Chapter 2 - THE SECRET I BURIED TWO YEARS AGO
I couldn't breathe.
Not because I was afraid.
Because my mind was fighting a memory I had spent two years trying to kill.
"No."
The word came out barely above a whisper.
Stellan watched me carefully.
"Say it again."
My fingers curled into my palms.
"You are not him."
His face didn't change.
But his eyes did.
"You know I am."
"No."
I shook my head.
"Adrian was different."
A small muscle moved in his jaw.
"Different?"
"Yes."
My voice cracked.
"He was kind."
Silence.
The kind of silence that hurts.
Then Stellan looked away.
For the first time, I saw something behind the cold mask.
Pain.
"You think you knew me."
I swallowed.
"I did."
"No."
He looked back at me.
"You knew the man I pretended to be."
The room felt smaller.
Fern slept between us.
Completely unaware that her entire life was changing.
"Why?" I whispered.
His eyes dropped to her.
"Because if you knew who I really was..."
He paused.
"You would have hated me."
I almost laughed.
Almost.
"You disappeared."
His expression hardened.
"I had a reason."
"You left me alone."
"I protected you."
"Protected me?"
My anger exploded.
"You left me pregnant and terrified!"
The words filled the room.
For the first time...
Stellan Cross looked guilty.
Good.
He should.
"You think I wanted to leave?"
His voice was lower now.
"You think I woke up that morning and chose to walk away?"
"Then why did you?"
He didn't answer.
And that made me hate him more.
I stepped closer.
"My daughter grew up without a father."
His eyes lifted.
"She grew up alive."
I froze.
"What does that mean?"
His face became cold again.
"Exactly what I said."
A chill moved through me.
"Stellan..."
He looked toward the door.
"Nobody leaves this room."
The command wasn't meant for me.
It was meant for whoever was outside.
A second later, the door opened.
A tall man entered.
"Boss."
Stellan's eyes never left mine.
"Double security around the house."
The man's expression changed.
"Why?"
Stellan finally looked down at Fern.
"Because someone knows."
My blood went cold.
"Someone knows what?"
He didn't answer.
The man left.
I stared at him.
"What are you hiding?"
Stellan stood.
He carefully placed Fern on the leather couch.
Then he walked toward me.
Every step made my heartbeat faster.
"You want the truth?"
"Yes."
"Fine."
He stopped inches away.
"The night you met Adrian wasn't an accident."
My face went numb.
"What?"
"You were targeted."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Yes."
"Who?"
His expression darkened.
"My enemies."
A cold feeling spread through my chest.
"I don't understand."
"You were supposed to be used against me."
The room spun.
"Used?"
"Someone wanted information from me."
His voice became quieter.
"But then I saw you."
I stared at him.
"And?"
"And everything changed."
For a second, I saw the man from that night.
Not the mafia boss.
The broken man behind him.
"You saved me."
"Yes."
"Then why leave?"
His eyes closed briefly.
When they opened again...
they were full of regret.
"Because I found out someone inside my organization was trying to kill you."
My breath stopped.
"What?"
"I couldn't protect you while staying near you."
"So you abandoned me?"
"I disappeared to keep you alive."
I wanted to believe him.
I hated that part of me did.
Then Fern moved.
Her tiny fingers reached toward him.
Both of us looked down.
And something impossible happened.
She whispered one word.
A word she had never said before.
A word that made Stellan go completely still.
"Dada."
The silence afterward was terrifying.
I stared at my daughter.
Then at him.
Stellan Cross looked like someone had just shot him.
"No..."
His voice broke.
Just slightly.
But I heard it.
He looked at Fern.
Then at me.
"She called me..."
He couldn't finish.
My heart was pounding.
Because somewhere deep inside...
I already knew the truth.
But I wasn't ready to accept it.
Then Stellan's phone rang.
He answered.
"Speak."
A man's frightened voice came through.
I couldn't hear everything.
Only pieces.
"...hospital records..."
"...the DNA report..."
"...someone changed the files..."
Stellan's face changed.
"What did you say?"
The man on the phone continued.
Then Stellan looked at me.
And the fear in his eyes was real.
Not for himself.
For Fern.
"Get me the original blood test."
A pause.
"Tonight."
He ended the call.
I stared at him.
"What blood test?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
"The one that proves your daughter is mine."
My knees nearly gave out.
Because for two years...
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I had believed one lie.
And now I was about to discover who had made me believe it.
