Chapter 2: The Child Victoria Tried to Hide
Nathan stood at the bottom of the basement stairs, unable to move.
For a moment, everything around him disappeared.
The cold concrete floor.
The flickering lights.
The sound of the child’s frightened breathing.
All he could see was Victoria.
His wife.
The woman he had loved for twelve years.
The woman who had smiled beside him on magazine covers, telling the world that their family was built on love and trust.
But now she stood in the darkness of their basement like a stranger.
“Victoria…” Nathan’s voice was low, almost a whisper. “What is this?”
She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she slowly turned around.
Her perfect expression was gone.
No warm smile.
No gentle eyes.
Only fear.
“Nathan, you shouldn’t have opened this door.”
Those words hurt him more than anything else.
Not because of the secret.
Because of the certainty in her voice.
She wasn’t surprised.
She was afraid he had found out.
Nathan looked past her.
In the corner of the basement sat a small boy wrapped in an old blanket.
The child’s eyes were red from crying.
But he wasn’t looking at Victoria.
He was looking at Nathan.
Like he had been waiting for someone to save him.
“Who is he?” Nathan asked.
Victoria stepped in front of the child.
Blocking his view.
“That’s not your concern.”
Nathan stared at her.
He almost didn’t recognize the woman standing in front of him.
“My concern?” he repeated.
“You locked a child in my basement, Victoria.”
Her face tightened.
“He doesn’t belong here.”
The words made Nathan’s blood run cold.
“What does that mean?”
Before Victoria could answer, a small voice came from behind her.
“Mr. Harrington…”
Nathan looked at the boy.
The child was trembling.
“Please don’t let her send me away again.”
Nathan froze.
Again?
The word echoed in his mind.
He turned back to Victoria.
“How long has he been here?”
Silence.
That silence was the answer.
Nathan slowly walked toward the child.
Victoria immediately grabbed his arm.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing.”
Nathan pulled away.
“No, Victoria. I think I’m finally starting to understand.”
The boy looked down.
His small hands held a worn-out piece of paper.
Nathan noticed it.
“What is that?”
The child hesitated.
Then slowly handed it to him.
Nathan unfolded the paper.
And the moment he saw what was written on it…
His entire world changed.
It was a birth certificate.
With one name printed clearly.
May you like
Father: Nathan Harrington.
Nathan’s breathing stopped.
