and hopeful, waited. The family, however, was thrilled to know Charlie had once loved someone so deeply.